[maverickronin]

If you use IEMs daily and are not blessed with a near complete absence of earwax then I'd assume you'll probably need to clean your ears daily.  I know I do.  I clean my ears with Q tips at least once a day and often twice a day if I've worn my SE530s for a long period of time such as when I usually wear them all day long at work.
 
Maybe I just have tons of earwax, but I have a hard time imagining not doing this.  My Comply tips might last two weeks tops without such regimented cleaning.  You can barely clean them at all without ruining their memory-ness and most of their isolation and comfort.  They'd be filthy in no time at all.  Even the silicone and rubber tips would need an extensive wipe down every time I took them out of my ears if I went a two weeks without daily cleanings.  Even after allowing for that, I'd have to dismiss any IEM that didn't have a user replaceable filter because the nozzle would be clogged with earwax in no time and I'd be out a few hundred or so rather quickly. 
 
Unless your ear canals are tiny (mine shouldn't be especially large since I only use the medium Complys), its easy to insert the Q tip down the center without pushing up against the sides or impacting the ear wax and then remove the ear wax by either spinning it or pushing the Q tip against the side of your ear canal and pulling out the wax.  I also use Murine earwax removal drops every so often in case any ear wax might have got impacted or left behind somehow but I pretty much never see anything else come out.
 
I have a few serious questions to the people here who are for a lack of a better term, "anti-Q-tip".  Do you use IEMs daily?  How much ear wax do you have?  What practical alternative is there to Q tips?  Also note that the murine drops take way to long to count as practical and do twice daily.
 
I'm actually curious.  I think that if you didn't have much ear wax and didn't use IEMs then you wouldn't need to clean your ears very often but different people in different situations may need to.  I'm perfectly aware that some sort of freak accident (Because I'm not stupid enough to walk around while I'm doing it.  There would need to be a very precisely time earthquake or collapsing chair...) while I happen to have the Q tip in my ear could lead to a ruptured eardrum but given the lack of feasable alternatives I can't see how its any different than a not-so-freak accident that could kill me as I drive to work.  Life is inherently risky...

 

[AstralStorm]

Quote:

If you use IEMs daily and are not blessed with a near complete absence of earwax then I'd assume you'll probably need to clean your ears daily.  I know I do.  I clean my ears with Q tips at least once a day and often twice a day if I've worn my SE530s for a long period of time such as when I usually wear them all day long at work.
 
<snip>

Myself, I do get slightly more earwax due to IEM use, but not any amount to be worried about. No need to clean ears daily really, since they're pretty good at cleaning themselves. You probably just have lots of earwax, which may mean you have a chronic ear infection.
My pairs of Comply typically last about 2 to 3 weeks due to the foam tearing sooner or later while inserting, despite compression and proper technique.
 
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I think this might actually be due to some hearing damage then since it happens when it does.  I'd get an audiologist to confirm though.  Lower the volume of your IEMs before you do get something permanent. 
 
At the club, it's normally skimming around 100-110dB.  120dB is the threshold of pain (where you begin to feel pain).  Lots of people listen to their IEMs this loud without knowing it.  Nothing should ever be 100%, even if weak. 

The actual reason is that the incus is being pulled off stapes to reduce pressure. (both are inner ear bones) This sounds like ringing and being deaf.
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

The actual reason is that the incus is being pulled off stapes to reduce pressure. (both are inner ear bones) This sounds like ringing and being deaf.
 

This actually makes sense, thanks for the information. 
 
@Mav: I do not clean my ears daily, like AstralStorm has said, they know how to shed on their own, so I don't get an earwax mess.  Do my ear-tips build up earwax?  Little by little, but this is normal, it takes my triple flange tips about 2-3 weeks to build up any visible ear wax.  I don't use foamies too often, but they would be a lot less since they don't insert as deeply.  I use my IEMs daily, sometimes multiple times. 

 

[JackKontney]

Nothing personal, tinyman392, but your first bullet point on homeopathy for cerumen seems to be alluding to ear candling. I would hope that everyone here realizes that EAR CANDLING IS DANGEROUS AND INEFFECTIVE. Not to mention, stupid on the face of it.
 
Link: http://www.audiology.org/news/Pages/20100622.aspx
 
Excerpts:
Quote:

Ear candles are hollow tapered cones made of cloth and soaked in beeswax or paraffin; the narrow funnel is placed into the ear and the opposite side of the cone is ignited in flame. Upon reading the previous sentence, many people will immediately say, “you’re kidding?” Clearly, ear candling is not reasonable, rational, safe, or effective, and indeed, it should simply never be done.

 
Quote:

Candling is dangerous. Survey responses from medical specialists (otolaryngologists) in the United Kingdom reported ear injuries from ear candling including; burns, ear canal occlusions and ear drum perforations and secondary ear canal infections with temporary hearing loss (Seely, Quigley, Langman, 1996). In some patients, multiple complications were found. There have been reports within the United States demonstrating ash remnants and residue from ear candling coating the eardrum (Kutz and Fayad, 2008).

 
Quote:

In fact, after candling, some participants had candle wax deposited in their ear canals. Indeed, meticulous analysis of the contents in the ear candle after use (using gas chromatography) showed multiple alkanes of candle wax, with no constituents of cerumen (Seely, Quigley, Langman, 1996).

 
Quote:

Bottom line: Ear candling is ineffective and potentially dangerous and we do not recommend it at any time for any reason.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Myself, I do get slightly more earwax due to IEM use, but not any amount to be worried about. No need to clean ears daily really, since they're pretty good at cleaning themselves. You probably just have lots of earwax, which may mean you have a chronic ear infection.
My pairs of Comply typically last about 2 to 3 weeks due to the foam tearing sooner or later while inserting, despite compression and proper technique.

So I've had a chronic ear infection for more than 20 years and have no symptoms except lots of earwax?  Actually I've never had a Comply tip tear on me.  I use the Tx series with the wax guard, are they a different foam?  I just stop using them after a month or so when they lose all their memory-ness along with some comfort and isolation.
 
Quote:

@Mav: I do not clean my ears daily, like AstralStorm has said, they know how to shed on their own, so I don't get an earwax mess.  Do my ear-tips build up earwax?  Little by little, but this is normal, it takes my triple flange tips about 2-3 weeks to build up any visible ear wax.  I don't use foamies too often, but they would be a lot less since they don't insert as deeply.  I use my IEMs daily, sometimes multiple times. 

 
Mine don't "shed" on their own, and never have.  Maybe I'm just weird...

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Mine don't "shed" on their own, and never have.  Maybe I'm just weird...

There is a such thing as too much earwax production.  It's genetic though, and it's just your glands that produce more earwax (so it seems like it doesn't shed).  I'd still talk to a doctor if you truly believe that you have too much ear wax.  You might just think a healthy amount is too much.  It's normal to have ear wax in your ear, it serves for immune reasons. 
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

It's normal to have ear wax in your ear, it serves for immune reasons. 

I know that.  The problem is that it conflicts with my IEM usage and the IEMs are more important to me.  It must run in the family.  I let my brother try a pair of my IEMs once and I wanted to throw them away after I got them back...

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

I know that.  The problem is that it conflicts with my IEM usage and the IEMs are more important to me.  It must run in the family.  I let my brother try a pair of my IEMs once and I wanted to throw them away after I got them back...

That doesn't sound like a healthy amount of ear wax   It sounds like you have glands that overproduce (which can be a problem).  If you see a doctor, he'll tell you the best way to remove it when it builds up, if you use a Q-Tip, you'll just be pushing some further back (which is a bad thing), yes some will get removed if you do this, but some will be pushed back. 

 

[Mistertaz]

Quote:

I was using the Etyrāpic EarRape-4PeneTration (ER-4PT model) yesterday with medium sized triple-flange tips for the first time.
 

Ahahahahahahahaha! You're a funny mofo!

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

That doesn't sound like a healthy amount of ear wax   It sounds like you have glands that overproduce (which can be a problem).  If you see a doctor, he'll tell you the best way to remove it when it builds up, if you use a Q-Tip, you'll just be pushing some further back (which is a bad thing), yes some will get removed if you do this, but some will be pushed back. 

The "best" way is probably the Murine eardrops, or something similar.  The problem is that its too tedious to do once or twice a day so I use it every month or two to be on the safe side and see if anything got pushed back or impacted, but nothing else comes out when I use it.  Like I said above, there is a proper way to use Q tips.

 

[Uncle Erik]

A friend of mine has a great pic of him getting ear-candled in Peru. He did his LDS mission there and he had it done with a newspaper rolled up into a cone. Like a two foot cone. He's leaning over and there's this giant, flaming cone in his ear. It was a 35mm print - I wish I had a digital copy to share. It would make an excellent avatar.

My friend swore by it, too.

Anyhow, I don't use IEMs and still clean every day. I haven't had anything remotely like a bacterial infection in the good 15 years I've been rinsing in the shower. No problems with Q-Tips or the mimikaki tools, either. I have to get the flakes out. Otherwise, it sounds like Rice Krispies in my ears.

 

[kiteki]

Update about my Etymotic wax block.
 
Audiologists closed over the weekend, have been ignoring the wax block hoping it was going to go away by itself.
 
Now my ear is numb and the numbness is spreading to the skin surrounding my ear as well, like my cheek, the same feeling as after you've been to a dentist and they numb your tooth.
 
I haven't experienced any form of pain, just numbness and some ringing, going to find a doctor TODAY.
 
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Update about my Etymotic wax block.
 
Audiologists closed over the weekend, have been ignoring the wax block hoping it was going to go away by itself.
 
Now my ear is numb and the numbness is spreading to the skin surrounding my ear as well, like my cheek, the same feeling as after you've been to a dentist and they numb your tooth.
 
I haven't experienced any form of pain, just numbness and some ringing, going to find a doctor TODAY.
 
 

Good idea, that definitely isn't normal.  You have something in there for sure that is stabbing at some sensitive skin. 
 

 

[NobleSix]

i read somewhere (i forgot) that the only part the ears need some cleaning is on the outer part, in fact u could be find without cleaning the inner part (where most of the ear wax are) for ur entire life..  

 

[Uncle Erik]

Not if you have dry, flaky wax. Imagine having several small cornflakes in your ear, rattling around.

All you need is a small assist from a specifically-designed tool to get them out. There's no damage, no irritation, and no problems after removing them for years.

There are even parlors in Japan where you can go to have this done. Millions of people do this in Japan. If it were harmful, I suspect some hard statistics would have turned up by now.