[nsjong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice Qtips?

That is one shameful post.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsjong That is one shameful post.

Ok..But not really..

 

[Zenja]

My ears must be a lot different than other people's because I have no trouble putting my finger in to touch the eardrum. Every day when I shower I let some water squirt in a few times and then after showering use my fingers to "dry" it out and clean out some of the wax. I can't imagine how a big chunk of wax could possibly be hiding in there. But then again, maybe what I'm thinking is my eardrum isn't really it. I'm still wondering if there's possibly a hard layer of wax compacted against my eardrum. Maybe I will try one of those specialized ear cleaning solutions one day.

I guess I could see this being potentially harmful but I'm being more careful now and I haven't harmed anything yet.

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenja My ears must be a lot different than other people's because I have no trouble putting my finger in to touch the eardrum. Every day when I shower I let some water squirt in a few times and then after showering use my fingers to "dry" it out and clean out some of the wax. I can't imagine how a big chunk of wax could possibly be hiding in there. But then again, maybe what I'm thinking is my eardrum isn't really it. I'm still wondering if there's possibly a hard layer of wax compacted against my eardrum. Maybe I will try one of those specialized ear cleaning solutions one day. I guess I could see this being potentially harmful but I'm being more careful now and I haven't harmed anything yet.

I would be very surprised if you could actually touch the 'eardrum' itself.
Of course you may have uniquely large ear canals or/and small fingers!
Anyone who has made contact with them will be well aware because any
slight brushing or movement of the membrane is loud.

A handy tool would be a scope to peer into and inspect ones own ears rather
than having to rely on a doctor.
But I would guess that no manufacturer would want to encourage untrained
individuals to shove things into their own ears ,due to potential litigation
in the event of self inflicted damage.
Judging from that interesting article linked to by leqin some people do feel that
shoving keys and pencils into their ears is a good thing to do!

The ear is a delicate and beautifully elegant piece of engineering and should
be treated as such.

Something that concerns me a little is getting the cleaning regime right
when it comes to the use of iems.
I use foamies with mine,and these benefit from clean ears!
But ears like to be protected by their coating of cerumen.
Nice wax free dry ears are good for my foamies but regular use means the possibility of maintaining the wax at a lower levels than may be ideal.
Higher wax levels do make for a more 'slick' fitting experience but may also
create the risk of the foamies acting a wax scraper that pushes the wax
back into the canal.[sort of acting as a canal filling Qtip]

I have not had any issues as yet, [though mavbe once with the E4] but thought it worth bearing in mind.


.

 

[Sebhelyesfarku]

What about nasal mucus? Or smegma? Can they degrade the audiophile experience some way?

 

[jules650]

I have some medical training so I thought I'd jump into this discussion.

Here in the UK most GPs tend to recommend olive oil as a first line treatment. I had some problems with earwax last year (quite soon after I started using my new shure e4s) and was prescribed peroxide eardrops which worked quite well. Many practice nurses at your local GP practice will syringe your ears for you if the problem persists. If it's difficult you'll probably be referred to an ENT department at your local hospital, where they'll use a magnifier and a mini Hoover to suck those bad boys out.

With regards to Q-tips, fingernails and other sharp objects, the general advice is not to stick anything smaller than your elbow down your ear canal. The epithelium in your ear canal migrates slowly outwards; if you put a drop of ink on your eardrum it'll migrate outwards in a few weeks. (kids, do NOT try this at home) So if you have earwax that is not impacted, the problem should resolve itself.

And hi, by the way. I'm a long-time reader, first-time poster on head-fi. I've just kissed my wallet goodbye.

 

[50sQuiff]

Long-time lurker here too - my wallet has been silently emptied over the years.

I had my ears syringed a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The nurse told me to use ear-drops (some natural oil-based remedy) for 4 days then come back. The most disgusting compacted wax plugs came out after some intense pumping of hot water into my canals.

The sensation for the next 48 hours was alarming. It was like I was in EX70 pergatory: real life was sibilant. Every brush of my clothes screeched, every high-pitched tone was almost painful and the clicks of my keyboard were distracting.

My hearing seems to have re-adjusted again, after apparently compensating for the wax for some time. Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[skip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice Qtips?

Most doctors will say "don't put anything in your ear that's smaller than your elbow!" ie. NEVER use qtips!

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 50sQuiff Long-time lurker here too - my wallet has been silently emptied over the years. I had my ears syringed a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The nurse told me to use ear-drops (some natural oil-based remedy) for 4 days then come back. The most disgusting compacted wax plugs came out after some intense pumping of hot water into my canals. The sensation for the next 48 hours was alarming. It was like I was in EX70 pergatory: real life was sibilant. Every brush of my clothes screeched, every high-pitched tone was almost painful and the clicks of my keyboard were distracting. My hearing seems to have re-adjusted again, after apparently compensating for the wax for some time. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I wear foam roll earplugs when I commute. So the noisiest thing i hear all day is my kids crying (if ever), the overhead fan in the kitchen and my managers yelling at each other. After wearing plugs for the 45 minute commute I get home and just as you describe, my footsteps as I walk, clothing rubbing, even the fan on the window-sill becomes very loud. I really enjoy listening to headphones at a very low volume, But I kind-of condition my ears throughout the day to that level of noise. I go to meets and I'm like

when I can hear someone elses music from across the table, over my own.

Your ears will adjust with time, although I personally enjoy having the added hearing perception.

 

[ennove]

i seem to be drawn to earwax posts.... my mum used to dig out our earwax as kids. i had the dry, stuck to the sides type and my sis had the wet icky gross type. very relaxing except when it falls back in....
i'm iffy about hydrogen peroxide. i had to use a 30% solution in water for one of my reactions and had patches of dried/oxidised skin on my fingertips. i wonder when i'll develop skin cancer symptoms.

from the wikipedia article:
Wet-type earwax fluoresces weakly under ultraviolet light. must try this on monday in the lab.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozshadow I do not use qtips, but I have a habit of using an unbent paper clip just inside the canal, but no where near my eardrum.

Wow, you gotta be careful doing that to yourself. I remember up to when I was about 13, my mom used to use an unbent paper clip to clean my ears for me

I think it's slightly too dangerous to do on your own.

 

[jules650]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 50sQuiff My hearing seems to have re-adjusted again, after apparently compensating for the wax for some time. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I had the same experience after the wax was removed from my left ear. It's a normal physiological reaction: your brain turns up the volume on the deafer side to compensate for the hearing loss. It usually settles after a day or so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ennove i'm iffy about hydrogen peroxide. i had to use a 30% solution in water for one of my reactions and had patches of dried/oxidised skin on my fingertips. i wonder when i'll develop skin cancer symptoms.

Peroxide is used as a medical disinfectant. I've even seen it used in surgical procedures, although it's probably not licensed for internal use. 30% could be quite high though, I'm not sure what's normally in eardrops.

 

[ZenFountain]

is there some kind of daily or weekly regime one can do to prevent such a horrid buildup of wax like this? I'm 22, guess this is something I had previously been oblivious to...I never noticed any hearing problems but should I have them checked out?

 

[50sQuiff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenFountain is there some kind of daily or weekly regime one can do to prevent such a horrid buildup of wax like this? I'm 22, guess this is something I had previously been oblivious to...I never noticed any hearing problems but should I have them checked out?

You should. I'm 24, and 24 years of wax was not pretty I tell you. Now my hearing has readjusted to something approaching normal, I'm enjoying my music so much more and perceiving textures that I missing out on.

I believe wax is something that is almost unavoidable and that most people are affected by build-up to some extent. However most people think nothing of it until the situation causes infection or hearing loss, so never address it. But as audio enthusiasts, it's in our interests to get cleaned out every couple of years or so. I'm glad I finally got round to getting it done.

 

[afobisme]

sometimes when i clean out my ears, i get a nice chunk..

you guys have got me wondering how much i have built up there now..