Blocked ears

ANTONISH
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Blocked ears

Post by ANTONISH »

Every few years I get a build up of wax which is dealt with by the surgery nurse.
A few days ago I went deaf in one ear.
Due to the current circumstances I'm trying to deal with it myself. I've tried OTEX which is basically oil with some hydrogen peroxide.
Hasn't worked. This morning the other ear joined in so I've got much reduced hearing.
I've looked on line for a solution and there are a number of dubious looking gadgets which all purport to work - I don't have a clue.
Does anyone on here have a method that works ?
Halla
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Halla »

Hello Antonish.

It is often recommended to use a few drops olive oil several times a day for a couple of weeks, doing it myself at the moment. Too much is messy!!!

The volume on the radio had to be increased, then I was moaned at for it being too loud.

As the doctor said " Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear" :lol:
ANTONISH
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by ANTONISH »

Halla wrote:Hello Antonish.

It is often recommended to use a few drops olive oil several times a day for a couple of weeks, doing it myself at the moment. Too much is messy!!!

The volume on the radio had to be increased, then I was moaned at for it being too loud.

As the doctor said " Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear" :lol:


Yes I've tried the olive oil - doesn't work for me.
Last nurse to do it commented " you have really tiny ear holes " - she meant the actual holes - probably a contributing factor of my problem.
I'll take the advice about the elbow.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I had my ears rinsed out with warm water, that seems effective
'I have never seen so much wax in an earole!', gasped the nurse

Sometimes it clears without treatment
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rjb
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by rjb »

Only posh people use olive oil :lol:
The rest of us use whatever cooking oil is available. ( dont do this from your deep fat fryer after cooking :lol: )
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Paulatic
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Paulatic »

I bought one of those rubber bulb syringes a few years ago and never been back to the nurse. Just fill the basin with body temp water , tilt the head and squirt. Used it 3 or 4 times and always amazed as to what comes out.
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foxyrider
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by foxyrider »

My doctor suggested bicarbonate ear drops when i had the issue last year, took a couple of weeks but sorted.

I've got it in one ear now, ordinary drops aren't doing much and my local pharmacies are opening some odd times so not managed to get the Bicarb drops yet, annoying as i can feel there's something there : ?
Convention? what's that then?
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ANTONISH
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by ANTONISH »

foxyrider wrote:My doctor suggested bicarbonate ear drops when i had the issue last year, took a couple of weeks but sorted.

I've got it in one ear now, ordinary drops aren't doing much and my local pharmacies are opening some odd times so not managed to get the Bicarb drops yet, annoying as i can feel there's something there : ?


I've tried the Bi-carbonate drops - IMO less effective than the Hydrogen peroxide which have helped in the past - my doctor recommended those.
Years ago I had some with camphor oil which practice nurse advised me not to use.
All in all probably a good way to sell olive oil in small quantities at a high price.
I find that a couple of thousand metre climb can help - particularly noticeable on the descent - local climbs in Kent aren't going to do anything. :(
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Cyril Haearn »

One should be very careful, not use force
There are some delicate parts, membranes inside the ear
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Smudgerii
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Smudgerii »

Eh? What? Pardon?
ANTONISH
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by ANTONISH »

Paulatic wrote:I bought one of those rubber bulb syringes a few years ago and never been back to the nurse. Just fill the basin with body temp water , tilt the head and squirt. Used it 3 or 4 times and always amazed as to what comes out.


I saw one advertised on e-bay - it looks one of the more sane devices.
ambodach
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by ambodach »

I would be a bit nervous about using any diy syringe type thing as there is too much potential for damage. If we ever get out of this restricted scenario I will ask the hearing technician who gives me the once over every 6 months. Before any dewaxing by the practice nurse I use Almond Oil for at least a week to soften the wax.
ANTONISH
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by ANTONISH »

Thanks for all the replies.
My son suggested dripping in warm olive oil as I lay on my side and staying there for 10mins.
There was some improvement but today I had a discharge of softened wax which has improved things no end.
Ugly
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by Ugly »

After a strict mother and two wives it is no wonder my hearing is impaired!
atoz
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Re: Blocked ears

Post by atoz »

You need the kits like Otex do that include a rubber bulb which you should use with warm water once you've softened the hardened wax. These are now recommend ed by the NHS who now don't recommend syringing except as a last resort. If the wax is still a problem you need to visit your GP just to be sure there's no infection- in my case there was which needed a prescription. I also needed additional olive oil because of the sheer amount of hardened wax after a bad cold- Thornton and Ross do a special one called Samaritan you can get if you look around, much cheaper by volume than the tiny little bottles you get in the kits. NB I am not medically qualified so always get advice from people who are eg GP, pharmacist, practice nurse etc.
Last edited by atoz on 7 May 2020, 8:31pm, edited 1 time in total.
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