Blocked ears

[tyreon]

Excuse me whilst a fall apart...it happens with age.

6 years ago,blocked ears. Having tried trusted and recommended ear cleaning recommendations,the doctors. Nurse at surgery,ear cleaning syringe at ready: We don't really do this anymore,seen as a 'little unsafe'. Now blocked ears are cleared at hospital,done with instruments and wotnot. This cleaning is not to be recommended.

Fast forward to today: no forwarding letter to hospital for 'better safer advanced procedure',standard ear cleaning...the syringe?

Limited hearing could be easily dismissed. Now with severely reduced hearing(in part brought about by doctor advising me to continue using ear drops to expand/loosen the wax)I can see how my road safety has been compromised: unnerving!

[simonineaston]

My surgery's not interested in helping me with ear wax either, so I've thought about other means... not screwed up the courage to try ear-candling yet - ear's not that blocked! but folk tell me it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHOX1R5b770

[Paulatic]

I now go most years to my doctors surgery to get my ears cleaned. The nurse has a machine sounds like a pneumatic drill in your ears. I treat them with olive oil for a couple of weeks before going.

Prior to this I used to sit in the bath with a washing up liquid bottle filled with soapy water and squirt it in my ears. Probably not recommended in medical science but it did the job for years.

[axel_knutt]

I used to have a growth in my ear that trapped wax (think of a dam in a river valley). Before I had it removed the hospital used to clear out the gunge with a little vacuum cleaner, it just sounded like the sort of sucking/slurping noise you'd expect.

[Psamathe]

I've found my local GP nurse much less prepared to syringe out wax these days. I had it done several yeas ago. Last year I had further problems and all they would do was recommend olive oil. They no longer said to come back in a couple of weeks after softening the wax (as they used to) or even to come back if olive oil didn't resolve the issue; impression being they no longer syringed. They didn't even like it when I said I'd already got some stuff from the pharmacy - they said olive oil was better.

Ian

[timdownieuk]

Ear wax curette. Obviously not for the ham-fisted but very easy to do with with a wee bit of care. You'll probably have to copy and paste the link below to follow it. Can't seem to fix it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CANDURE®-MEDICAL-CLEANER-STAINLESS-PRODUCT/dp/B00DX4NZTI/ref=pd_sim_121_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=17BT6ZE105A54RAJPMXB

[maff1977]

I used to a hairdryer held close to my ear with my head tilted to one side. The melted wax seem to flow out easily and had no more problems with fluid retention. What a relief.

[ambodach]

No problem getting syringed at my local surgery. Was given some proprietary stuff for a week before hand but apparently Almond Oil is recommended also.

[TrekMad]

I'm.definitely going to give the hairdryer a crack!

[tyreon]

You cannot be SERIOUS!

That gets hot. Very hot. And if heat melts wax,or lessens the chances of wax solidifying...why do they have professional wax cleaners on Indian streets(see You Tube)

My ears? Still blocked. Going to the nurse 10 days time. Fed up+++

[Heltor Chasca]

My surgery's not interested in helping me with ear wax either, so I've thought about other means... not screwed up the courage to try ear-candling yet - ear's not that blocked! but folk tell me it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHOX1R5b770

+1 for this method. A girlfriend introduced me to it years ago and it is a pleasant experience. If anything I was amazed the first couple of times too.

[simonineaston]

I don't know which is more risky - the heat from the hairdryer or the "street cleaners" of Delhi, wielding their picks, scrapers and pins... neither for me, thanks!

[Psamathe]

... not screwed up the courage to try ear-candling yet - ear's not that blocked! but folk tell me it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHOX1R5b770

Thing on TV about the ear candling the other day. Apparently it does not work. People are amazed at the wax that appears when you unroll the candle after the ear treatment - but they said that all the gunge that appears is from the candle not from your ears. I've never tried it so can only repeat what the item I saw said . I did consider it several years ago and researched it a bit and decided not to because my then conclusion was it was a waste of time.

Ian

[axel_knutt]

If anyone's problem is that bad, ask the GP for a referral to the ENT clinic where they can clean it out properly with their vacuum cleaner.

[tyreon]

With something like a vacuum cleaner,axelnutt. Tell me about it.

Ears 'syringed' today. Right ear,fine. Left ear,still recovering from the 'water hydrant'. The experience was somewhat odd. From my own limited experience in bicycle repair(hold back the laughter),you have to think things thru a bit rather than go ahead and make a cock-up.

The idea behind the machinery is to unblock the ear,right? Ear plugged with wax,right? So I squirt water onto it...hey,doesn't that just put pressure on the wax to cement it further? Fine,if there's a little gap that the water can get thru,swirl about,then by outer pressure push-up and out the wax. If not???

Is this why,some years back,the docs nurse was suggesting better/safer ear cleaning is done by implements/tweezers or whateverand she(softly softly),suggested the alternative procedure.

Just wonderin.

My left ear now feels like I've been to Led Zepplin gig,up stage where the amps are