The ongoing Saga of Anna's Ears

[trouble]

It's apparently wax buildup. So much wax buildup they can't see my ear drums. Ew.

Also, I have very very good hearing even with wax buildup, but that's why I can't hear my alarm clock in the mornings. All the wax shifts or something, I don't know. Wax.

I guess this means I can stop snorting steroids into my brain, yes?

Comments

Alas, earwax.

[vass]

Have you ever had your ears syringed? It's fascinating. I had it done once, when eardrops failed to help, and what came out were these two little reddish-brown things that looked exactly like earplugs.

If you're curious, Mythbusters did a segment on whether earwax can be used to make candles. Turns out it can't.

Re: Alas, earwax.

[trouble]

I've been there when Don's gotten his ears cleaned out, but he had an extra hole in his head so it's wasn't really the same thing.

Re: Alas, earwax.

[jesse_the_k]

part of me really wants to ask the next question.

but mostly.


nope.

[yarram]

What? You mean to tell me nobody actually looked in your ear canal before prescribing drugs? That kind of wax buildup is usually pretty obvious...

[trouble]

He looked in my ears, but gave me snorty stuff and referred me to the ear people.

[umadoshi]

That's kind of impressive. Will they be able to do something about it SOON, now?

I used to work with someone back when I was temping who wanted to get into ear "candling", which sounds very weird indeed, but she claimed it worked well.

[trouble]

Ouyang Dan mentioned it when I was first having problems but the doctor didn't lead me to believe it was a wax thing.

[umadoshi]

Your doctor appears less than ideal in this regard. -_-

[trouble]

We've had some... experiences. Apparently I need to be tested for diabetes, even though I have no symptoms of diabetes. But I'm faaaaaaat.

[umadoshi]

I wish I could make copies of my doctor. :/

[meloukhia]

Well...now that they know it's wax...are they going to clean it out?!

[trouble]

Don's seeing the doctor today and will ask if he'll do if or if I need a referral.

[marina]

DDD: At least now they what it is? *hugs*

[wrdnrd]

Sympathies. I have "unusually high wax buildup" myself and it's a nuisance. I've found the over-the-counter kits to work pretty well -- you get a bulbous syringe you fill with water to flush out the wax, and also drops to help loosen the wax a bit. (When it gets *really* bad i use the drops. Otherwise, i find the water-filled syringe to be perfectly sufficiently for monthly maintenance.) Doctor's office can give you a nice thorough clean-out, but if they try to come at you with a curette see if you can hold out for a water rinse, because no matter how hard they try to avoid it the curette always seems to bump the eardrum and then you go down like a ton of bricks and wind up flat on your back for 20 minutes waiting for the world to stop spinning.

I hope this clears up soon!

[synecdochic]

This! I get this too, and after a few times at the doctor's, I do it at home now. If it's really bad and you've gotten water behind the wax plug there can be infection and swelling, in which case five days of antibiotic drops first helps a bunch, but after that you just can get the OTC drops and syringe and do it yourself. Just be careful to use warm water and not hot, or else you'll get the massive dizzies.

Hurrah for an easy explanation!

[laughingrat]

Good gravy, that's a lot of wax.

[sasha_feather]

I get wax buildup all the time, and get my ears cleaned regularly. The ENT office does a nice job. Last time the woman there told me that jaw problems can contribute to this problem, so now I'm going to try a bite splint from the dentist to wear while I'm asleep.

[staticnonsense]

And suddenly, my hearing problems a la wax build up makes sense. I've been wondering about that for ages.

[fairestcat]

I actually had an issue with this very thing last spring. It was actually painful enough that I was worried I had an ear infection. They initially gave me over the counter ear drops, but there was so much build-up it really didn't cut it, and I had to go back into the clinic to get them to flush it out, which was kind of gross, but immediately effective.

[willow]

I state right now I'm being all WRONG in thinking of you as Jim Ellison from 'The Sentinel' because of the WAX and wondering if, when it's all cleared out, you'll suddenly have super powered hearing :p

[ironed_orchid]

hope this is the first step on the path to full recovery.

[donnalotus]

Hi there - I'm a new reader and found you throught ysabetwordsmith :)

This post caught my attention and I wanted to see if you've ever tried ear candling? It's natural and really great for wax build-up. For massive build-up like you're describing you'd probably need 4-5 sessions, but it's worth it! Hope you can get some relief soon :)

You might want to read this article on Ear Candling, it explains a lot about it. I recommend the Hopi Candles.
http://www.purecalma.com/ear_candling.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling

[vass]

Since a lot of people have recommended ear candling, I just want to caution you that it's useless, potentially dangerous, and banned in Canada. The Wikipedia article gives the details.