6 ms·

I get it when my right ear has way too much earwax. J lose some hearing and the ringing wont stop. Just a bit annoying so Im usually wearing headphones with nic

I get it when my right ear has way too much earwax. J lose some hearing and the ringing wont stop. Just a bit annoying so Im usually wearing headphones with nice soothing music until I can get that wax out.

furyofantares 6y ago
Are you using cotton swaps in your ears? What might be happening is that you shove wax in, clogging your ears and giving you tinnitus. That used to happen to me - the ear wax wasn't the problem, trying to clean it was.
- modeless 6y ago
  To clean your ears yourself you need something like this: https://www.japantrendshop.com/coden-ear-scope-13000-standard-p-2756.html https://www.japantrendshop.com/coden-ear-scope-13000-standar... I thought it was ridiculous when I first saw it but I took a chance on it and it is actually a great product. You can clearly see everything and clean without damaging your ear. If you've ever had to go to the doctor to clear a blocked ear, you need one of these. With occasional use (~once/month) your ears will never be blocked again.
  - dmoy 6y ago
    Oh wow that is amazing I also get mild tinnitus for the last 6 or so years due to earwax (once it got completely blocked and I had to go to the doctor to have them irrigate it back out). I don't use cotton or any scraping right now, but I do use the same stuff the doctor used to irrigate it every once in awhile, to middling effect. Maybe I'll try out that ear scope thing.
    - jakear 6y ago
      I've had great success with the ~$20 ear pump devices available at your local drug store. They look like a normal squirt bottle with a tube tip, you fill it up with warm water and just keep squeezing. I'm not sure what the scope would do for me... I can hear the ear is clogged, I don't need a visual confirmation.
      - dmoy 6y ago
        Yea that's pretty similar to what I'm currently using.
      - modeless 6y ago
        I find that process uncomfortably loud, and I worry about damaging my ear with too much pressure. I also find it difficult to tell if it's working or if it's finished, especially if the ear is not plugged all the way yet, which I want to avoid. The endoscope is faster, easier, more comfortable, and makes it possible to clean when the ear is not actually plugged and verify that it worked.
      - Fezzik 6y ago
        I have been using these at least twice a month since high-school (20+ years) after having multiple dramatic ear infections that rendered me temporally unable to hear due to clogging. I was just at the ENT doc last week and he confirmed that my ears 1) look and function great and 2) there is no damage, at all, from using these mini turkey baster like devices when they are used correctly. I highly recommend them, but your own experience may differ and you should probably check with an ENT doc just to be sure.
    - vram22 6y ago
      In India a common practice is to go to a doctor (G.P.) who uses a foot-long syringe to irrigate your ears with warm water. It is supposed to soften the wax which then either comes out by itself when you tilt your head (lying down) after the syringing, or can be removed easily by earbud etc.
      - sumedh 6y ago
        > In India a common practice is to go to a doctor The vast majority of poor and lower middle class Indians dont go to a doctor, they just go to an ear cleaner who sit on the streets and will do the job for you in 5 to 10 minutes for a dollar or two.
  - Baeocystin 6y ago
    Man, I wish I had that a month ago- had a random hair from a haircut rubbing against my eardrum, and could. not. get. it. out. Thankfully have a physician friend who was able to scope my ear and remove the offender in about a minute, but it sure would have been nice to have been able to do so at home. Thanks for posting this.
    - modeless 6y ago
      Yes, I have used it for this exact purpose as well.
  - galaxyLogic 6y ago
    I immerse my head and ears in hot bath-tub. When I get out I put my little finger into the wet ear and then fast pull it out which creates some suction in the ear which sucks the water out and I think also some vax.
    - ldarby 6y ago
      That's risking rupturing your ear drum.
      - devenblake 6y ago
        Thank you very much for commenting this because I do the same thing and probably wouldn't have found out.
      - galaxyLogic 6y ago
        Well I think I do it gently enough. Have there been any reported cases of pulling your finger out of your ear breaking the eardrum?
        ldarby 6y ago
        I can't find it now but I read a story, in I think in https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu, about a man and woman having sexy fun times. The woman's thighs were wrapped around the guy's head, she orgasmed, her legs spamsed, and because of the sweat her thighs formed a vacuum seal on both his ears and ruptured one or both of them. There are plenty of other stories about ruptured ear drums though: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/search?q=eardrum&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/search?q=eardrum&restrict_sr=o....
        galaxyLogic 6y ago
        Amazing and terrible story
    - coupdejarnac 6y ago
  - maroonblazer 6y ago
    Drops seem safer to me. I've had good success with Debrox, but there are a variety of brands. https://www.debrox.com/products/debrox-earwax-removal-kit https://www.debrox.com/products/debrox-earwax-removal-kit
    - modeless 6y ago
      The drops have not been shown to be any more effective than plain water. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012171.pub2/full https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD... I dislike flushing my ear with a syringe or squeeze bulb as it is uncomfortably loud and it seems possible to damage the eardrum with overpressure. It is also difficult to tell if it is working or how long you should continue doing it to ensure a clean ear, especially if the ear is not completely blocked. The endoscope is faster, easier, more comfortable, and lets you see exactly how clean your ear is so there's no guesswork.
      - maroonblazer 6y ago
        I'd not seen that Cochrane study, that's interesting, thanks for sharing. Sticking something pointy in your ear seems to carry its own risks. How do you ensure you don't puncture your eardrum?
        modeless 6y ago
        Same way you don't cut yourself when using a knife, by watching and being careful. The endoscope makes it possible to see.
    - beaugunderson 6y ago
      I've sworn off Debrox after damaging my ear recently. The instructions say to leave it in for "several minutes"; I waited ~10. My hearing was impacted for several days afterward. In the one ear I got high-pitched feedback when watching TV, it sounded like someone was running sound through a guitar distortion pedal. It went back to normal after ~5 days but I was very scared that it would be a permanent effect.
  - asiachick 6y ago
    The reviews are pretty mixed https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A4%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97-13000%E7%94%BB%E7%B4%A0-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AE%E3%81%98-%E3%83%81%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E3%82%88%E3%81%8F%E5%8F%96%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E8%80%B3%E6%8E%BB%E3%81%8D-%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B4%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89/dp/B0053NHR8M/ https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A4%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B... But more interesting all the recommendations listed on Amazon. Tons of them, many 1/2 the price of the one above, but use your phone as the display
    - modeless 6y ago
      I find Amazon reviews fairly useless these days. Most good ratings are just because of fake or paid reviewers or other scams like switching the product while keeping the reviews, combining two products in one listing, and probably others I don't know about. Amazon seems powerless to fix it, or maybe they just don't think they need to care. I haven't tried any of the phone based endoscopes but I expect the latency and reliability to be bad. When I'm controlling something that's deep in my ear canal I don't want latency or dropped frames.
      - CryptoPunk 6y ago
        How would a camera to smartphone connector add appreciable latency?
        modeless 6y ago
        I don't know, but I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the people who manage to add latency to pretty much all modern hardware and software.
  - timbo1642 6y ago
    Its absolutely ridiculous and stupid to spend that much money. You can get a spray bottle with a special tip from amazon and the whole kit is about $20 and will do just as good of a job and clean your ear perfectly. I have one of the amazon cleaning kits and its great. Doctor told me to get it when my hearing was muffled in one ear

furyofantares 6y ago

Are you using cotton swaps in your ears? What might be happening is that you shove wax in, clogging your ears and giving you tinnitus. That used to happen to me - the ear wax wasn't the problem, trying to clean it was.

modeless 6y ago
To clean your ears yourself you need something like this: https://www.japantrendshop.com/coden-ear-scope-13000-standard-p-2756.html https://www.japantrendshop.com/coden-ear-scope-13000-standar... I thought it was ridiculous when I first saw it but I took a chance on it and it is actually a great product. You can clearly see everything and clean without damaging your ear. If you've ever had to go to the doctor to clear a blocked ear, you need one of these. With occasional use (~once/month) your ears will never be blocked again.
- dmoy 6y ago
  Oh wow that is amazing I also get mild tinnitus for the last 6 or so years due to earwax (once it got completely blocked and I had to go to the doctor to have them irrigate it back out). I don't use cotton or any scraping right now, but I do use the same stuff the doctor used to irrigate it every once in awhile, to middling effect. Maybe I'll try out that ear scope thing.
  - jakear 6y ago
    I've had great success with the ~$20 ear pump devices available at your local drug store. They look like a normal squirt bottle with a tube tip, you fill it up with warm water and just keep squeezing. I'm not sure what the scope would do for me... I can hear the ear is clogged, I don't need a visual confirmation.
    - dmoy 6y ago
      Yea that's pretty similar to what I'm currently using.
    - modeless 6y ago
      I find that process uncomfortably loud, and I worry about damaging my ear with too much pressure. I also find it difficult to tell if it's working or if it's finished, especially if the ear is not plugged all the way yet, which I want to avoid. The endoscope is faster, easier, more comfortable, and makes it possible to clean when the ear is not actually plugged and verify that it worked.
    - Fezzik 6y ago
      I have been using these at least twice a month since high-school (20+ years) after having multiple dramatic ear infections that rendered me temporally unable to hear due to clogging. I was just at the ENT doc last week and he confirmed that my ears 1) look and function great and 2) there is no damage, at all, from using these mini turkey baster like devices when they are used correctly. I highly recommend them, but your own experience may differ and you should probably check with an ENT doc just to be sure.
  - vram22 6y ago
    In India a common practice is to go to a doctor (G.P.) who uses a foot-long syringe to irrigate your ears with warm water. It is supposed to soften the wax which then either comes out by itself when you tilt your head (lying down) after the syringing, or can be removed easily by earbud etc.
    - sumedh 6y ago
      > In India a common practice is to go to a doctor The vast majority of poor and lower middle class Indians dont go to a doctor, they just go to an ear cleaner who sit on the streets and will do the job for you in 5 to 10 minutes for a dollar or two.
- Baeocystin 6y ago
  Man, I wish I had that a month ago- had a random hair from a haircut rubbing against my eardrum, and could. not. get. it. out. Thankfully have a physician friend who was able to scope my ear and remove the offender in about a minute, but it sure would have been nice to have been able to do so at home. Thanks for posting this.
  - modeless 6y ago
    Yes, I have used it for this exact purpose as well.
- galaxyLogic 6y ago
  I immerse my head and ears in hot bath-tub. When I get out I put my little finger into the wet ear and then fast pull it out which creates some suction in the ear which sucks the water out and I think also some vax.
  - ldarby 6y ago
    That's risking rupturing your ear drum.
    - devenblake 6y ago
      Thank you very much for commenting this because I do the same thing and probably wouldn't have found out.
    - galaxyLogic 6y ago
      Well I think I do it gently enough. Have there been any reported cases of pulling your finger out of your ear breaking the eardrum?
      - ldarby 6y ago
        I can't find it now but I read a story, in I think in https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu, about a man and woman having sexy fun times. The woman's thighs were wrapped around the guy's head, she orgasmed, her legs spamsed, and because of the sweat her thighs formed a vacuum seal on both his ears and ruptured one or both of them. There are plenty of other stories about ruptured ear drums though: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/search?q=eardrum&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/search?q=eardrum&restrict_sr=o....
        galaxyLogic 6y ago
        Amazing and terrible story
  - coupdejarnac 6y ago
- maroonblazer 6y ago
  Drops seem safer to me. I've had good success with Debrox, but there are a variety of brands. https://www.debrox.com/products/debrox-earwax-removal-kit https://www.debrox.com/products/debrox-earwax-removal-kit
  - modeless 6y ago
    The drops have not been shown to be any more effective than plain water. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012171.pub2/full https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD... I dislike flushing my ear with a syringe or squeeze bulb as it is uncomfortably loud and it seems possible to damage the eardrum with overpressure. It is also difficult to tell if it is working or how long you should continue doing it to ensure a clean ear, especially if the ear is not completely blocked. The endoscope is faster, easier, more comfortable, and lets you see exactly how clean your ear is so there's no guesswork.
    - maroonblazer 6y ago
      I'd not seen that Cochrane study, that's interesting, thanks for sharing. Sticking something pointy in your ear seems to carry its own risks. How do you ensure you don't puncture your eardrum?
      - modeless 6y ago
        Same way you don't cut yourself when using a knife, by watching and being careful. The endoscope makes it possible to see.
  - beaugunderson 6y ago
    I've sworn off Debrox after damaging my ear recently. The instructions say to leave it in for "several minutes"; I waited ~10. My hearing was impacted for several days afterward. In the one ear I got high-pitched feedback when watching TV, it sounded like someone was running sound through a guitar distortion pedal. It went back to normal after ~5 days but I was very scared that it would be a permanent effect.
- asiachick 6y ago
  The reviews are pretty mixed https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A4%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97-13000%E7%94%BB%E7%B4%A0-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AE%E3%81%98-%E3%83%81%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E3%82%88%E3%81%8F%E5%8F%96%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E8%80%B3%E6%8E%BB%E3%81%8D-%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B4%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89/dp/B0053NHR8M/ https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A4%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B... But more interesting all the recommendations listed on Amazon. Tons of them, many 1/2 the price of the one above, but use your phone as the display
  - modeless 6y ago
    I find Amazon reviews fairly useless these days. Most good ratings are just because of fake or paid reviewers or other scams like switching the product while keeping the reviews, combining two products in one listing, and probably others I don't know about. Amazon seems powerless to fix it, or maybe they just don't think they need to care. I haven't tried any of the phone based endoscopes but I expect the latency and reliability to be bad. When I'm controlling something that's deep in my ear canal I don't want latency or dropped frames.
    - CryptoPunk 6y ago
      How would a camera to smartphone connector add appreciable latency?
      - modeless 6y ago
        I don't know, but I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the people who manage to add latency to pretty much all modern hardware and software.
- timbo1642 6y ago
  Its absolutely ridiculous and stupid to spend that much money. You can get a spray bottle with a special tip from amazon and the whole kit is about $20 and will do just as good of a job and clean your ear perfectly. I have one of the amazon cleaning kits and its great. Doctor told me to get it when my hearing was muffled in one ear