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Waxing lyrical: taking ear wax seriously
- 1MachineElf 5y agoWhen I was very little, the bathroom in my house had a small plastic earwax irrigator in the cupboard below the sink. I did not know what it was, and my parents wouldn't give me an explanation beyond "leave that alone and dont't play with it." One day curiosity got the better of me and I have it a squeeze. Well, it wasn't empty. A while bunch of ants came out. Good thing no one tried to actually use it.
- fogdart 5y agoThat's hilarious and disgusting!
- 1MachineElf 5y agoThanks. I hadn't realized until now how many typos were left in that. At least the message came across.
- DrinkWater 5y agoWarm water from the shower head with not too much pressure works fine. Tilt your head so the water runs out while doing it. Even my doctor said that’s the way to go. Might not work for absolutely everybody but it does for the majority. There is no need for fancy, expensive devices unless you get a kick out of the actual act of removing something physically from your body.
- widforss 5y agoThis had the format of a paper but was a blog post? I thought I was reading an abstract until it was blatantly obvious I didn't.
- tokai 5y agoIt is clearly an opinion or commentary. Scopus calls it a note. The journal marks it as "On reflection". Not everything in journals are research articles.
- SilverRed 5y agoI know it goes against every warning label but I use those cotton tip sticks. Being careful to not stick them too far and I have never had an issue. Is there a better way to be doing this?
- thunderbong 5y agoI don't know why you're being downvoted but in most of asia, using a metal ear pick[0] the norm for clearing the ear. Only in the past 20 years or so that a cotton ear bud has become prevalent. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_pick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_pick
- lisper 5y agoYes: https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Clear-Ear-Removal-Irrigation-Syringe/product-reviews/B00NZC0I98 https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Clear-Ear-Removal-Irrigation-Syri...
- dkdbejwi383 5y agoDoes the syringe do anything special, or is spraying the shower in my ear going to have the same effect?
- samsari 5y agoThe shower pressure is probably too high and risks at least pushing deep wax even deeper, but possibly even causing damage to your ear drum.
- random_kris 5y ago??? I must have totally damaged ears. I always clean them like this
- lisper 5y agoThe syringe does two important things that your shower doesn't: it directs the stream of water into your ear to the right depth so that it actually pushes the wax out instead of further in, and it has a bend in it so you can't insert it deep enough to damage your eardrum.
- aquir 5y agoWhat I've read - and it's not mentioned in the article which is very surprising - is that the ear wax purpose in the ear is that it not let's mushrooms grow in the human ear when it's sleeping on the ground. Also stops insects to crawl in. I've stopped using cotton tips for a while and nothing changed, really.
- foobar33333 5y agoWhen I stopped using cotton tips, my airpods got disgusting after every use.
- aquir 5y agoYeah, makes sense. I don't use those things so it's not an issue for me.
- nindalf 5y agoI had some experience being treated by the NHS for blocked ears. I waited 3 weeks for an appointment. The doctor sees me, tells me it’s blocked and that he can’t do anything about it. I need to use olive oil or some over-the-counter drops. Turns out olive oil is ineffective and the drops bleached my skin, while only causing the wax to become lodged in deeper. I finally paid £100 to get the ears cleaned by micro-suction. I strongly agree with what the article says - no one thinks this is a big deal unless they lose hearing themselves.
- bhrgunatha 5y agoNo matter what I try my ears both get blocked regularly, every 6 - 12 months. The first time, a nurse syringed it after the doctor prescribed drops which contained olive oil. He said it wasn't to fix the problem (although sometimes that alone does dislodge the wax), it was to soften the wax to make the syringing safer and more effective. These days I see a doctor who uses a suction tube and a small metal scoop and whenever he digs out something wothwhile he delights in presenting it to me to see.
- tomduncalf 5y agoI had the same situation - blocked ear, NHS doctor said they don’t usually do anything about it due to the risk of ear damage in the process. The drops did nothing, but I ended up using one of the bulb syringes you can buy to blast it with water and it did the trick perfectly, lots of gross wax came out and I’ve had no issues since (previously they’d reoccur every now and then). Was really weird after I’d done it, everything sounded really “HD” for a while! (I remember I took advantage and went record shopping, lol) This YouTube clip showed me how to use it properly: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI I’m no doctor so please don’t consider this medical advice and do check with yours before trying this!
- RobertKerans 5y agoDoctors IME will always advise not to do it, but also IME it works far better than anything else. I've always had blocked ears, and my grandfather had been an NHS doctor back when this was standard (before the advice not to do it came down), so he was the one who showed me how to do it -- very, very gently and repeatedly, with slightly warm water, don't need to push the point of the bulb/syringe in. And the wax just drops out after a few applications (in big gross lumps if it's bad!). Absolutely not medical advice, but just to confirm that it works extremely well.
- shard 5y agoI wonder if the difference in ear wax consistency is the reason that ear wax pickers are commonly used in Asian cultures but not otherwise?
- gerikson 5y agoThis is my understanding, but I don't remember where I've read it.
- lazypenguin 5y agoYes, an ENT told my wife that those of Asian decent more commonly have “sticky” ear wax.
- jacobolus 5y agoIt is the opposite. People of Northeast Asian descent more often have “dry” earwax, associated with a recessive allele of the ABCC11 gene. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABCC11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABCC11
- everybodyknows 5y agoYes, as mentioned in the post: > Dry wax, which is grey and flaky, is commoner in Asians. Wet wax predominates in Africans and Caucasians, and is brown and sticky.
- aaron695 5y agoUsing modern prevalence of the dry-wax gene as the basis for probability simulations, the authors estimated that the dry form of the gene diverged from the default wet version 2,006 generations back, or about 50,000 years ago (which lines up well timingwise with the out-of-Africa theory); (2) the speed with which the new gene spread through Asia suggests it conferred some evolutionary advantage; and (3) among modern Asian, Native American, and European populations alike, the dry-wax gene is more common the further north you go — supporting the earlier idea that maybe it helped humans thrive in the cold. https://www.straightdope.com/21344485/why-is-asian-earwax-different-from-black-and-white-people-s-earwax https://www.straightdope.com/21344485/why-is-asian-earwax-di...
- lucioperca 5y agoThere are two ear wax types around the world wet and dry where wet is the dominant type.
- Gatsky 5y agoYes, and interestingly there is a single gene mutation which determines which type you have. This is as far as I know the only non-disease phenotype determined by a single DNA base change.
- modeless 5y agoThe thing to do is to get one of these fiber optic endoscopes: https://youtu.be/cl3yX7-f-4U?t=10 https://youtu.be/cl3yX7-f-4U?t=10 Yeah, it looks silly, but it's by far the best solution. I've been using one for years after I had to get wax removed at the doctor once. Never had a problem since. The problem with using Q-Tips is you can't see what you're doing, so you can push the wax farther in and even rupture your eardrum easily. With the endoscope you can see perfectly, and avoid damaging your eardrum while being sure that you got all the wax. The ear drops sold for wax removal in stores don't work any better than plain water [1]. The process of flushing your ear with a syringe or squeeze bulb is unpleasant, loud, and carries a risk of rupturing your eardrum just as Q-Tips do. And you still can't see if you got all the wax out. Endoscopes are the way to go. [1] https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012171.pub2/full https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD...
- midjji 5y agoSometimes they work far worse than water, they can cause a very thin hard film to coat the eardrum which is almost impossible to get rid of, and which can get infected. Finally got a usb ear cam with a scraper to remove it, but it was weeks and it got bad enough they prescribed antibiotic for the ear infection but still refused to just remove wax block. They argued it was too infected so they couldnt see what was infected and what was earwax... idiots, its not like it matters. I scraped away the pus and the wax and the infection healed in a single day. Ever since I remove the earwax block with a cam scraper once a year or so and never had the kinds of ear problems I used to again.
- peterburkimsher 5y agoIs your endoscope one that has its own screen, or one that plugs into a laptop? Hackaday published a blog post about using earwax microscopes for SMD soldering: https://hackaday.com/2019/11/11/review-ear-wax-cleaning-cameras-as-cheap-microscopes-we-take-a-closer-look/ https://hackaday.com/2019/11/11/review-ear-wax-cleaning-came...
- modeless 5y agoNeither. A fiber optic endoscope does not need a camera or a screen. It's purely optical. No electronics, zero latency.
- layoutIfNeeded 5y agoI usually use a straightened paperclip to poke a hole in my eardrum. Then I can simply use a water hose at high pressure to wash everything clean. The hole in the eardrum lets the water flow to your mouth via the Eustachian tube. Works everytime!
- parsimony 5y agoEar wax is genetic - and linked to armpit odor: https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/ear-wax-and-body-odor-its-genetic/ https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/ear-wax-and-body-odor-its-g...
- mlang23 5y agoI had to pay a visit to my doctor roughly every 6 months to get rid of excessive ear wax. To the point where I almost stopped hearing anything on my right ear. After 30 times going to the doc, I actually bought myself this big water-shooting syringe. Its so much easier to just do it at home, and another good reason to not sit in a public waiting room during these times. I figured, if a nurse is allowed to do this, I can likely do it myself. And thats pretty much true. I wonder how many things we will find that actually dont require an expensive trained person in the medical areas. I guess there is a hidden trend to fixing things up yourself after COVID. Wonder how much money the med-bussiness is loosing now that people start to realize they dont need a doctor for every hickup.
- DantesKite 5y agoTell me about it. I used a water irrigation bottle to get rid of my ear wax. Super simple. Melts the wax with slight warmer than room temperature water. You'd be surprised how many medical problems you can solve with the insight of people who have had it on Amazon.
- deviledeggs 5y agoFriendly reminder that the #1 reason for impacted ear wax is people sticking their fingers in there. Ear canal skin grows outwards. If you never stick your finger in your ear, eventually everything will work it's way out. The people spending time and money jamming stuff in their ears are like the women who used to wash out their hoo-ha's in the 50's
- dkdbejwi383 5y agoEarbuds/in-ear monitors are another one, and earplugs for people working in loud environments.
- jnwatson 5y agoI disagree. It is a genetic problem; some people have problems with it and some people don't. Importantly, Asians have different ear wax than those of other races. I was born with small ear canals and have particularly sticky ear wax. My father has it, and so does my daughter. We've all found different solutions.
- IndySun 5y agoAnyone here wear over-ear headphones or in-ear buds everyday?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- euroderf 5y agoThere are some contact lens cleaning solutions that are weak solutions of hydrogen peroxide (2-3%). (For overnight use only obv.) I tried some of this stuff in my ears and it seemed to help.
- pnutjam 5y agoYeah, it fizzes like crazy, but it seems to eat ear wax. Do each ear for a minute or so then take a shower and rinse out your ears with warm water.
- everybodyknows 5y agoTreatment that works for my own "wet wax" i.e. African/Western: 1. Pre-soften wax with warm water vapor, by taking a long hot shower. 2. Apply carbamide peroxide drops, available over-the-counter in US. Lie down with treated ear up, listen for popping sounds, indicating peroxide is reacting with the wax. Adjust angle of head to maximize popping rate. Expect 10-20 minutes for exhaustion of the reaction. 3. Rinse with plastic bulb syringe sold for that purpose. Water slightly above body temp, never warmer. Minimal intrusion of tip of the syringe -- it poses some danger. 4. Blow out excess water with puffs of air, delivered by the same syringe. Prevention: 1. Avoid ear plugs for noise protection; get over-the-ear muffs. 2. Avoid cold-water exposure. Swim with a thermal over-the-ear cap, or break rule 1 and wear thermal plugs.
- vosper 5y agoI've followed these same treatments steps, and it's worked well for me. It has sometimes taken a two or three treatments to fully clear the wax out. The slight warmth from the peroxide reaction was a little disconcerting at first, but it seems like a safe and effective method.
- leakybucket 5y agoWhat finally worked well for me was an "ear loop" tool, a small, cheap plastic tool with a safety guard, that makes extracting the wax quite easy. They cost less than $10 USD, do not rely on uncomfortable squeezing of water or liquid, nor do they just push the wax farther in (unlike a cotton swab). It was a big deal for me to discover these existed, and when I did, I was surprised I hadn't heard of them.
- gumby 5y ago> Some medical conditions carry prestige and others do not This literally affects venture investment in the life sciences. I have heard from VCs “we don’t want to have to tell our LPs that we have XXX in our portfolio.” And “We invest in serious indications: cardio and cancer.” The big institutionals don’t care: their LPs are typically institutions themselves and so just care about the nature of the business. But smaller funds with a bunch of individuals in the LP mix are more squeamish. Plus it’s less exciting to talk about at parties.