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PSA: they sell Ear Wax Removal Kits which contain bottle of diluted peroxide and washer bulb. You put liquid in your ear and wait for it to soften wax for the

by vl 4y ago

PSA: they sell Ear Wax Removal Kits which contain bottle of diluted peroxide and washer bulb. You put liquid in your ear and wait for it to soften wax for the few minutes. Then you turn over so the ear is facing down and use washer bulb with water to wash it out. You can wash out most plugs like this without going to the doctor. Also they sell bluetooth ear cameras on Amazon so you can take a look inside to see if it requires additional cleaning.

throwawaydad12 4y ago
This is what I do. Whether genetics or what, my ears get stopped to the point of deafness once or twice a year. Tried cleaning them out with just water and ended up with an ear infection. It's excruciating. Now: Use Debrox (etc) following directions. Several applications of the liquid over a day or two. But most importantly, flush with bulb with very warm water (as hot as you can stand). Repeat, over and over. Once you start, don't stop, because you won't be able to fully dry your ear canal until you get all of the wax out. Water means infection. Make sure everything is very clean throughout the procedure. Do it over a stopped sink or bowl, so that you can observe what's coming out. After it's done, dry completely. I use the twisted end of a tissue, etc., to sop up most of the water. Then blow warm air into my ear for several minutes. No problems since I learned this approach.
- lstodd 4y ago
  Cheap solution: lots of warmed to ~40C 0.05% Chlorhexidine. Idk, but I bet it's cheaper than that Debrox thing, and almost nil chance of infection.
  - tkzed49 4y ago
    That seems completely different—the active ingredient in debrox is peroxide, which foams up and in theory loosens the earwax (a cerumenolytic). If you want to be cheap use diluted hydrogen peroxide. But there seems to be mixed evidence as to whether it's any better than distilled water.
    - lstodd 4y ago
      Seriously? Hydrogen peroxide? Do you realize that the foaming is it releasing free oxygen? Which basically guarantees burns.
crucialfelix 4y ago
No less than an hour ago I found myself googling "endoscopy wifi password" and laughing. The bluetooth endoscopy / ear camera I have has its own little wifi router inside. The thing looks like a pen flashlight. You stick it in your ear, use your "smartphone" to connect to the wifi and using an app shows the video inside my ear. And I'm wondering what happens if I can't recover the password. Vaguely wondering if there is somebody in China who can see inside my ear now (er... no)
zhengyi13 4y ago
I swam a lot, and got a few ear infections as a kid, at least once resulting in a pretty extensive manual cleaning at an ENT's office. As an adult, I would get my ears similarly stopped up at least once a year, and I found Debrox and what have you infuriating - that stuff would itch abominably as it worked, and make the problem worse for a week at least before the wax came out. I never saw instructions on flushing with water; likely that's my fault. ... but since I became engaged to a Japanese woman, I've had a mimikaki (a Japanese ear pick, often made of bamboo) which I use regularly, and never once have I plugged up since.
- vikingerik 4y ago
  Yes, flushing with water is the important part. Temperature matters too, warm/hot water works better. I swim a lot too and get a blockage at least once or twice a year. I used peroxide on it to varying results, sometimes it would work, sometimes not. Then I read that hot water flushing after the peroxide is the key part, and that works consistently for me now. I do it by getting in the shower and aiming a stream of hot water into the ear for a minute or so.
- fmajid 4y ago
  You can get ones made of titanium. In China, there is also an entire craft of ear cleaning: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181029-in-china-chengdus-peculiar-ear-cleaning-custom https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181029-in-china-chengdu...
modeless 4y ago
Continuing the theme of the article, there is no evidence that peroxide or whatever else they put in those kits works any better than lukewarm water. But peroxide is definitely more dangerous if you have an ear injury. I highly recommend just going with the water. Also, it's definitely possible to rupture your eardrum with a squeeze bulb too. Given how incredibly loud it sounds when you do it, I bet it can damage your hearing even if you don't rupture your eardrum. Furthermore if you're doing it yourself there is no way to know if you've actually cleaned everything out or you need to do it harder, so you just have to go for it until you get tired. I find it exceedingly unpleasant. My approach is to use an endoscope designed for earwax cleaning. Works great and (in the absence of reliable evidence) it seems to me to be the least risky way to do it since I can see exactly what I'm doing and know when I'm done. I highly recommend getting one, preferably the fiber optic kind rather than electronic, for latency and reliability reasons. They make them in Japan.
- angry_octet 4y ago
  According to my ENT the weak peroxide solution is very safe to use, even with grommets. As someone who has suffered barotrauma ear perforation, I find it hard to believe you would persist in using a squeeze bulb at that pressure as the pain is excruciating. When you get a perforated drum it's not a volume problem, sounds are actually muted, the cilia will be fine. If you use plain tap water, make sure it is boiled in a kettle or on the stove first to kill any microbes. Hot tap water is not hot enough to kill microbes.

by vl 4y ago

throwawaydad12 4y ago

This is what I do. Whether genetics or what, my ears get stopped to the point of deafness once or twice a year. Tried cleaning them out with just water and ended up with an ear infection. It's excruciating. Now: Use Debrox (etc) following directions. Several applications of the liquid over a day or two. But most importantly, flush with bulb with very warm water (as hot as you can stand). Repeat, over and over. Once you start, don't stop, because you won't be able to fully dry your ear canal until you get all of the wax out. Water means infection. Make sure everything is very clean throughout the procedure. Do it over a stopped sink or bowl, so that you can observe what's coming out. After it's done, dry completely. I use the twisted end of a tissue, etc., to sop up most of the water. Then blow warm air into my ear for several minutes. No problems since I learned this approach.

lstodd 4y ago
Cheap solution: lots of warmed to ~40C 0.05% Chlorhexidine. Idk, but I bet it's cheaper than that Debrox thing, and almost nil chance of infection.
- tkzed49 4y ago
  That seems completely different—the active ingredient in debrox is peroxide, which foams up and in theory loosens the earwax (a cerumenolytic). If you want to be cheap use diluted hydrogen peroxide. But there seems to be mixed evidence as to whether it's any better than distilled water.
  - lstodd 4y ago
    Seriously? Hydrogen peroxide? Do you realize that the foaming is it releasing free oxygen? Which basically guarantees burns.

crucialfelix 4y ago

No less than an hour ago I found myself googling "endoscopy wifi password" and laughing. The bluetooth endoscopy / ear camera I have has its own little wifi router inside. The thing looks like a pen flashlight. You stick it in your ear, use your "smartphone" to connect to the wifi and using an app shows the video inside my ear. And I'm wondering what happens if I can't recover the password. Vaguely wondering if there is somebody in China who can see inside my ear now (er... no)

zhengyi13 4y ago

I swam a lot, and got a few ear infections as a kid, at least once resulting in a pretty extensive manual cleaning at an ENT's office. As an adult, I would get my ears similarly stopped up at least once a year, and I found Debrox and what have you infuriating - that stuff would itch abominably as it worked, and make the problem worse for a week at least before the wax came out. I never saw instructions on flushing with water; likely that's my fault. ... but since I became engaged to a Japanese woman, I've had a mimikaki (a Japanese ear pick, often made of bamboo) which I use regularly, and never once have I plugged up since.

vikingerik 4y ago
Yes, flushing with water is the important part. Temperature matters too, warm/hot water works better. I swim a lot too and get a blockage at least once or twice a year. I used peroxide on it to varying results, sometimes it would work, sometimes not. Then I read that hot water flushing after the peroxide is the key part, and that works consistently for me now. I do it by getting in the shower and aiming a stream of hot water into the ear for a minute or so.
fmajid 4y ago
You can get ones made of titanium. In China, there is also an entire craft of ear cleaning: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181029-in-china-chengdus-peculiar-ear-cleaning-custom https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181029-in-china-chengdu...

modeless 4y ago

Continuing the theme of the article, there is no evidence that peroxide or whatever else they put in those kits works any better than lukewarm water. But peroxide is definitely more dangerous if you have an ear injury. I highly recommend just going with the water. Also, it's definitely possible to rupture your eardrum with a squeeze bulb too. Given how incredibly loud it sounds when you do it, I bet it can damage your hearing even if you don't rupture your eardrum. Furthermore if you're doing it yourself there is no way to know if you've actually cleaned everything out or you need to do it harder, so you just have to go for it until you get tired. I find it exceedingly unpleasant. My approach is to use an endoscope designed for earwax cleaning. Works great and (in the absence of reliable evidence) it seems to me to be the least risky way to do it since I can see exactly what I'm doing and know when I'm done. I highly recommend getting one, preferably the fiber optic kind rather than electronic, for latency and reliability reasons. They make them in Japan.

angry_octet 4y ago
According to my ENT the weak peroxide solution is very safe to use, even with grommets. As someone who has suffered barotrauma ear perforation, I find it hard to believe you would persist in using a squeeze bulb at that pressure as the pain is excruciating. When you get a perforated drum it's not a volume problem, sounds are actually muted, the cilia will be fine. If you use plain tap water, make sure it is boiled in a kettle or on the stove first to kill any microbes. Hot tap water is not hot enough to kill microbes.