This always happens! Either it’s fluid, or a build-up of wax, but I can constantly hear and feel fluid swishing around in my ear canal. Every time I move my head the slightest, it feels like a goddamned tidal wave in there! It’s almost ALWAYS my right one. The last two days, I woke up with my ear blocked, and could hardly even HEAR. What the fucking HELL?
Midol helps a bit, but it still doesn’t all go away. I’d use a Q-tip, but that doesn’t help too much, and I know you’re not suppose to stick anything bigger than your elbow in your ears. Am I getting too much salt or what? Perhaps I need to go and get my ears flushed out.*
*TMI: years ago, I tried that Debrox stuff that’s supposed to help dissolve excess wax in your ears. But the wax was so dense, it just made it worse-there was a big stickly glob on top, fluid, and a HUGE wax rock. Hurt like hell.
:mad:
I am not a Doctor. I have waxy ears. I’ve been to the doctor a couple of times to get my ears cleaned.
Used as directed, Debrox will typically make my situation worse. The wax softens, then falls deeper into the ear canal.
I now own a magnum-sized syringe (without any needle!), that I use to gently shoot warm (not hot!) water into my ear following treatment with Debrox. Sometimes this self-administration doesn’t work. (Use fresh Debrox btw.)
One option might be to take a trusted friend or family member to the Doctor with you, have your ear evaluated, then take careful note of how the physician cleans out your ear (if that is what he or she decides to do). Then, somehow acquire the necessary tools. It may or may not help to have your friend help you with the process.
Cecil has noted that a number of people get their eardrums perforated each year, during the earwax removal process. So be careful, and note that I’m not recommending anything. I’m certainly not giving any sort of diagnosis.
I’ll toss my useless ears into the pit while we’re about it. I’m forever in debt to my mother for my elfish looks and decent head of hair, but will never forgive her for my nanotube-style ear canals…
Back on topic: they used to only get this way during my period-now it’s all the time. And then it was only the fluid, not the wax. The worst was when I mentioned-this dense wax rock blocking my ear canal and it fucking HURT, dammit.
As soon as Julie posts the schedule for next week, I’m making an appointment.
I get that - bad enough that I always had to sleep on my right side so I didn’t have the fluid against my eardrum or somesuch.
My doctor said the best thing was to make sure my sinuses were cleared out to avoid pressure. Didn’t think it would make a difference, but it did! Prescription nasal spray - budeflam, IIRC.
My ears always feel like there’s something in them and I’m constantly poking at them with q-tips and pens, but every time I mention this to my doctor he checks and there’s no sign of excessive earwax. I don’t have any pain, just an itchy feeling.
Sometimes when I fly I have trouble with my ears popping. Once after we landed I could hardly hear for the next day, which made for an interesting time in Las Vegas.
I finally saw an ENT about my ear fluid issues. She thinks it’s actually allergies and gave me a nose spray for when I feel it’s going to come on - haven’t been on it long enough to see how well it works. But the point is, people can fix stuff like this.
I never could pop my ears on an airplane either, but she gave me airplane instructions using spray and Sudafed - haven’t tried it yet, but looking forward to it.
I fully support the pitting of your ears as long as I can pit mine as well.
I get so many ear infections that I barely even notice them except when they hurt (they don’t anymore most of the time). According to my ENT, my ears are oddly shaped and narrow, so all I can do is try to keep water out of them. Thanks tons for the crappy genes, Mom and Dad. :mad:
This isn’t really something you discuss with other people very much, so it wasn’t until my earwax problems got so extreme that I complained about it to my mom that I found out that SHE has waxy ears, too. Stupid genetics!
A couple of times now, I’ve had waxy buildup so extreme that it felt like my ear was under water. Really distracting. Both times I ended up going to the doctor multiple times to get the wax out…and both times an unfuckingbelievable amount of wax came out. And it was like, BLACK. Totally gross.
I had the same problem for years and was plagued with many ear infections as a child.
I went to my regular doctor about five years ago because I had a ringing in my ears that had lasted several months. He said it looked as though I might have an ear infection. Gave me some anitbotics and told me to come back in a week or so. I took the meds and no change so I just skipped going back to him and went to an ENT.
His diagnosis was I had fluid built up in my ears and I had a Myringotomy, tubes in the ears, to slowly drain the fluid. Not only did my hearing test improve but the clogged feeling was gone.
I also had the same problem with flying. My ears did not pop and had me feeling like I was underwater for days. After the Myringotomy this also changed. I could fly and I had no problems after the flight. No clogging at all. It was like a miracle. The difference was amazing.
I think the only thing I was not allowed to do was go swimming and to avoid getting water in my ears.
I am sure the procedure should have been done when I was a child but for some reason my family doctor never recommended I go to an ENT.
Now if they could just find a cure or procedure to stop the Tinnitus.
I never had any trouble with ear infections, although I do occasionally have ringing in my ears. It never lasts long; I did have my hearing checked earlier this year since I had noticed that I seemed to have to turn the volume on the TV and sometimes missed what people were saying, but the tests didn’t show anything.
I do have an appointment with an ENT next month (a follow-up to a swallowing problem I had a few months ago, which seems to have cleared up) and I intend to have him take a look at my ears.
I will have mrAru regularly peroxide my ears, which takes care of the wax before it gets a chance to build up … and it took YEARS for me to find out that the itch in my ears [it feels like it is halfway between my throat and outer ear, making me think for years it was an inner ear issue] turned out to be tonsiliths, of all damned things.
I had an itchy ear issue on the left side, and someone mentioned they never saw a tonsilith before - normally I dont get one more than once or twice a year, and usually in conjunction with a sore throat but I figured what the heck, Ill look inside and see if I can spot one of the craters they normally developed in, and I noticed a brand new spot hiding part of the way around the edge of my left tonsil in a spot I never saw before, so I showed them what it ooked like in place, then I used a drinking straw to wiggle it out and showed them one a bit closer. About 15 minutes after I popped it out, the itching stopped. The next time I had an ear itch, I looked and I saw another tonsilith, popped it out and no itch… so in me [YMMV] itchy inner ear is tonsiliths.
Now if I could just manage to justify getting the damned tonsils yanked out and never put up with them again I woud be thrilled.
I’ve had my ears flushed out twice. The first time was the one I described-the Debrox made things worse. The second time, it wasn’t as bad, but it still hurt.
It’s just what it sounds like-the doctor shoots water into your ear with a syringe, while you hold a little basin under said ear. Afterwards, your ears feel really weird, but much much better.
If anyone has it done, however, I would advise wearing old clothes, or even a raincoat. You get soaked.
(Hurts like hell when the big wax glob pops out, though)
