Gaming World Forums
General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: Melee Master on September 11, 2008, 03:22:20 am
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So, about 5 days ago, I was routinely cleaning my ears out with a q-tip (I'm aware this is not the best way and often results in bad things, but I know that now) and apparently I had an excessive amount of wax in my ear. So as I was swabbing in my right ear, I suppose I must have pushed some wax and wedged it against my eardrum or something because I lost hearing in my ear. Well not entirely, but a large amount and I am for the moment heavily hearing impaired in my right ear, I can barely hear anything with it.
So this had happened to me back in May or something, and I scheduled an appointment with my doctor (just my physician) to check it out. I happened to talk to my brother who this had happened to when he lived in Italy for a year. The doctor there had told him to put olive oil in his ear and come back in a week and he would flush it. So he did that and it worked and he could hear again. So back in May, I did that. The whole olive oil thing, I went to the doctor, and he flushed my ear and I could hear wonderfully again. It was great and I was happy.
I scheduled a doctor's appointment the other day. So I went in there yesterday. And I hadn't had as much time as in May to use the olive oil as much as I did (3 days vs. 1 day or something). So I went in and he tried to flush my ear and it didn't work. I still couldn't hear. (in fact I think it may have gotten worse) So after further examination he told me that he thought there was fluid behind the eardrum and wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic. So I've been taking this medicine since yesterday (it's only a 5 day thing) and so far I have no improvement whatsoever. I think it may have gotten worse again.
So if this doesn't work, I'm gonna schedule another appointment and see what's going on, but I wanted to see if this has happened to anyone else. I'm interested to know what you've done about it and such. It is not fun at ALL to lose your hearing, let me tell you. I don't trust my physician too much (he's kinda crazy), so if anyone else has something that they did that worked for them, I'd be interested to know. It really bothers me for this to happen, largely because I don't hear too well anyway. I sit in classes now and try to figure out what is going on, heh.
I'm pretty sure this is only temporary. I don't see why it wouldn't be. But if it's not, I'm gonna be sad. Also, I wanna warn you guys, be careful with q tips. Those are dangerous mother fuckers. Anyway, help would be appreciated or similar stories, I know I can't be alone!
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That really sucks, man! I'm sorry and I hope you get better soon. I haven't had a really similar experience, however I do remember Vaginal Barrel losing her hearing for some time! Maybe check that out?
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My sister had her ear flushed as well, too, but she didn't have another problem with it. I'd say try the antibiotics for a few more days, and then get a second opinion on the matter (especially if you think your doctor's crazy).
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Well, I'm not completely deaf, but half deaf due to a bacterial infection in both my ears which has caused them to swell and shoot immense pain throughout my head. I've been taking some eardrops for a few days and depending on my condition tomorrow I will either go to the walk-in clinic and get someone to look at them again, or continue taking the eardrops for 1 or 2 more days. It seems slightly better today, though. At least the pain has stopped so I'm no longer on the floor holding my head and being marinated in complete suffering.
I am slightly concerned over a painful lump that seems to be located right under my ear as well. I can push it around a bit with my fingers, but it hurts. I've never noticed it before so it's quite possible it is simply something that has become swollen as opposed to something that requires immediate attention.
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I've had this happen too... when wax gets compressed against the eardrum, it's basically a natural earplug. Flushing it with a water syringe and hydrogen peroxide has worked for me. But, if your doctor has confirmed that wax isn't the problem, I guess antibiotics could work if it's some kind of infection. Does your eardrum hurt at all?
But... olive oil? Seriously? I've never heard that, and I don't think I'd be too keen on putting that shit in my ear canal. And like you mentioned, q-tips aren't intended to actually be inserted into your ear, and doing so will only compact the wax further or cause an infection.
Catslacks: I get "lumps" sometimes too, usually below/behind the ear or on that bit of skin that extends over the ear canal. They're annoying, but pretty harmless as far as I know. Dunno what causes them though.
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Yeah, those cotton swabs are apparently really bad for your ears. Sometimes the inside of my ear gets itchy and it's terribly hard to resist the urge...
Also, it's not like you can just let the wax build up forever (although in this case you are supposed to rinse out your ear with hydrogen peroxide or something?)
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Yeah, those cotton swabs are apparently really bad for your ears. Sometimes the inside of my ear gets itchy and it's terribly hard to resist the urge...
Also, it's not like you can just let the wax build up forever (although in this case you are supposed to rinse out your ear with hydrogen peroxide or something?)
i've always found q-tips and ears to be a dumb idea. and occasionally caused considerable pain doing so.
I just do what I can with my finger usually.
I've occasionally had a big build-up or a few that limited my hearing. Then went to the doctor to get those removed. This one time I pulled a blob the size of a large wasp out of my ear (I didn't even know about it, it was somewhat unintentional) from my ear at work :| fortunately no one was around to see that fall out and onto the ground
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Q-tips are bad? o_O
Then how am supposed to clean my ears? :S
I always clean my ears with those...
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listen to Radiohead - 2 + 2 = 5
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When I was 12 or 13 I became almost "deaf" for some reason and couldn't hear anything other people said but it went away in a few days on it's own but it was really terrible. I don't know what to do in your case but I hope you get better soon.
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Q-tips are bad? o_O
Then how am supposed to clean my ears? :S
I always clean my ears with those...
Your ears are actually pretty good with keeping themselves clean, although a gentle swab now and then helps too. Cleaning your ears out with flushing or a swab every day is an absolute no-no though. Your ears have a protective layer over the skin inside them which can become infected if you wipe it or wash it away, ie: swimmer's ear.
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I know Sarah/VB lost his hearing for a while but it wasn't due to wax buildup. Either way, if he was around maybe he would tell his story????
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i think his hearing still isn't too flash
i had something like this before, it went away with time. it was quite painful though
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Yeah, I've had this problem before, but I bought some ear-cleaning liquid that seemed to work after a few days. Your problem, if there's an infection or whatever, seems somewhat harder to get rid of, though.
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Q-tips are bad? o_O
Then how am supposed to clean my ears? :S
I always clean my ears with those...
from what i've heard you shouldn't use anything smaller than your little finger when cleaning your ears. the wax is usually there for a reason!
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I once lost partial hearing in my left ear for a week. It was swimming related. I was freaked out though, the whole week was terrible.
The doc gave me some medicine that I put 5 drops in my ear every night and tilted my head for like, 3 mins. Dunno what that medicine was tho, but it worked.
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Man this stuff really scares me and it is definitely something I'm always paranoid about, hope it improves for you man.
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Actually I wasn't paranoid about this but now I am
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yeah great now i think i've got cancer every two seconds and i'm gonna freak out every time i see a q-tip
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one time my dad screamed at my brother right in my left ear
im deaf in that ear. unless u scream in it then i can kinda hear.
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yeah great now i think i've got cancer every two seconds and i'm gonna freak out every time i see a q-tip
seriously guys, i use q-tips pretty regulary, i don't want to lose my hearing guys! guys?
guys!
is there any good alternative to it other than FLUSH or PICK WITH YOUR FINGERS??
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yeah, leave it alone: http://www.livescience.com/health/080829-earwax-removal.html
Basically the only reason earwax ever causes problems is because people mess with it and cause it to clog up the ear canal.
Melee, pick up some Exterol from the local pharmacy because what you probably have is conductive hearing loss caused by earwax having clogged up in the ear canal. Not really a serious problem and pretty easy to solve! I'm no doctor but I've had this before and a bit of Exterol (Otex over here) solved it completely - my doctor advised me to use it and also to stop using cotton buds (q-tips), and I haven't had a problem since.
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Q-tips are bad? o_O
Then how am supposed to clean my ears? :S
I always clean my ears with those...
Each day when you take a shower, flush your ears with warm water for 10-20 seconds. This should get rid of some of the excess/old wax, but not too much.
Basically the only reason earwax ever causes problems is because people mess with it and cause it to clog up the ear canal.
Not necessarily... some people just produce more wax than others, or have wax that clumps together more readily. I think that old wax tends to dry up and clump together too. Of course having some wax is good, but having too much is pretty nasty for anyone who happens to look at your ear.
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flushing? what kind of gay shit is that, my doctor removes my wax with a spatula
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The only part of the ears thats good to clean manually is the outer part and behind your ear, preferably with soap if you have/had acne problems.
Now Earplugs... well if you only wear em' at concerts it hopefully won't be bad, but those big head phones not hooked up to any walkmen in a concert would be better.
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Yeah, but surely if you just leave it there it builds up and looks absolutely shit. I mean, this is the kind of thing you would get teased/tease others about in school, it's not a good look.
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Yeah, but surely if you just leave it there it builds up and looks absolutely shit.
No, it gradually clears itself out as new wax is produced. Think of it like a conveyer belt.
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flushing? what kind of gay shit is that, my doctor removes my wax with a spatula
Isn't that...painful?
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What you've described is Cerumen Impaction. You shouldn't ever put anything larger than your elbow into your ear! (That means no qtips!!) The ear is self cleaning so you shouldn't need to use qtips in the first place to clean out your ear wax. It does serve a useful purpose.
Putting in 3-5 drops of mineral oil/baby oil/any kind of oil two to three times a day for a couple of days will help soften the ear wax so that it can be flushed out (irrigated) by your physician. The irrigation itself isn't painful at all. In fact, it actually feels kind of warm and fuzzy. (I've had it performed on myself a couple of years ago before I got into pharmacy and learned all this. And yeah, my case is pretty similar to yours. I was cleaning one of my ears with a qtip when I pushed in the earwax further into my ear and up against the ear drum. Of course, I tried fixing it by playing around more with the qtip, but that caused more harm than good! I ended up trying Cerumenex at first, which is something that you should never go with unless directed by a physician as it can be sensitizing. It didn't work for me. I did the whole ear wax softening regimen with oil and then went in for the irrigation and that flushed all the impacted ear wax out. I could hear again instantly. A lot of people have had this happen to them because of qtip use. If you actually look at any qtip product box it'll specifically say that it shouldn't be used to clean out ears. But that's what everyone uses them for... It's such a health hazard. I've seen a fair amount of people with hearing loss due to qtip use in the pharmacy.)
I take it Melee Master that your doctor put you on Ciprodex. Just make sure you shake the bottle before using it each time, and when you instill it into your ear, you pull back and up on your ear to help open up your ear canal to allow better entry for the drops. Then after putting in the drops, remain on your side for about a minute or two to allow the drops to drain deeper into your canal. I'm sure your pharmacist when over this already, but it never hurts to have a reminder!
Hope you feel better soon. Typically if there is an outer ear infection the ear drops should take care of it and you shouldn't feel any pain within 48-72 hours.
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But you can't stick your elbow into your ears!!!
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maybe not your ears...
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But you can't stick your elbow into your ears!!!
Well, yeah that's the point. That saying illustrates that you shouldn't put ANYTHING into your ears.
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This happened to me a while back but the doctor didn't flush my ear. He stuck something in my ear to pull out some of the wax, and that restored my hearing somewhat but it was extremely painful. Then he prescribed something to put directly in my ear, and it melted the wax and let it pour out of my ear.
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It sounded like he was talking about a middle ear infection.
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I mean, my condolences, but why would you stick a q tip in your ear you stupid idiot?
OK I'm sorry for calling you an idiot but it was an exceedingly dumb thing to do.
ok ok when I was little I stuck a pencil up my nose and the eraser got stuck and I had to go to the hospital to get it out.
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I regularly clean my ears out with any sharp object I can find; tweezers, pencils, pen tips, and nail files. Not only does wax harden in my ear real quickly (one time I literally peeled a film off and dug out this huge clump of deep brown shit that looked like fucking tobacco) but it clogs up easily.
Maybe my conveyor belt is jammed :(
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Well Melee, when both of your ears fuck up I'll teach you some sign language.
EDIT:
You might be able to score yourself some hott deaf chick, so consider yourself lucky?
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this actually happened to me a couple days ago and is still bother me :(
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Isn't that...painful?
yeah but I can tolerate it
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So I've been taking the antibiotics my doctor gave me. (Plus some sort of mucus thinner he suggested) and I can sort of hear now. I mean it's not what it was, but it's a lot better and a lot less annoying. It seems when I go to sleep and wake up again it's back to where it was and takes a little bit to clear out but for the most part once I'm awake for a bit I'm okay. I think I'll go see the doctor again at some point if it persists in being like that when I wake up, but oh well. It's nice to have my hearing back!
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what the hell are q tips for if not your ear.
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what the hell are q tips for if not your ear.
lady make-up, first aid etc. as well as cleaning the outer ear.
also really don't stick them in your ears! (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/02/06/swab-warning.html)
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isn't something not smaller than your elbow is supposed to fit in your ear? i just use a wet facecloth on my finger and clean them that way.
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Mine is itching right now how I'll insert a cotton swab into my ear canal to relieve the itch
Aah much better now
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oh I've mostly used it for outer ear stuff I thought people were cautioning against that.
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Think about it if Nature didn't want us to do this we wouldn't.
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all you fucking need is your little pinky finger, not motherfucking assraping q-tips.
serious
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I had this happen to me, but I believe it was because my ear had swollen shut.
I did some research at the time and learned that sometimes, if the fluid builds up, the ear drum can burst (which sounds pretty harsh.) I'd talk to your doctor about that if it is still even a problem, cause that'd suck.
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Hope it goes well.
I'm partial deaf in my left ear. Around 50-60%. I actually didn't notice until recently. I thought everyone had a "good" and a "bad" ear. I'm guessing it's ear wax, since I use q-tips on a daily basis. Gah, guess I have to schedule an appointment now and check it out.