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Hearing Issues After Ear Plug Use

#21
I can't but be skeptical if docs are self promoting when they say not to clean our your eays. I always gently do mine after a shower. In fact, I can't stand to have wet ears now. I don't clean my sons at all following docs orders. I put a pair of ear plugs in his ears when he was present at a rehearsal.. oh the filth on that earplug :spit:
FWIW, I don't use the hearos. I use the military/shooting style washables ones on a string. For me, and maybe some other women as well, I just can't get them in my ears.. too big.
 
#23
go to the drug store. purchase the ear wax drops. follow the directions, but don't bother with the bulb. use the shower to flush out your ear. It might take a few applications, but it is much cheaper. This assumes your only problem is wax.

The one problem with ear plugs is that they can push the wax in and it can accumulate more than normal. REally not a big issue.
 
#25
I am an ENT doctor and much of the advice given above has been very good. If the plugs were in, it is likely canal edema or impacted cerumen. The flushing technique, as long as it is gentle, may work but in some instances will make it worse. The fluid can get trapped under the cerumen and the prolonged moisture can lead to otitis externa (swimmers ear). As far as what fluid to use, studies have shown that any reagant is no better than water. I prefer to use a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and vinegar as thats a good home remedy for mild swimmers ear (as long as the ear drum is intact). If you had injured your ear drum seriously, you would have known it the moment you did it.

With regards to cleaning, most people do it well as long as they keep the qtip right at the opening of the canal. If you put it in deeper you run the risk of impacting the wax in deeper. I've also seen plenty of eardrum injuries and canal lacerations.

With regards to the self serving coment posted above, I have no problems cleaning someones ears but I didnt undergo 11 years of post college medical training for the pleasure of that experience or its vast financial reward :rollno:
 
#26
chris lykins said:
With regards to the self serving coment posted above, I have no problems cleaning someones ears but I didnt undergo 11 years of post college medical training for the pleasure of that experience or its vast financial reward :rollno:
Click to expand...

I assume you meant "self service" above, as I have no financial interest in drug stores or OTC medical remedies. Nor do I have an axe to grind with the medical profession.

There is something to be said for not letting any problem get big. While an ENT may not be paying the kids college with an ear cleaning office visit, it is safe to say that a bottle of ear wax cleaner/fluid is cheaper than a copay, and the application takes less time than driving to a doctors office.

Earwax is relatively easy to take care of. Anything more serious should be handled by the appropriate professional.
 
#27
No, I was refering to the darkarwen comment of "self promoting". The best health care is prevention and a healthy lifestyle which the people in this forum are already following by wisely using hearing protection. I completely agree with not seeing a doctor unless you have a problem you cant take of yourself. I havent seen a doctor in 10 years.

I get annoyed by those kind of comments as it implies a kind of nefarious plot to make people ill or create a problem that justifies a physicians job. The tobacco and fast food industy already have that job covered quite well.
 
#29
jbybj said:
It might be ear wax. The plug could have compacted the wax, causing the muffling. If it is wax, it won't go away by itself, and a doctor can clean you right out. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

That's probably what it is. Your ear drum isn't ruptured or you'd be in so much pain you wouldn't have been able to stand it.

My right ear has been somewhat plugged for years (every time I went into a pool I came out with issues). Small ear canals I think. No health insurance to get a cleaning done though so I deal :(
 
#32
Like everyone I probably clean the opening to my ears about once a week. I use a qtip at the opening of my canal only and its worked so far. The problems some people experience with frequent impaction are usually anatomic. Some people have very small canals. Us men, as we age can get very hairy ear canals and this acts like a dam which just traps the cerumen. Other people have very gummy wax which just doesn't self clean that well. For people with this kind of wax, i do usually advocate a weekly application of vinegar/alcohol to keep things soft. About 4 drops in each ear.
Other people have the opposite problem with really dry flaky wax that likes to accumulate. Sesame oil is an excellent moisturizing oil for this problem.
Once again kudos to all the hearing protection use. I was a touring musician for three years before med school and rarely used plugs as they sounded so muffled. Thank goodness for musicians plugs now! My hearing is still pretty good but my ears ring constantly from the high frequency loss!
 
#34
@Chris Lykins

So noted. I guess I am like that small (or is it large? i dunno) segment of people that have a distrust of doctors. I can't help but be suspect of anyone that makes more money from my unwellness than from my health. Sort of like the auto mechanic that "keeps em coming back". Just like there are some good and honest mechanics that appreciate their customers, surely there are some doctors who are the same.
 
#36
There are plenty of doctors who see patients as dollar signs, just look at the billboards or ads for cheap plastic surgery in any town. I just doubt that the pediatric oncologist who gets to tell parents that their kid is going to die or the family practice doc who is seeing 40 patients a day (with every one being a potential lawsuit) went in it for the money. In fact with the way medicare is structured right now, docs get a paycut every year with a potential 20% reduction looming in the near future. Same job, same risk, but not even keeping up with inflation and if fact dropping below it. I'd be surprised if theres not a huge doctor shortage in the near future.
 
#37
We have it even worse, 50 miles to north there is a neighbor country with 3-4 times bigger wages and better social system. Only a few patriots (or perhaps some incompetent who cannot a job there) stay to work here.

I've been lucky that both the doctors I've head to deal with within the last few years (routine check) are excellent doctors with excellent communication skills.
 
#38
Chris my ear specialist's advise very closely resembled yours. He was very strongly discouraging people for doing their own ear cleaning with syringes. His experience that once people became comfortable doing it, they would use it at times which were inappropriate and often caused all sorts of damage to their own ears. People had even perforated their own ear drums when for example the patient thinks they've got a wax build up but it is in fact an infection. The water gives the infection an environment in which it thrives, the ear gets worse, so people syringe it again, this time with more force... repeat until you burst your own ear drum.
 

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