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what's normal? - cleaning ears edition (1 Viewer)

mr. furley

mr. furley

Footballguy
what are we doing to clear our ears of wax these days?

any of you still using cotton swabs? 

digging in there with a finger?

cocktail spear?

rag on a stick?

 
Not that I don't appreciate these posts, but wasn't this someone else's shtick?  Am I Normal?  Always got him confused with Keerock because they both had similar avatars, but can't remember who it was.

Regardless, I use Q-tips and I feel like I'm just pushing wax deeper into my ear canal.  Never had an issue when I was younger, but in my old age, I seem to be producing more wax than Terminator X can spin.  It's disgusting and I don't know how to clean it out.

 
TheIronSheik said:
Not that I don't appreciate these posts, but wasn't this someone else's shtick?  Am I Normal?  Always got him confused with Keerock because they both had similar avatars, but can't remember who it was.

Regardless, I use Q-tips and I feel like I'm just pushing wax deeper into my ear canal.  Never had an issue when I was younger, but in my old age, I seem to be producing more wax than Terminator X can spin.  It's disgusting and I don't know how to clean it out.
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it's @Keerock's shtick but i believe he retired from 'what's normal' polls

consider these threads an homage 

 
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Q-tip for each ear after every shower (twice a day normally)...mainly because it feels good, I don’t think I’ve seen any wax come from it in years 

 
TheIronSheik said:
Not that I don't appreciate these posts, but wasn't this someone else's shtick?  Am I Normal?  Always got him confused with Keerock because they both had similar avatars, but can't remember who it was.

Regardless, I use Q-tips and I feel like I'm just pushing wax deeper into my ear canal.  Never had an issue when I was younger, but in my old age, I seem to be producing more wax than Terminator X can spin.  It's disgusting and I don't know how to clean it out.
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was a cotton swabs man, myself. several years ago,  while on vacation, i went totally deaf in my left ear. went to the doctor when i got back to get it checked out.

totally clogged shut

nurse asked if i used cotton swabs to clean my ears. of course, i said, i get in there for a good deep clean. feels great.

after flushing my ears with warm water i could hear again. far better than ever before. 

stop using cotton swabs, you idiot, she said, or you'll end up in this same fix again before long. 

haven't used cotton swabs since but my ears never feel as clean as they did before.

 
Just clean them in the shower with water and washcloth. Q-tips are horrible. I don't even use them on my son anymore.

 
mr. furley said:
was a cotton swabs man, myself. several years ago,  while on vacation, i went totally deaf in my left ear. went to the doctor when i got back to get it checked out.

totally clogged shut

nurse asked if i used cotton swabs to clean my ears. of course, i said, i get in there for a good deep clean. feels great.

after flushing my ears with warm water i could hear again. far better than ever before. 

stop using cotton swabs, you idiot, she said, or you'll end up in this same fix again before long. 

haven't used cotton swabs since but my ears never feel as clean as they did before.
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Huh, never heard of this issue.  I have been using swabs for 41 years and have never clogged up like that.

What other options are there?

I kind of assume that earwax is actually there for a reason, but like our body hair, we continually remove it for aesthetic reasons.

 
mr. furley said:
it's @Keerock's shtick but i believe he retired from 'what's normal' polls

consider these threads an homage 
Click to expand...
Interesting.  Than who is the other poster with the similar avatar that DIDN'T do Are You Normal?

And again, I appreciate these threads, GB.  It just reminded me of shtick from 15 years ago.  It was similar to hearing Stairway to Heaven on the radio for the first time in a decade.

 
mr. furley said:
was a cotton swabs man, myself. several years ago,  while on vacation, i went totally deaf in my left ear. went to the doctor when i got back to get it checked out.

totally clogged shut

nurse asked if i used cotton swabs to clean my ears. of course, i said, i get in there for a good deep clean. feels great.

after flushing my ears with warm water i could hear again. far better than ever before. 

stop using cotton swabs, you idiot, she said, or you'll end up in this same fix again before long. 

haven't used cotton swabs since but my ears never feel as clean as they did before.
Click to expand...
This is my fear.  I know I'm doing the same thing.  I think most of my deafness is due to wax pushed back in my ear by swabs.  Yet.. like a crack head, I can't stop using them.

 
Never used cotton swabs.  I put some Debrox in there every now and again.  I find the bulb that comes with it pretty terrible though.  Every 1-2 years, I end up not being able to hear and have to go to an urgent care type place to get them cleaned out.

 
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Jayrod said:
Huh, never heard of this issue.  I have been using swabs for 41 years and have never clogged up like that.

What other options are there?

I kind of assume that earwax is actually there for a reason, but like our body hair, we continually remove it for aesthetic reasons.
Click to expand...
bulb syringe + warm water. tilt your head towards the floor, repeatedly squirt warm water in your ears until you can hear clearly.

was seriously like someone opened a door in a hurricane and all the outside noise came rushing in when i got mine cleaned.

 
Pretty sure this is an exact quote from Tanner 

“in before some rube suggests cleaning them out with an ear candle”

anyway I will dig out wax with my finger occasionally and use a Q-tip maybe once a month

 
mr. furley said:
bulb syringe + warm water. tilt your head towards the floor, repeatedly squirt warm water in your ears until you can hear clearly.

was seriously like someone opened a door in a hurricane and all the outside noise came rushing in when i got mine cleaned.
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So maybe I am not half deaf.  Maybe I only have waxy build up.

Can I ear doosh with say a turkey baster and warm water or does it have to be a specialty item so I don't use too much pressure. 

 
mr. furley said:
bulb syringe + warm water. tilt your head towards the floor, repeatedly squirt warm water in your ears until you can hear clearly.

was seriously like someone opened a door in a hurricane and all the outside noise came rushing in when i got mine cleaned.
Click to expand...
Just to clarify because I'm dense, you tilt the ear you are cleaning down, correct?  As in you don't want the warm water running deeper into your ear?

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
So maybe I am not half deaf.  Maybe I only have waxy build up.
Click to expand...
used to think the same thing. that wax was lodged in there pretty deep, per the nurse. the volume immediately went up to 11 for me after a cleaning.

Can I ear doosh with say a turkey baster and warm water or does it have to be a specialty item so I don't use too much pressure. 
Click to expand...
anything with focused directional ability that won't just splash water on the side of your head. you want it to get in the ear. bulb syringe (nose snot sucker thing) is great as it's pointed and easy to handle.

 
Jayrod said:
Just to clarify because I'm dense, you tilt the ear you are cleaning down, correct?  As in you don't want the warm water running deeper into your ear?
Click to expand...
that's correct

the water gets squirted in & dislodges the blockage. you want water + wax to fall out.. in to your sink.. or bed pan or whatever.

 
Jayrod said:
Huh, never heard of this issue.  I have been using swabs for 41 years and have never clogged up like that.

What other options are there?

I kind of assume that earwax is actually there for a reason, but like our body hair, we continually remove it for aesthetic reasons.
Click to expand...
Mostly there for a reason.  Overproduction of earwax happens to some people though, which leads to blockages and difficulty hearing.  I'm an over-producer.

 
I would put some hydrogen peroxide in and let it sit for a minute. Then flush with warm water.

Had to stop after getting tubes in my ears. Now the ear doctor vacuums it out during my routine visits. 

Foosball God said:
hydrogen peroxide/water solution in the ear let it sit and bubble for a bit, then lean over and watch the wax pour out.
Click to expand...

 
Q-tips after showering. My theory is that since the wax is softer then and I do it consistently every day, I won't run into the pushing wax further in problem. 

Doing that for about 30 years now and never had a problem. :knocksonwood:

 
normally just pour a little bleach in there wiggle my head around for a while and then tilt my head so it pours out clean ears and no side affects take that to the bank bromigos 

 
jhib said:
Q-tips after showering. My theory is that since the wax is softer then and I do it consistently every day, I won't run into the pushing wax further in problem. 

Doing that for about 30 years now and never had a problem. :knocksonwood:
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Same here. I use like 6 q-tips every day, right after showering. They pretty much look unused every time. If I am shoving wax further in my ear, I would have had an issue by now with as many of them as I use. I also never put it in far enough that it doesn't have side to side movement, so I have no idea how it would be physically possible to push wax in further unless I already had a massive blockage that was solid packed. That cant be possible either since of course you would have evidence of such a huge blockage on the qtip itself.

 
I used to use the end of my eyeglasses, which had a perfect shape for scooping out wax. Then I got a new prescription and it didn't work anymore. :kicksrock:

Now I use eardrops every couple of weeks.

 
jhib said:
Q-tips after showering. My theory is that since the wax is softer then and I do it consistently every day, I won't run into the pushing wax further in problem. 

Doing that for about 30 years now and never had a problem. :knocksonwood:
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did this every day more or less my whole life. my lucky streak ended at 35 .

 
Many years ago I got an ear infection which led to a clogged ear, and no amount of over-the-counter eardrops would clear it. So I went to a doctor. He ended up jamming a metal hook so deep into my ear that I honestly felt like I could feel it in my brain. But he could only get a little bit of the wax out because the ear was swollen so badly. So he ended up prescribing some industrial-strength eardrops which caused an inordinate amount of goo to ooze out of my ear for the next several days. But after that I could hear great.

 
The ear, like the colon, is supposed to be self cleansing. Don’t use a q-tip on either. If they get clogged up, flush them out with fluid. 

 
SWC said:
normally just pour a little bleach in there wiggle my head around for a while and then tilt my head so it pours out clean ears and no side affects take that to the bank bromigos 
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More of a baking soda and vinegar guy myself.

 
SWC said:
normally just pour a little bleach in there wiggle my head around for a while and then tilt my head so it pours out clean ears and no side affects take that to the bank bromigos 
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So help me God, the day I make it to the Milwaukee area, I am buying you a beer.

 
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Unless you are an over-producer of earwax, you shouldn't need to clean your ears under normal circumstances, at least not the canal.  Feel free to wipe away the crap your body naturally pushes to the outer ear.  I do not know of a single legitimate medical resource that advocates sticking any objects into your ear.

 
As a kid I used to go to my doctor maybe once a year due to excessive wax buildup causing substantial hearing reduction

He would take a large metal syringe and flush it out with water. 

As I got older I purchased one of those rubber bulbs (2 oz ?) and do it myself as needed. It works well and is much safer than using a Q-tip (where you can damage your eardrum if inserted too far)

The key is using tepid water (neither cold or warm) as the procedure can really mess with your equilibrium for a few seconds afterwards making you a bit dizzy/lightheaded.

Just fill the bulb, insert tip in your ear maybe 3/4" and rapidly discharge at max velocity. It may take you several tries but works for me everytime. The discharged wax can be about the size of a standard #2 pencil eraser or slightly larger.

If you suspect you have an ear infection, DO NOT DO THIS. It will be extremely painful. The tepid water temperature is also uber important.

 
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My Grandmother was an Audiologist. She would always tell us not to stick anything smaller than our elbows in our ears.

 
Actually, I started using Q-tips in the first place in high school the day after I put my football helmet on and couldn't hear a thing out of one ear.  I guess I'm probably one of those over-producers, because I have hearing issues when I don't clean my ears.

 
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