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Ear Wax


essexbasscat
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I asked my GP to have a peek in my ears the other day and once again, they're about 40 % occluded.

Does anyone here get repetative ear wax build up ? do we just ram the wax into a hard ball by compressing it with ear plugs ?

how do you deal with it ? ear drops ? submerge your head in a hot bath ? drill bit ?

Pardon ?

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Use almond oil. Buy it, and some conventional ear-drops from a chemists, put the real ear-drops in the cupboard and forget about them. Then use the syringey thing from the ear-drops to apply the almond oil, just a couple of drops. Lay down on the couch for 5 mins with the treated ear facing towards the ceiling, then switch over and do the other one - but remember to put a cloth under the ear on the sofa or you get a splodge where your ear was.

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I suffer from ear infections & my Dr gave me a lecture & said that I shouldn't be sticking anything in my ear smaller than my elbow .Using cotton buds yes you will remove a bit but you are also compressing a lot of it & one day you will press it against your ear drum & good by hearing . He did advise that ears are supposed to be self cleaning & you you can use olive oil , Just tip it in .

Edited by Kevin Dean
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I usually have to get my ears syringed every 9 months. I tried one of those over the counter ear drops (Otex) which uses hydrogen peroxide to dislodge the wax. It didn't work and gave me an allergic reaction. These days I just stick to syringing.

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It's best to regularly apply a suitable fluid to soften the wax so that it doesn't build up. Olive oil is suitable and very cheap given you're using drops of it.

If you have a lot of wax, your doctor can syringe them. You'll need to apply drops (probably something more aggressive) for about a week beforehand. I get problems with wax, and now use a small syringe at home. Having experienced syringing by various doctors and nurses, I'm confident that I'm more gentle than they are. That's one of the advantages of doing it yourself, there isn't time pressure. I use Otex ear drops, and a small rubber syringe that I bought as a set. I'm off to the midlands bass bash now so don't have time to search properly, but here are the drops themselves.

http://www.boots.com/en/Otex-Ear-Drops-8ml_11315/

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I have always had problems with my ears since a kid. Eardrops soften the wax but it never seems to come out and having a history of holes and perforations I can't have them syringed, the water runs down my throat. I have it removed by [url="http://www.theearcarecentre.co.uk/What-is-Microsuction-.html"]microsuction[/url]. It is the worst thing I have had done, I would sooner have a root canal filling. It doesn't hurt, it is just so uncomfortable, like having a Dyson in your ear. I find it hard to sit still and not grimace. It starts off silent and as the wax is being removed the sound is awful and getting louder. My last time a couple of months back took two sessions on one ear as it was that compacted.
The world is a much noisier place afterwards.

Edited by goingdownslow
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[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1399716012' post='2446884']
Afraid I have got to stick with the syringing. Along with ear wax, I get a lot of dead skin down the old ear canal due to psoriasis in the ear.
[/quote]

As I suffer from excema and have itchy ears I wonder if this is also my problem.

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My Mrs does Hopi ear candles. She inserts some sort of wax tubes into my ears and sets fire to them! I was scared stiff at first but I actually found it quite relaxing! That works for me.
She reckons if its severe to put a few drops of olive oil in (day and night) for a few days before the treatment. You can have them done at holistic therapists and some beauty salons. You can buy them yourself and get somebody else to hold them etc but she doesn't recommend it incase the candles are inserted wrongly.

Dont be scared!

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[quote name='itsmedunc' timestamp='1399716349' post='2446892']
My Mrs does Hopi ear candles. She inserts some sort of wax tubes into my ears and sets fire to them! I was scared stiff at first but I actually found it quite relaxing! That works for me.
She reckons if its severe to put a few drops of olive oil in (day and night) for a few days before the treatment. You can have them done at holistic therapists and some beauty salons. You can buy them yourself and get somebody else to hold them etc but she doesn't recommend it incase the candles are inserted wrongly.

Dont be scared!
[/quote]

How does this work then? Does the wick of the candle draw out the ear wax?

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[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1399717136' post='2446903']
How does this work then? Does the wick of the candle draw out the ear wax?
[/quote]

I'm not sure it does "work" in the sense that most folk would use the word. [url="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1097/00005537-199610000-00010/abstract;jsessionid=E8EFC9DCFDF61F54C5FD069DB76D5BC7.f01t02"]http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1097/00005537-199610000-00010/abstract;jsessionid=E8EFC9DCFDF61F54C5FD069DB76D5BC7.f01t02[/url]

It also has nothing at all to do with the Hopi tribe!

[url="http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2008/03/hopi-ear-candling-removing-grey-goo.html"]http://www.quackometer.net/blog/2008/03/hopi-ear-candling-removing-grey-goo.html[/url]

If some people find the process relaxing then fair enough. I just wouldn't consider it to be a treatment for ear wax.

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wax naturally should flake out over time - when it doesn't for whatever reason it builds up.
like others have said almond or a light olive oil are good for softening it up. the pipet can be bought from any chemist.
Ortex ear drops also work sometimes and you can hear it bubbling away...

Your GP can then sort out syringing if needed.

I have a nose condition that means I sometimes have to use warm saline solution to clean my nose out, I have the plastic parts from syringes which you can squirt the saline solution.
Once I was having problems with my ears, lots of wax and putting the oil in had made the wax soften and block it even more... my experiment with the syringe and warm saline solution managed to successfully syringe my own ears... but it's prob not a good idea to do yourself!

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Hopi ear candles are a total con. I had one done at a spa once, didn't make any difference, plus when it's burnt out they unravel it to show you how a load of powder inside that they claim came from your ear, when in fact if you burn one of these without an ear involved you get the same deposit inside at the end.

After 34 years of using nothing but cotton buds, I put my head under the bath one day and the water never came out of my ears, and I was stuck partially deaf for 3 months. I first tried alcohol drops from the pharmacy, followed by olive oil then sodium bicarb drops prescribed by the doctor, but all that did is make a big sludgy cocktail in there. Eventually got them 'syringed' which I later learned isn't actual syringing anymore, but 'ear irrigation'. They basically have a tiny little jet pulsing warm water into your ear and it dislodges anything up there in a few minutes. It was all quite relaxing and my level of hearing was a revelation after. No more weird pops or ringing noises either, when I was scared I was getting tinnitus!

Got the lecture about not using cotton buds, but still do - just on the outer part of the ear though!

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Playing with plugs tends to compact any wax even further ... so a dab of Otex works wonders to
melt/loosen it. I've heard of ear candles and these syringe things but Otex softens and helps a blocked
ear...other than that you need drops to soften the wax over a few days and a nurse with a water jet to flush
it out.

Olive oil only stops the wax from sticking and building up ..it doesn't do any good getting it out once it has formed
and gotten compacted, IMO

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Your body produces ear wax for a reason, which is to trap external filth and contaminants before it can reach the vulnerable inner ear, which has to be exposed to the environment so that you can hear. It's not a pleasant substance but unless it's for medical reasons or it's badly compromising your ability to hear, it should be left just where it is.

It's only when you've have it removed that you realise what an incredibly noisy planet this is! Not doing [i]that [/i]again.

Edited by discreet
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I suffer really bad with wax. Last year I went to the F1 grand prix in Melbourne and made the mistake of putting ear plugs in for the noise. They compressed the wax right down hard inside and I spent the next 2 weeks practically deaf.
I got some otex from the chemist but it was so compacted it didnt help.
I ended up getting them irrigated in an outpatients clinic in Canberra.
The nurse had to call for a senior doctor to come and check my ears as she thought I had a perforated eardrum.
Total misery. :(

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Hopi ear candles DO work, and I've got the evidence to back it up!
Just do a Google picture search for them, and see for yourself. If you're a Hopi ear candle practitioner, beautiful women will undress for you and lay down with nothing more than a towel covering them! So Hopi ear candles DO work! :lol: ;)

Edited by BassTractor
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i used to have loads of ear blockage problems, eventually i started using a hair clip (those brown metal clips) to regularly scoop out any excess, against the doctors advice of course, i have not had any problems in nearly 15 years now, it works for me although i must advise against it on medical grounds.

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[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1399723542' post='2447011']
Hopi ear candles DO work, and I've got the evidence to back it up!
Just do a Google picture search for them, and see for yourself. If you're a Hopi ear candle practitioner, beautiful women will undress for you and lie down with nothing more than a towel covering them! Hopi ear candles DO work!
[/quote]

They work at getting beautiful women to lay down practically naked in front of you ? no wonder you're enthusiastic

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[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1399723542' post='2447011']...beautiful women will undress for you and lie down with nothing more than a towel covering them! Hopi ear candles DO work![/quote][quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1399724280' post='2447024']They work at getting beautiful women to lay down practically naked in front of you ? no wonder you're enthusiastic[/quote][/font][/size]
[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Yes! But to be honest when I went it wasn't a candle OR an ear - there was no towel - but the principle was the same, I'm sure. :mellow:[/font][/size]

Edited by discreet
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I was really hoping that no one would mention ear candles. Massive con, as has already been said, and a real risk of injury.

I have to confess to being naughty in my ear cleaning. When I am in the shower I direct it into my ears, where the warm water softens the wax. I then use a little scoop, actually designed for the job, to get most of it out. Then gently mop up any residue with cotton buds.

I use a NeilMed sinus cleaning kit, which is really good, and they do an ear kit, too. I will get one and try it at some point.

Of course, real men use a car key.

Edited by KingBollock
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