How to unblock ears (ear wax)

[pearlkent]

Gone deaf in one ear from excess wax, after (gently) poking around with a Q-tip (ear bud thing), to try to dislodge it. I know I shouldn't have done that, but thought if I was gentle it wouldn't push the wax further in.
Last night (after the ear bud disaster) I poured a drop of almond oil in to soften the wax. and now I'm completely deaf in that ear.
Any tips?
Don't want to bother the doctor for a syringing, and i don't think they do it anymore anyway.

I just get mine syringed by the nurse but you can pay to have it suctioned our.

Couple of drops of oil in the affected each at bedtime. Pull a cotton wool ball in half, smear with some baseline and plug your ear. The Vaseline stops the oil being soaked up by the cotton wool. Do it for a week or so and the oil will soften the wax and allow your ear to remove it naturally.
No more cotton buds!!!

You can buy an Otex kit at pharmacy to remove wax. A relative used it and was very pleased and relieved! Some GP surgeries still do it but have to wait until wax has softened with olive oil. I think it was called Otex Express.

Yeah Otex is probably the best thing over the counter. It kind of fizzes and breaks it up.

Thanks Faster I will try your method. I didn't do the cotton wool thing as I thought it would soak up the oil and prevent the oil going into my ear, but the vaseline tip makes sense.

Hydrogen peroxide solution can be used.

You can just get them syringed privately though. Only found this out recently. I would do that.

olive oil! Pour in ear lie in one side for 10 mins then tip other way to drain any excess. I did this for a week and low and behold ear was cleared. This was advised by gp by the way and really worked i was dea f in one ear too .

Syringing doesn’t work unless the wax has been softened.
Using just oil and a bit of time you’ll notice that the wax will just start to come out of your ear canal, just gently wipe it away with a wet cloth but don’t go putting things down it.

NEVER PUT ANYTHING SMALLER THAN YOUR ELBOW IN YOUR EAR!

Patience is your friend. Otex or olive oil as other posters have described, but give it a week. If no joy, see if your practice nurse can do a wash-out. And for the love of God, stop sticking things into your ear!

I was advised by the nurse not to use the hydrogen peroxide drops. You get relief to begin with, but it breaks the wax into small pieces that are harder to remove. If you use oil it will gradually soften and work its way out.

Syringing doesn’t work unless the wax has been softened.
^^ this, and if you're a swimmer, be aware that you're likely to suffer pain if you go underwater because of the pressure. (DS gets waxy ears, and couldn't use the pool for most of our holiday last year because we were waiting for the wax to soften, and then for the local doctor to wash the lumps of ear wax out.)
If you're a sporner, you're possibly in for a treat...

I'd go to pharmacy if I were you.. esp if the oil has made it worse

I'd try putting oil drops in first but if that doesn't work Otex Express Combi works well.

I did pretty much exactly the same as you, cotton buds followed by oil to try & loosen it and it made me go completely deaf.

I couldn't get an appt for suction with NHS for months so paid to have it done privately - £40 for one ear. Worth every penny, I could hear again instantly.

I paid to have mine suctioned out at a local hearing centre. The nurse at my GP's tried washing it out but that didn't work. With either method you will need to put oil in a for a week or so first and it may increase the deafness and feel a bit uncomfortable.

How much olive oil do you put it?

The NHS has stopped surgeries doing this, there is a big notice in ours saying that that. I paid for a private clinic to do mine, it's roughly £40-£60 depending where you go.

I poured hydrogen peroxide in mine. It's scary as shit but seems to have worked.

I paid for suctioning recently when I went completely deaf in one ear. No prior treatment with oil was required. I was told that Otex isn't recommended and the best thing to use is regular oil. I bought some Earol which I now use on a regular basis.

I would recommend finding a local hearing clinic and paying for suctioning. I had both ears done for £60 and it was well worth it.