To tell you all that I just unblocked my own ear and it feels AMAZING?

[Fossiliferous]

It's been blocked on and off since I had covid in 2021 😬

It gets worse every time I get a cold or my hayfever is bad, so I assumed it was a middle ear thing. Had a phone appointment with my GP about it when it first started and was advised to do steam inhalation and use otrivine nasal spray, so that's what I've been doing when it blocks and eventually it clears. My ears never seemed very waxy and due to it being linked to congestion I never thought it might be wax.

But about 3 weeks ago it blocked and just wouldn't unblock. I've been almost completely unable to hear from that ear since and it's been misery, so disorientating.

Anyway I thought in desperation last week to try wax removal just in case and got some bicarbonate of soda spray, when I tried it my ear literally fizzed and popped and seemed slightly clearer so I've been doing that twice daily for 5 days. This morning I thought I'd give it a rinse with a bulb thingy and some very slightly salty water and OMG the gak that came out 🤢 I thought it would never end, and then one really big stringy bit (like a ribbon of dead skin) came out and all of a sudden I could hear again and my head stopped feeling faintly swimmy. It took 3 x 500ml jugs of warm water (teaspoon of salt added to each) though, I was rinsing it for about 15 minutes til the water came out clear.

Everything is so loud! Its obviously been far worse than I realised for ages

Once I get used to everything being so loud again I'm going to do the other ear, which I thought was unaffected but now this ear is properly clear I can tell that the other one is a bit blocked too.

Oh I so need to do this!!!

I get my the wax from my ears suctioned occassionally. Loads of gunk comes out, but sadly, it doesn't seem to improve my hearing much. I think I'm going deaf for other reasons, sadly

Ooh thanks OP. DH has gone practically deaf in one ear (he has a narrow ear canal) and usually the GP will do the syringing for him but they've now said they don't do that and only do ear drops... So I shall try your method out with him.

I was wondering what the bulb thing you mentioned was though. I did have a look through the thread to see if there was a photo of it but couldn't see it.

I'm so lucky, I still get treated on the NHS

Ds has awful ears. Syringing did not agree with him so he has been having micro suction for the last few years. He is now 18 and does not need to be accompanied. I am devastated. It used to be so much fun to watch! So satisfying.

You’ve made me want to paint my hand with PVA glue and try and let it set fully before peeling it off like a snake shedding its outer skin.
We used to do this at art college! So satisfying!

You are very lucky ! The GP here stopped doing this a few years ago. Due to my ear canal shape and wax I have to get micro suction every 6 months or so and it is so expensive. About £70 / 80 last time.

Ugh! No, no, no!! But so glad you got it cleared!

Ohhhhhhhhh dear god how wonderful.

I've had that on and off for years. Painful, unbalancing, noisy, deafening, horrible. Despite every type of drops and the little brown earbulb I'd never been able to sort it myself.

Used to go to the doctor to get it syringed which was instantly fabulous. I could hear ants thinking and sounds I'd forgotten were a thing.

Now the advice is syringing is bad, so I went to the audiologist that does microsuction for £70 a go 😞. Good result without blasting water against the eardrum but kind of lacks the WOW factor.

You don't realise how wonderful clear ears are til they're blocked.

Earol olive oil spray was recommended by the audiologist.

This is a kit with the little ear bulb thingy.

Noooooooooooooooooooo !!!!!

For some reason I imagined it as a shorter version of a turkey baster !!

I had blocked ears last year - boyfriend complained, but he has superhuman hearing because of being blind. Went to Specsavers for microsuctioning. They took three attempts (no extra coat for the return visits) and didn't quite clear it all. Was referred to GP and thence to ENT where I had an MRI and more microsuctioning but the bit that really made the difference was the 10 days of antibiotic drops to clear lingering infection.

I have since been saintly about wearing earplugs in the bath/shower/swimming pool and not using cotton buds. They do feel a little blocked the last week, but that's a combination of hayfever and covid, so will hopefully clear soon.

I have the TV far quieter now.

anyone try NeilMed SuavEar Earwax Removal Aid? Does it get all the gunk out?

I’m not op but I had a free hearing test at specsavers, I think? Maybe I paid 30 quid or something

I’m sure jealous! I have blockage through Eustachian tube issues. Had a lady come to visit and there is no wax, all pink and clean. Such a shame (I’m a sporner corner lurker)

@theyoungishman - come over to sporner corner. We love photos of gunk!

A few weeks ago I needed to lie down but there was somebody outside with a leaf blower. I put some of those foam ear plugs in and when I put my head on the pillow I heard a pop. I didn’t think anything of it and went to sleep. When I woke up and removed the ear plugs, a massive piece of wax came out as well. I’d never seen anything like it. It was extremely satisfying and I could hear much more clearly.

Whats a bulby thing?

It's so frustrating that wax removal is, like so many other treatments now, an NHS location lottery. I badly need mine doing but it will cost £60 at Specsavers.

For anyone enjoying this thread my DC are deaf so the hearing aid ear moulds means wax can build up really quickly. They used to have three monthly appointments where an audiologist put the camera right down into their ears to look at the wax (this was enjoyable to watch in itself as an appetiser) and then I got to watch the removal of copious amounts of wax <happy sigh> I can still remember the clogging noise when the suction tube hit a large piece that wouldn't fit down the tube and had to be tweezered

I was gutted when they got old enough to go unaccompanied At least I don't miss trying to pin down wriggling toddlers to drop warm oil in their ears now that they do that themselves. (The audiologist says everyone should do this anyway to keep wax soft).

I bought this at the weekend, my ears periodically block with trapped water and get manky. Narrow ear canals and swimming pools are not a great combination it turns out. Ear Calm is a regular purchase!

PP is right, it's just a much smaller turkey baster

Well I put the water pick a little way into the ear and spray to the side so it hits there first.

Jealous! I daren't do it on my own, would get it done professionally but the point is to admire the gunk that comes out and I couldn't do that in front of someone else 😂