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.

Next time take Sudafed. It's brilliant for unblocking ears. 🐰🐹🐇😀

I’m not able to get water in my ears, I’ve got little nodules growing in the ear canal and water can get in but doesn’t come out so I end up with ear infections, it’s caused by years of swimming
Due to continuous ear infections from a very young age, I’m now nearly deaf, at 13 years old I had 75% natural hearing now nearly 60 I’ve got 30% natural hearing

We once took in a stray cat who kept shaking his head and scratching at his ears, they were blocked. We got the stuff from the vets - the oily stuff and if you think its bad on skin try it on cat fur, his whole head was plastered. We used this as prescribed and after a few days and a massive head shake we heard a loud bang. A ball of black wax the size of a marble had flown out of his ear and hit the door with such force there was a small indentation. Its a good job it was a wooden door and not a window, it would probably have broken it. It didn't seem feasible that something that size could have been down his poor ear, never mind come out. It wasn't visible, so it was a good way down. He was so happy afterwards he couldn't stop purring.

Did you keep the cat?

Oh op that sounds marvellous! I had never thought about having my ears washed out, but now I feel I have to get it done.

As requested...

More importantly did you keep the wax!?!

I have found my people!

Is this where I can talk about the joy of the foot peel I have been using recently? Plantifique. For feet like a snake shedding its skin. My feet feel very soft now! Available at amazon and at all good foot peel shops.

I unblock an ear about once a year. I can always tell when the plug is just about to dislodge and then it does and it's SO satisfying. Since I started doing it I've developed a type of tinnitus so I wonder if I've maybe been a bit too enthusiastic and caused some damage, but it's not going to stop me from doing it.

Just to add in response to a pp, please do not put just any type of oil into your ears, certain ones can fester and rot and cause fungal infections. I understand how satisfying it is to have your ears unblocked but you need to be so careful with what you put into/use in your ears, there's a reason why there are people out there who are professionally trained to deal with it. Having said that, I'd do anything to have one of my ears unblocked. I had a serious sinus infection two years ago which has damaged my eustachian tube on one side and my hearing hasn't been the same in that ear since, it drives me mad 😩 I'm also one of those gross people who has spent too much time watching ear wax removal/blackhead popping videos on YouTube 🤫

I'm heartbroken not to see the gunk. I have a weird fascination with stuff like that!

Wish you had uploaded pics! I am the family ear-unblocker, not a safe or recommended way but I have a nozzle bottle (the type tattooists use) that I have to sort my ears out with once a week or I’d always be half deaf. If I ever get any good ear goblins (waxy crap) everyone comes to see have a look before I rinse it away. Only realised this technique worked when my husband’s ear had blocked and was so sore and GP wouldn’t sort it (and we couldn’t afford to pay at a pharmacist and it was all during lockdown too) that we just had a crack and it ended up working 😬

It’s a long story but my husband’s cat that had been living at his parents came to live with us. That poor baby’s ears were so bad. We took him to the vet and she started to look but just stopped and said it was the worst ear blockage she had ever seen. His entire ear canal was blocked… in both ears.

One surgery later and the poor little nugget could hear again.

Inner ears, yes.

Sudafed won't do anything at all about wax though!

They're two different types of ear blockage and needs completely different treatment

I need to try this, thanks for posting it OP glad you got the relief.

Check out dr._earwax on Instagram

I had a similar experience years ago. Ear infection, 2 lots of antibiotics, 1 lots of drops then the sodium bicarbonate ones. I put some in before I went to bed on the night with a towel on my pillow. Woke the next morning and the towel was covered in gunk! The relief was immense!

I've never had waxed removed, but after six weeks of agony and course after course of amoxicillin and pleading with the GP to see a specialist (ive had ear infections since i was a chld and knew it was bad) I couldn't take anymore and went to A and E. I can't tell you how unwell I was, I couldn't eat or sleep, I was beside myself.

They asked me to come back very early the next morning and I went straight onto the ENT ward were the doctor put a long thin metal tube into my ear.

He suctioned out an enormous glob of green slime. I think we were all shocked. I could have cried with the sudden pain relief. I genuinely wanted to hug him, but decorum prevailed. Just.

They analysed the slime and there were two types of infection, the consultant said the Amoxicillin would never have worked.

I'm still angry with the sanctimonious GP. I'm sure he wouldn't let me see a specialist because he said I'd given myself the infection by using earbuds.

I never use earbuds.

This is easily the most satisfying thing I have ever read on Mumsnet.

I’ve had a buzzy-tinnitus like sound in my left ear for a while and I’ve just read it can be cause my by a build-up of wax.

I am so doing this.

I bought one of these recently, and it's been absolutely amazing for seeing inside my ears www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BFDLDJFC (I don't use the little ear wax scoops it comes with, not sure if they're a good idea). It's fascinating! And it's given me a new respect for just how near and how fragile-looking my ear drum is. It comes with little covers for the end and alcohol wipes to clean them with each time before and after you use the scope, so it's very clean.

When I think back to the times I was half-deaf from wax and used to poke around with a q-tip, really carefully, priding myself on how careful I was being and not pushing in hard - I'm now really amazed I didn't perforate anything. It's also shown me the effect of even a bit of poking my little finger in there and turning it round to get rid of an itch - instant redness right down near the drum. No more! It's maddening (I'm going to have to get some olive oil spray to try to relieve the itching instead), but I'm never doing that again.

Thanks for that. It’s 30 minutes I’ll never get back!

😂

Yup I had mine suctioned a couple of years ago.

The block had the image of the inside of my ear showing on a large flat screen on the wall so I could see what he was doing. When the final plug of stuff came out the difference was instant and amazing. Didn't take long either.

I'm so jealous OP. I have 2 blocked ears but the wax is rock hard and I can feel it when I put my little metal spoon wax remover in, doesn't budge apart from a few tiny dark brown bits now & again and no amount of olive oil has softened it! I can hear 'fine' but I have a feeling I've just become accustomed to them being blocked! I managed to remove one last year and it fell out onto the table and was like a rock hard pea, but sadly it's back again in both ears now

How did you get your histamine intolerance under control? Any advice? 🙏

Oh yes. We had loads of cats, well over 50 in total, though not all at the same time - that would've been mad. We used to have around a dozen or so at once, some came, some died but there were no hard and fast rules. If two came together we would just count them as one. We had strays, ferals, unwanteds, cruelty cases and some that were just dumped either at the back gate or over the garden wall but you name it we took them in. Cost a bloody fortune with vets and food, but it was worth it.

We also had rabbits, guinea pigs, chipmunks, a hamster, some goldfish but only 4 dogs? several overwintering hedgehogs, loads of wild birds, wild baby bunnies, etc etc etc. The most we had at any one time was 37 permanents and a few wildies that would be released when fit.

They all lived in the house. Cleaning them all out was worse than painting the Forth Bridge. Feeding the rabbits and guinea pigs was a job and a half. At one time there were 15 rabbits in massive dog crates all round the house and 7 guinea pigs in custom built HUGE runs in the upstairs bedroom. They all liked different things - spring cabbage, carrots, broccoli, curly kale, celery etc, the guineas also liked red chicory, red peppers (extra vit C) only the flowers of broccoli - not the stems and the chipmunks loved sugar snaps (not mange tout as they only ate the peas and left the shell, and they turned up their noses at fresh garden peas) and baby corn.

We are vegan so the bits they didn't like we could have. The rabbits only liked the dark outside leaves of spring cabbage so we had the inside ones and the broccoli stalks went in stir fries. One day my Mum said oh great celery heart, I said no that's for Florence the oldest guinea, she loved them. I'm afraid my Mum didn't get a celery heart until after Florence died.

I'm stuck in a care home at the moment so no animals, but I'm effecting an escape next week and will get a couple of rescue dogs once I'm settled in my own place. Hurrah!

I bet you're sorry you asked.