Strange problem with my ear

[earproblem]

Hi, sorry for the misuse of AIBU but I'm a bit concerned and hoping someone can help put my mind at rest!

I wear silicone earplugs to sleep in every night, have done so for years with no issues at all. This morning I removed them as normal when I woke and my right ear feels as though the earplug is still stuck there, although I can't feel anything physical still in there. My ear feels completely blocked and I have very limited hearing when I cover my left ear, I'm almost entirely deaf in my right ear. On top of that when I press gently on the outside of my ear it feels sort of numb? It's that strange sensation of fluid being trapped after a shower or being a pool, but without the feeling of the liquid coming loose, if that makes sense? There is no let up at all.

I've got an appointment at urgent care this afternoon (made via 111) but in the meantime my anxiety is spiralling a lot - I'm worried I've permanently lost my hearing in one ear overnight. Is this even possible? Can anyone help to reassure me please!?

I meant to add it's like the sensation of being under water just on one side of my head?

Earwax gets pushed in when you use those. It interferes with the hairs natural movement to dispel wax out.

If so urgent care will recommend you see audiologist microsuction. Not usually NHS funded.

Isn’t it most likely to be wax and you can get drops from the chemist for that -or at least speak to a chemist for advice

@Pat888 111 advised me not to use drops or out anything in the ear until I've been seen to check there's no silicone from the earplug still in there

Would a build up of wax also explain the numbness on the outside of my ear??

My first thought was ear wax. I’ve had the same before and was sorted with otex drops

Sounds exactly like ear wax to me. Something similar happened to me in late 2020. All of a sudden, I couldn’t hear out of one ear. I felt like I had been punched in the head, and that my eardrum was made out of cardboard. I wasn’t expecting the issue to be ear wax, as I’d got to the age of 55 without ever having issues but I went to an audiologist who said that she could barely even see my eardrum. All the wax was micro suctioned out in minutes and I was back to normal again. As has been said, the NHS doesn’t really do ear wax removal anymore, so you’ll need to sort it privately. Google audiologists now so that you can get an appointment as soon as possible tomorrow x

So for anyone interested, I've just been seen by a nurse in urgent care and it's part of the silicone earplug that has come off and is wedged deeply in my ear canal 😭 She can't remove it so I've been sent to another part of a&e. I knew something wasn't right.

Oh, ouch 😟

Oops!

2 medics tried and failed to remove it. I've now got an appointment at an ENT department on Tuesday morning as they apparently have the correct equipment to get it out. What a bloody palaver!

What a good job you didn't 'self diagnose' excess ear wax and use ear drops!

All the best for your appointment with ENT on Tuesday.

Wow, a good lesson to all of us to check our earplugs have come out completely intact! Sorry you have to put up with this another couple of days OP, hope they manage to get it out easily on Tuesday.

That's good news. I suddenly went deaf in one ear a few years ago. ENT says it's rare but it does happen. It's nerve damage apparently. I had no pain but ENT said it was most likely a virus or something that killed the nerve (basically they don't know). You were right to get checked so quickly. I was misdiagnosed as wax and then congestion and missed the 2 week window where steroids could have helped me regain some hearing. I wish I had of known this could happen.

Thanks everyone, it's annoying that I have to put up with it for another day or so but at least I know what I'm dealing with now and that the problem is treatable as opposed to permanent hearing loss. I knew for sure it wasn't "just" earwax - it feels very different to that and I could just tell something foreign was wedged in there.

I won't be using these earplugs again, that's for sure. Although I'm wondering whether it's just a bad batch, as I've used them without issue for many years.