Used my ear camera

[bananaphon]

I've had a persistent ear infection over the last month. I've almost finished my third round of drops and one round of amoxicillin this week. No more pain and I can hear about 90% from that ear. I looked inside with my new camera and saw this 🤢 I don't want to dare start digging around as it was so painful the last month and has only just stopped making me feel unwell. I have a follow up gp appointment on 11th July but not sure if I should ask to bring it forward. I've also had micro suction twice in that time!

I'm a Nursing Associate in GP land. Ambition is to set up my own ear microsuction/irrigation business. Probably massively outing now. But. I can't post anything patient specific due to confidentiality. However, I have a video of one of my husbands ears and he has given consent to post it. Not the fullest ear I've ever had but it gives you an idea. I'll see if I can attach.

The best patient ever was a man who I literally have never seen so much wax come out his ears before or since. He said to me 'are you sure my brain isn't coming out?!' I said 'I can't be sure!' 🤣

There's another ear unblocking thread going at the moment and the OP used a bicarb spray which fizzes up in your ear and dissolves the wax - sounded good!

That's dry wax. I'd use olive oil ear drops to soften it then it should fall out

Olive oil is usually the best all rounder. Bicarb based ones can dry the ear canal out a bit too much.

Update pics! The last one was taken this morning. My ear drum is no longer blocked which is such a relief. This was just by using olive oil drops on the 2 occasions and the wax has slowly softened and come out in the last week. Since last night and I can actually hear properly for the first time since May!

The cameras are worth every penny.

I don't get much wax but I do get psoriasis in the ear canal that can build up as a sort of spiral of dead skin.

@bananaphon you're like the poster that just keeps on giving. Phwoaarrr

At the risk of disappointing true sporners, here's one of mine.

A relative of mine, with long standing inner ear problems, took a video using one of these cameras and something was
moving around in there! Like a tentacle. It was the creepiest thing I have ever seen. Whatever it was it seemed to react to the light from the camera. Their consultant specialist had no idea what it was. This is a true story. I haven’t recovered yet from what I saw!

We have ear issues. One has green juice and discharge but no pain unless he interferes with it.

The other has no pain but a feeling like head in a bucket. At one point the ear canal was completely closed with swelling but now looks normal. Cl-ear drops don’t seem to have done much.

No idea what to do.

NHS page seems to suggest just waiting and it will clear up.

@Spacerader does ignoring this kind of problem lead to tinnitus? That’s my worry. Neither of us are particularly troubled by the ear and are happy to wait for it to improve naturally, trying out various ear drops along the way. Our worry is that the faint ringing sound you get when the ear is malfunctioning will become permanent.

@mrschocolatte that sounds like something from a horror film 😱

@KeirSpoutsTwaddle I'd have thought the one with the green/swollen ear should be prescribed antibiotic drops to stop any infection. Have you tried olive oil for the other one? I found blockage even in one ear so disorientating but everyone is different.

I don’t think it’s wax, the person usually has dry earwax rather than sticky. Tends to get itchy dry ears and gets in trouble from scratching at them.

The sticky green eared one isn’t registered with a GP having just moved house. His arrived on a hot, swimming pool holiday.

We’ve been madly scouring ingredients in ear drops to work out which ones to try in which order.

@KeirSpoutsTwaddle that's how my infections have always started. Swimming pools!

Oh, yes, they are brilliant - their Welsh accents compliment the videos so well.

My BIL was a doctor.

One day a woman came in with a similar complaint. He removed a beetle from her ear and she fainted dead away in the examination room.