Can Ear Wax Build Up Cause Tinnitus?

[Ab4477]

So I went in today to get my ears flushed with irrigation. I've been using baby oil twice a day for the past week to soften the wax.

However I was apparently doing it incorrectly because she said the wax is still hard. She even joked and said she was surprised I could hear out of my right ear (the one with ringing). She told me to warm up the oil (I'm going to use olive oil now) and leave it in my ear for 5 -10 minutes instead of the 1 or 2 minutes I was doing before.

She said to do this and come back in 5 days to get them flushed.

Is it possible that wax build up is causing my tinnitus?

I had to get my left ear flushed last year and I experienced no problems. Apparently my grandpa had ear wax build up also.

 

[Red]

So I went in today to get my ears flushed with irrigation. I've been using baby oil twice a day for the past week to soften the wax.

However I was apparently doing it incorrectly because she said the wax is still hard. She even joked and said she was surprised I could hear out of my right ear (the one with ringing). She told me to warm up the oil (I'm going to use olive oil now) and leave it in my ear for 5 -10 minutes instead of the 1 or 2 minutes I was doing before.

She said to do this and come back in 5 days to get them flushed.

Is it possible that wax build up is causing my tinnitus?

I had to get my left ear flushed last year and I experienced no problems. Apparently my grandpa had ear wax build up also.

Wax build up causes temporary tinnitus. If you still have tinnitus with no wax then it was probably caused by irrigation or some other means.

 

[Contrast]

tinnitus is a neurological response to a loss of hearing.
after ear wax removal tinnitus can take weeks to months to go away.

 

[Ab4477]

Okay I guess I'll find out when I get it removed if it was the wax or not causing it. Though I only have it in one ear and my hearing doesn't sound worse or muffled but when I got my ears flushed last year I could hear so much better afterwards.

 

[JohnAdams]

Be careful about how you remove it. Some of the machines the use can be very loud and actually permanently damage your hearing.

 

[Ab4477]

I plan on getting it removed with water flushing as I'm aware mircosuction can be the most dangerous, and the manual method depends heavily on the ENT's skill, however it could take me up to 6 months or more to see an ENT so my option at the moment is irrigation.

 

[Blue28]

My hearing was permanently damaged by an ENT who did microsuction, I now have hearing loss, hyperacusis and chronic tinnitus. Be VERY careful how you have your wax removed. If I could turn back the clock I'd just persist with the olive oil, I certainly wouldn't have microsuction or irrigation. Not worth the risk imo. What I wouldn't give to turn back time

 

[Contrast]

Microsuction and Irrigation aren't worth it,the process can go wrong and damage hearing and give you tinnitus and hyperacusis.

dude, you need to realize audiologist's are living in the stoneage when it comes to how to manage the inner ear.

 

[GregCA]

When I had my wax removed earlier this year, I asked it to be done with a curette instead of micro-suction.