Debrox to Treat Excess Wax Caused Tinnitus and Eardrum Pain/Noise Sensitivity

This post is long and I do not expect everyone/anyone to read it. Please read the TL;DR right below!

TL;DR: 30-year-old male in good overall health. Used Debrox (carbamide peroxide) on left ear to try and remove excess earwax in January 2017 (first time ever using this drug). It caused onset of tinnitus, pain and discomfort on eardrum when hearing loud or sharp noises, and general eardrum sensitivity to any sound or vibration. All of these core symptoms have been present since the Debrox incident and have not noticeably improved to this day, 9 months later. Tested hearing at ENT office and it is fine – issues are centered around eardrum, middle- to inner-ear may not be affected.

What happened to my left ear? Has anyone else experienced something similar using Debrox (beyond just tinnitus)? Is there any sort of treatment option that I can pursue?

I have left my ear alone for the most part, waiting to let it improve on its own. It has not. I am now ready to attempt more direct treatments if possible.

Intro:
I'm a 30-year-old male in good overall health. In late January of 2017 I used Debrox on my left ear to remove excess ear wax. First time ever using this drug. I used it twice a day for ~3 days. I put several drops in my left ear, allowed the drug to settle all the way to the end of my ear canal and rest on my eardrum, and left it there for 2-3 minutes per session. Almost immediately on first day of use I notice a ringing in the ear and that my eardrum feels odd. I figure these symptoms are just temporary and will clear in up a day or two. Nine months later, the core issues that began with the Debrox "treatment" remain and haven't noticeably improved. My right ear is fine (no Debrox used on it ever.) These core issues are only in my left ear.

Core Issues:

• Tinnitus
• Eardrum has a tingling sensation, does not feel "normal," calls attention to itself
• Eardrum is sensitive to airflow, drafts, and cold air; almost as if it had a rash
• Pain and discomfort on eardrum with loud or sharp noises, a loud movie or live show for example can cause ear to become very uncomfortable during the event and extra sensitive for a few hours afterward (while right ear is fine)
• Occasionally experience an uncomfortable "contraction"-like sensation when experiencing any sound or vibration
• Whooshing sound in left ear every morning when I wake up and move my head around, dissipates after several seconds
• Whooshing sound occasionally is caused by the vibration of my heart-beat, and any other external noises/vibrations
• Occasional dull pain in and around my eardrum, not caused by any external noise or vibration

There have been some secondary issues that have come and gone along the way. Many of these have resolved themselves.

Secondary issues:

• Intense bouts of itching deep in my left ear canal, still happens occasionally
• Thumping, spasm like sensations were present in the initial ~2-3 months after the Debrox use, probably my middle / inner ear muscles spasming, these have gone away on their own
• Burning sensation on eardrum was very strong in the initial ~2 months after Debrox, but have subsided
• Episodes of dull pain have reduced in frequency significantly, but still happen now and then

I think my eardrum was somehow damaged, misshapen, or injured by the Debrox drug coming into direct contact with it. I say this because, prior to using the Debrox, I never had any of the issues in my ear that I listed above. EVERYTHING began with the Debrox, there was no other incident that was out of the ordinary regarding my ear in this past year. I am skeptical of this being a simple "injury"... any trauma or injury surely would've healed by now? After more than 9 months? I fear something more serious may have occured such as nerve damage on my ear drum... but how could Debrox cause that? I have searched the internet for anything about Debrox causing such issues (beyond simply tinnitus) and have come up empty-handed. All of my symptoms are connected. If I could somehow heal whatever went wrong I believe it could solve many problems. I also believe that if I had never used Debrox, and had just used mineral oil (which I had this incident with zero issue), I would never have had any of these issues.

I have had several rare moments where the tinnitus will fade out completely for 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of a second, but it returns promptly to the same level as it was before. I have also had even rarer moments where the tinnitus will change in pitch, usually to a lower pitch, for ~1/3 of second, then return to its normal frequency.

I did see an ENT in my area ~1 month after the Debrox incident. They examined my eardrum under a microscope, removed some earwax that had settled on it (probably caused by the Debrox loosening wax and making it flow down there), and gave me the hearing test. Ultimately they didn't see anything wrong, and suggested that the only option going forward were "brain-scans," which I'm assuming are MRI's? Regardless, they weren't helpful to see again.

Questions / Thoughts

• Would this impact my ear negatively in other ways if left alone for the coming years, and it were not treated (i.e. would it make me deaf in time?)
• Would an MRI (or otherwise) reveal the issue(s)?
• Would it be possible to stop all my issues if I were to have a doctor intentionally make my left ear deaf?

Thanks and best of luck to everyone. One thing I've learned from this ordeal: you truly don't know what you have till it's gone.

 

Hi. Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. My problems also developed after cleaning my ears with Debrox. I also used, at various times, Murine & Peroxide. I've seen an audiologist, ENT, PCP, DDS (to check for TMJ), and an Urgent Care Center osteopath. I have an appointment with a specialist at an Otolaryngology center at the end of the week. I don't believe Debrox, or any OTC ear cleaning product, can be the cause of our problems, but the process of wax removal itself might have set something off, the straw that broke the camel's back, which likely would have happened eventually, regardless. I will probably report back after the visit, if there is anything of interest. Hang in there, there are answers, although it seems almost impossible at times to believe it. If I were in your position (which in fact I am in some ways), I'd find the best ear doctor in my health care plan, get his opinion, and do what he recommends, including the MRI if indicated and any other procedures he thinks are important. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I still have a lot more research to do... clearly you're a lot further along in the process than I am. I don't even know what the majority of those acronyms stand for at this moment, lol.

I have an appointment to see an ENT (through my poor people's insurance plan, rather than pay out of pocket like the previous ENT I saw) this Friday and I'm hoping for the best. If he comes up empty handed, I'll lobby for an MRI of both ears and hope that reveals something... anything, really. At this point I just want some real information. I'm totally in the dark and with zero answers about what happened to me. All I know is what I feel... like tortuous clues.

The worst thing is: I know in my heart of hearts that if I had never used Debrox on myself for those few days my ear would be fine and I'd be none the wiser. Nothing else like this has ever happened to my ears for any other reason ever in my life. Obviously the Debrox did something or triggered something. I had to try to get fancy instead of just using water + hydrogen peroxide or mineral oil like the other few times I had wax issues in my life (those treatments caused zero problems and actually felt good on my eardrum).

I'll post an update after I see the ENT this Friday. I'm ready to tackle this thing head on. Good luck with your appointments too.

 

I don't think think an MRI would find anything if this happened because you used debrox. I would imagine the debrox somehow reached a nerve in the ear.

 

I don't think there is any nerve to be reached in the ear canal...

 

Nobody can answer this since nobody knows happened to you.

Maybe. Doing an MRI (or other imaging) at this stage is a fishing expedition. You can't predict if it's going to show something or not. That's the whole point of doing it. Sometimes it is to rule out things like acoustic neuromas.

Probably not. Actually there's a good chance it would make things worse: sudden deafness is not known to help tinnitus.

 

Don't blame yourself for using Debrox, this is a top-selling OTC product that is used regularly by a lot of people, with no problems. You may have an infection in the middle ear, a problem with the Eustachian tubes (which I suspect may be my problem), an otherwise harmless bump in the tissue in the ear, allergic reaction to something you eat or breathe, or something else entirely which can be remedied by a knowledgeable doctor. Good luck, and I'm still scheduled for an appointment with a new doctor on Friday afternoon.

 

Thanks to anyone for reading and replying to this thread.

Quick update on stuff:

3 months later and nothing has improved. Symptoms are the same. It has now been 1 year since the "Debrox incident." I have major doubts that whatever happened will resolve on its own. I've grown more familiar with the whole thing have "played around" with my ear a bit and learned quirks about what's happening.

The most major impacts have been on my sleep... ~50-60% of nights I will walk up half-way through my sleep, usually after about 4-5 hours, and then have trouble falling back asleep. Second major issue is simply living life amidst a noisy world -- as stated, my eardrum has become sensitive to any/all sounds, especially loud volumes or abrasive, sharp sounds like an alarm buzzer or kitchen dishes / pans clunking together. A loud movie or a show can be tortuous. I am afraid to go out to a club or something because I know how much it may hurt. I might have to bring earplugs.

I am 99.99% sure the Debrox alone caused this problem. I am 98% sure the problem is with my eardrum alone, and no other part of my ear. My other ear (right) which was not exposed to Debrox is completely fine. My left ear has been clogged with wax in the past, and unclogged with no ill effects. When I used Debrox it wasn't even clogged -- just some build up.

I had an appointment with an ENT resident (i.e. still a med student officially, but doing residency) last October (3 months ago). He examined my ear with a microscope and reported that my left eardrum appeared differently than my right. The first concrete information I had (my visits to a different ENT office in April of last year bore no fruit; the doctor saw nothing that was wrong in any way). He said he saw some kind of scuffling of skin (?) on my bad ear drum, implying that it wasn't as strong as my good eardrum, which appeared smooth and regular with its skin. He postulated that the issue might resolve itself in another 3 months, seeing as how the skin in the ear slowly replaces itself over time (including the eardrum skin). Thus, healthy skin would eventually replaced the scuffled skin and I would be okay. I doubted that it would heal itself like that, considering I had not experienced any measure of improvement for the last several months at that time. And, indeed, it has not improved to this day.

I have a follow up appointment scheduled with the same ear clinic on Monday the 22nd. I will not see the same doctor; I will see a different student doing his/her ENT residency, for it is a learning hospital. This is what my insurance affords me. I will insist on getting clear, high-res images of both my eardrums, as well as an MRI of both ears. I don't believe I'll be able to get good enough care through my insurance, so I'd like to get the MRI through them so I can pay out of pocket for some sort of specialist (who may request MRI images, in which case I'll have them). I don't see myself receiving good treatment if the best I can do is seeing a different resident physician every 2-3 months.

I've described my symptoms pretty well in my first post but I'll reiterate one here, as it is very odd and uncomfortable. Virtually any sound wave/vibration picked up by my left eardrum causes the eardrum to noticeably move/vibrate as it's picking up the sound. Those with fine eardrums may have never experienced such a thing. It's uncomfortable and strange. With high volume sounds, the sensation is VERY uncomfortable and can be very painful. Sounds as soft as my own breathing can trigger this vibration. It's the eardrum, the tympanic membrane, that's the problem. The Debrox exposure damaged it in some way. I need to figure out if I can heal it in some way. I'm helpless on my own, sadly.

 

Hi, I had the exact same thing happen to me. My right ear felt clogged about a week ago but I figured it was wax and went on about my week. It was noticeable but tolerable.

I debated going to a doctor or trying Debrox and unfortunately chose Debrox. 2 nights ago, on my second treatment, a loud high pitched whining or ringing began. I am scared to death that this will never go away. I went to my doctor today and didn’t even have wax, just a little water in the ear canal. I should have left it alone and never used it and I would be fine.

Exact same story as yours.

 

I thought I would leave an update. It’s been a few months now and no change. My doctor also completely dismissed Debrox being at fault. My ear is no longer clogged which was what started this, but the ringing is the same. For about 2 weeks, I thought I would go crazy. Then I thought of using my earbuds (which I never wore) with white noise. That has helped tremendously, but I always have to wear it.

My hopes of this going away are about gone. I see an audiologist to see if there is any hearing loss. To me I don’t notice any but figure I will check everything to figure out what happened. After that I will probably look for a doctor who specializes in this since my ENT was rather dismissive and told to “try not to focus on it” Yea, right.

 

Unless you have a perforated ear drum, it's highly unlikely that drops you use in your ear canal would make their way to your cochlea: the ear drum isn't that permeable. That's probably why...

Now that doesn't mean your ear didn't have an issue: clearly you felt it was clogged enough to warrant action, but it could have been due to another condition.

That sounds like a reasonable course of action.

Good luck!

 

Well, I’ve had tinnitus for two and a half years now. This was due to my doctor recommending me to use earwax drops, and so that’s how I ended up at Debrox. My ear was clogged, so I decided to use it and leave the solution in overnight. The next day, I could hear a faint ringing in my ear. This would last to this day, and would sometimes change pitch for me on some occasions. I talked to my ENT but he said everything was ok and fine, and the sound should subdue in a couple of months. Expectedly it did not. Well this ringing has been stuck here for a while now, and it would be pretty funny if anyone replies to this, considering how the last post aged.

 

Aren't you supposed to just leave it in for a few minutes?

 

I did, but it had no effect after doing so. So, I decided to just try again the day after, but that's when I encountered the ringing.