Ear Wax — If Manual Removal Is Not Possible, What to Do?

Hello guys!

So I have had major problems with a wax build up in my ear the last week. I've been using ear drops twice every day for 3 full days (on the 4th day now). My ear gets really plugged when the oil reaches the wax and it sort of swell up so the tinnitus is unbearable due to blockage and I hear very badly. So I try to spray olive oil mostly at night before sleep and some during the day. My mom has checked my ear and the oil is working but the wax is dislodged pretty far in but it might take another week or two before it might come out by itself. But this blockage is ramping my tinnitus, my anxiety and really I don't hear well and barely anything when I use the drops.

I got an emergency appointment with an ENT tomorrow (thank God or something), but I was very specific to the nurse that I do NOT want to use irrigation or suction. Especially not the latter one. She said that they always suck it out and that yes, it could be loud but I told her that was not an option. She said that they do have manual instruments so I had to see the doctor to determine the best course of action.

If the wax is too deep for her to remove it manually, what should I do instead?

Assume that the wax isn't going to come out naturally, what is the next best thing to do? Irrigation? I heard it's loud too but at least it wouldn't be a vacuum cleaner right up your ear.

I've heard so many horror stories even from people without T so I trust that it is way too loud. I really need some advice for tomorrow on a plan B if the ENT can't remove it and suggests either suction or irrigation. I hate this, I used plugs to protect my ears and instead it lead to wax blockage (I use oil drops to prevent build up but here we are) and now I have to choose between two evils really. Either let the wax stay in and feel deaf with 10/10 loud T or risk having permanent increase in irrigation or suction.

FML.

 

@Fangen Take it from me - first cause of tinnitus by power irrigation. I only will have wax removed now by bulb syringe - no noise, just water at low pressure to outside of ear. With three days of ear drops it should come out on first try. Tools would be my second choice.

 

Thanks Greg, I am not sure what tools they have. I'll ask for the bulb syringe, hopefully, they have one (i'll bring my own, have one at home but afraid to make it worse by doing it myself). My wax is usually soft and thin (but dry so it sticks to the ear canal and builds up, so no sticky wax that gets super hard like a stone or something). That's why I think if the ENT can reach, they should be able to pull it out with ease really but that is up to the ENT to see if that is even possible. I'll take the bulb with me from home to be safe and ask her to use it first if she can.
I am so nervous and anxious to be honest..

 

Hi @Fangen,
I have had microsuction and also srynged and both were fine.
You just need to soften up the wax first.
Had microsuction yesterday by my Menieres specialist .
Good luck and your doing the right thing using olive oil but a dropper would work better than a spray.
Love glynis

 

@Fangen I've had this article for a few years.

http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/tin...ng-and-middle-ear-infections-whats-the-score/

 

Thanks Glynis, glad to hear that it went good for you. At this point I am willing to do almost anything to get rid of the blockage. It really ramps up my T to severe levels, so its hard to hear from the ear due to T loudness. There are no dropper versions of the oil, the spray is used as a mean of making it easier to ensure you get right amount of oil in. I also use two, three sprays to really get lot of oil in.

Did you find the suction loud? Did it cause spike?

 

In the end of the article, the author speaks about the brain "locking" in the sound. Does he mean permanent or that you are just more aware of the T? One of my fear with going around with increased T due to the wax blockage is that the brain is going to "lock itself" in the new and loud T and make it the new baseline permanently...

 

@Fangen,
Microsuction wasn't loud at all and no problem.
Love glynis

 

@Fangen From what I read the brain locking in sound is when one sees their tinnitus as a crises or has experienced a personnel crises apart from tinnitus. I remember an article that said this doesn't happen overnight, but from an ongoing situation. The article had changed course towards the ending so in the last few paragraphs the subject matter is not in reference to wax.

 

I see, thank you for explaining that! The article was great by the way, thank you for sharing it, it was a good read!

 

Hey @Fangen i got micro suction done before i had Tinnitus... Mine t started after a loud rave... But now i can feel that my ears are getting full too and I'll probably get micro suction done again. It's probably better to have it manually removed but micro suction gets more wax out. Im Also afraid of making it worse but once it gets to the point where there is so much wax it makes the sound so much louder, i just the wax out.

 

I know what you mean. Gone over a week with really loud T due to blocking and feeling the wax move around when I eat and hearing bad. At this point I am at my wits end so I would probably agree on doing suction or irrigation but I will try to avoid that if I can.

Do you remember if it was loud with suction? I read from members hear that says its dangerously loud and other feel it isn't too bad.

 

Fangen - I have had or still have this dilemma. I tried to do a lot of research and read a lot of papers, emailed some ENTs to ask about their preferred technique. There is no consensus in the academic literature on whether suction, irrigation or manual removal is best in terms of the risk of worsening tinnitus. There are way more patients online with worsened tinnitus from suction or syringing (and possibly irrigation, maybe people mix these up) BUT this may simply be a reflection that suction and water removal techniques are done much more frequently than manual removal.

I kind of got the picture that manual removal was the way least likely to exacerbate or cause tinnitus UNLESS the wax on the eardrum in which case experts disagree as to which is the safest way to remove it

I had a recent wax impaction removed manually but i think the guy left some on my eardrum. I'm told it should migrate off with time- weeks to months. So I might leave it. But as the wax impaction seemed to be what began my tinnitus I too am scared of the sound getting ingrained in my brain

 

Not gonna lie, it was a bit loud, but it didn't last too long, I've read many stories and they're half and half, for some it got worse, and for some it got better... I read that irrigation is worse than suction. If possible try manual but chances are that won't remove the wax close to the ear drum which is probably making t sound worse. I will most likely get suction done again and hope for the best.

 

Fangen don't leave it too long if it's a bad impaction and you are using oil - I did this and by the time it was removed there was an outer ear infection, think the ENT said mild, but that could have caused or contributed to my ongoing tinnitus too

 

I am going for removal tomorrow. They require you to use wax removal a few days prior to make it easier to remove. Most doctors or ENT here won't remove it unless you have soften it up a bit. Hoping it's not an infection in there, doesnt hurt and I have avoided to get water in my ears. I'll remove it tomorrow even if that mean I need to undergo practices I don't like :/

 

Ho

How long did you leave yours in?

 

Well I had the actual wax impaction for 2.5 months cos it was missed by a couple of GPs at first. Initially it was just causing me deafness, the tinnitus started after 7 weeks or so...I think after the deafness got worse after i went swimming. From what I've read what can happen when you get a wax impaction is you go swimming and water gets behind the wax and gets stuck. Then I saw a private ENT who diagnosed the wax impaction.....and as I was leery of suction he said try drops for 10 days. I think after about a week of this the ear started to get sore....and from what I read drops can sometimes just case wax to expand and may even increase the odds of infection.

So the point is I think it was the trapped water and oil that precipitated the infection as I had the actual impaction go undiagnosed for yonks

 

I really wish people wouldn't quote that site as if it's some sort of authority on tinnitus. He may have some good points, but the guy isn't a medical doctor, he doesn't work in tinnitus research, he's not some authority on hearing loss and tinnitus.

When he mentions the "brain grows “connections” that “lock in” the tinnitus" I believe he's is referring to neuroplastic changes that occur with tinnitus, but what is unclear to me and what I haven't gotten a good answer on, is if these neuroplastic changes occur gradually over time or if they occur very quickly.

 

@Alue That true, he has a Ph.D and not a medical degree. Those who are audiologists don't usually have a medical degree. My GP of internal medicine has a medical degree and has stated that he knows nothing about tinnitus, but he will write a prescription for a drug that wouldn't be written if I didn't have tinnitus.

Over the summer I provided a professional link that stated medical schools only show a 30 minute video on tinnitus. So in any case, where we read information we should double check. I always do. My neuro said that he was required to spend little time per tinnitus in medical school. He has taken additional study courses since graduation. Have you ever checked the additional studies of doctors in tinnitus research? The results will surprise you. For doctors or those with a Ph.D it's about experience, additional study and employment.

I went to a TMJ pain specialist dental doctor who said that TMJ has no connection to tinnitus? Do I think that, not being a doctor - no. Tinnitus is a broad field and there are no researchers or doctors that know everything about the subject. Does this subject discussion also mean that none of us should be posting about tinnitus, even from personnel experiences? Ones who writes a book or article about tinnitus will show lots of references because no one in this field has total understanding of tinnitus.

I do agree with you as we know that tinnitus is complicated.

I provided the link above because an audiologist had concerns. So in connection there are statistics on ear syringing and suction gone wrong causing tinnitus reported to the medical, consumer, government and legal associations within the States. Actually by research, one will find the complaint reporting totals high compared to most other medical complaints. From what research shows is that England and some other countries have better medical standards per the discussion of ear wax removal. It may just come down to where you live. In the US, a tech or a nurse is allowed to perform wax removal.

 

That was my initial interpretation of the text as well. Hence why I am afraid that my brain has or is currently locking the new, loud, T in. At the same time, I need to soften the wax with drops before, or it could cause more damage when removed. So I am in a weird place, some here says you need to treat the wax 2 weeks before removal and other say to get help ASAP. I can only hope that the brain hasn't locked in the sound yet. I don't take this article as the one and only truth but it is also helpful in a way so I understand more. So I get where you are coming from! It's good that you point that out. It's only 3h left before my appointment, a bit scared but really want to get rid of it. But mostly scared that the loud T is going to stay after the wax is removed and I realize that I messed up by not going there earlier to get it removed or realizing that I am having that horrible new sound forever.

 

@Fangen I just read several medical journals and it gets complicated (what's new with tinnitus) with brain lock / neuro plastic subject matter.

From internal sound input - wax in the ear isn't usually a problem minus other ear damage/problems - unless there's a somatic connection, hearing loss or stress.

For you, stress is doubtful because of the length of time and you most likely don't have other problems apart from the external fire alarm that may have caused some hearing loss.

I'm not sure where you stand with any hearing loss prior to wax. It should go back to baseline sometime after the removal of wax. This is inline to post #9.

 

I have hidden hearing loss. NIHL from loud concert without plugs and audiogram shows no dip in the normal talking frequencies. My pitch is high freq so most likely over 8000 khz. I want to do a new audiogram as it is 2 years old now just to compare.

I hope and think the wax removal will send my T back to base line but that fear of causing a louder T is always present, logical or not.

15 min now to my appointment. Feeling so nervous and scared I feel physically sick. Will update when I am done

 

His PhDs are in theology and ancient astronomy, not audiology. My audiologist just got her PhD in audology after working in the field for over 30 years. I've spent a good amount of time talking to three neurotologists that work in tinnitus research. I weight their opinions more heavily than some blogger that sells e-books.

I do agree that most medical professionals are woefully uninformed about tinnitus and other hearing disorders. I also agree or rather suspect that suctioning and ear irrigation can possibly be damaging. I guess I react that way because I've seen that website cited many times before when there is a question about the safety of some medication. The same author has a book called Ototoxic Drugs Exposed that claims many drugs are ototoxic when they have not been proven to be.

 

@Alue I agree again. He doesn't have a Ph.D degree in audiology and I agree from past research memory that he did overkill his list of ototoxic drugs. I gave this link because an audiologist reported that many of his patients received tinnitus after syringing. The comment section shows others who got tinnitus from syringing.

I did get (first tinnitus) from syringing the same way that he mentions - as being a reaction to loud noise like a shotgun. Many in the tinnitus community won't admit that syringing can cause tinnitus. Many won't admit to any medical procedure causing tinnitus. Many say it's all due to mental stress. In my opinion, not always is there a full connection.

Once one has tinnitus, stress can be an understanding factor when one needs to avoid loud noises, has hyperacusis, concerned about major dental work, having ear wax removed, can't take certain drugs for a headache or other conditions.

My dental specialist pain doctor said that dental work nor TMJ has any correction to tinnitus - where I received my second somatic tinnitus and then TMJ problems. I will no longer see him. I wasted money where he told me nothing other placing a warm towel on face.

 

I'm a bit skeptical of Neil Bauman too. He likes to fatten his wallet by selling E-books. A bit ridiculous as the link below shows. I don't trust much of what he says personally.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...YAhUl1oMKHVVyDbcQzToIfygBMA0&biw=1366&bih=543

 

@Fangen how did you get on? x

 

Hello!

I had to do the micro-suction as the ENT could not remove the oil/wax that was built up without it as it was lodged too close to the eardrum. I won't lie, I was scared as hell and it was loud, like a loud white noise in your ear for 2 seconds. The ENT put in the suction to let me see how it felt, it sounded like a wind but then the actual suction began (basically that the tube catches something, that is what it sounds worst). It was over fast but I wasn't sure what to expect even though I read about it a lot and I had anxiety all day. I got reactive tinnitus and it left a bit of a white noise residue (if that make sense) in that ear for a few days (like a spike) but then went back to normal. I had a follow up check with another ENT and he was kind enough to remove the rest (I had to use drops in between the first and second visit) and that really put my mind to ease a lot more. I didn't get any permanent worsening but I would not really want to do it again unless I really needed to due to my anxiety. I can't vouch or promise it is safe for everyone, with any treatment like that, there is always a chance for complications, but it is not something to be afraid of if it is the only thing that can help you with the issues you had. My ear was so blocked that T was really loud I could barely sleep, so suction did help and ultimately lower my T as it removed the blockage

 

@Fangen I'm so pleased to hear your T lowered back down after your removal! I'm in a hard position cause my T might/might not be caused by wax, different opinions from different doctors about it, so I don't know whether to get it removed or not. It's not causing any other issues except occasional fullness and the T, if it even *is* causing the T, and currently the T isn't too unbearable, it's just upsetting rather than disruptive if that makes sense? So I don't want to risk worsening it if I can avoid it! So I've just been doing olive oil for weeks hoping it shifts. Thanks for letting me know how you got on

 

I used olive oils every day (twice a day) for a week and it was blocking my ear even more. However, mine was like blocking the eardrum so it made the wax swell up and it felt so uncomfortable to have a constant blocked ear. For me it was worth doing it so I could feel better and not have to be bothered by the loud T nor the ear fullness.
Hope it your problems is solved soon and that you feel better!