Earwax Removal (Syringing)

Jesse Pinkman ( wrote )

How did the suction damage you? Did it spike your sounds? Create new sounds?

"Yes, I have had my earwax flushed out many times when I was younger, and even had suction once, that's when I figured out that it was not a good idea, and switched to manual removal. I recovered from all of that, including the ENT that used suction on me. That was much worse then your irrigation and I recovered from that as well. But it took a long time, about 3 or 4 months. You just had it done a month ago in November, so its still early. So you need to give it more time, and try and get you mind on others things. It's not like you went to a heavy rock concert for 5 hours. Try and stay positive and hang in there. This will pass in time its just a small spike, and its good for you to keep telling yourself that, it helps with the healing process"

That was my post

Jesse

The one time that I let an ENT use suction on my ears ( a BIG mistake ) was the ONLY time. I ended up with a massive spike, it didn't create any new sounds, but it did increase my tinnitus a lot. Thank Goodness, I made the ENT prescribe a steroid pack regiment and I took it for the allotted days, or it would have ended up a lot worse. It's the only thing that saved me from a major tinnitus increase.

I hope that answers your question's.


Louie

 

There is plenty of risk if the wax is up against the eardrum. There is always risk he will poke through. You also have to stay pretty still.
and the method you describe is not widely used. Irrigation is still the usual method and it works.

 

tinnitusssufferer

We can agree to disagree on this I guess. You could do damage with a Qtip If you tried hard enough. But I have to say that I have had my wax removed probably about 40 times over the years and I never had a problem with the ENT doing it the Manual way. That's the point of the scope with the light. Its very easy for them to see what they are doing. Yes you have to stay still, and it can hurt a little when he/she get's close to the ear drum, but Its still by far the safest way to do it.

One time when I got it flushed out with water by a GP, I ended up with a nasty infection, and I never get ear aches. It took weeks for me to recover from that.

Another time, I got a horrible spike right after had it was removed with suction. its just too dangerous.
The only reason why ENT's like suction and use it, or flushing is because its faster and they can get more patients done in a day. Manual removal takes longer that's it.


Louie

 

I do see that removing it manually is safer however you are exaggerating the danger of ear irrigation. If it was so dangerous they would not do it. The doctors job is to help the patient not to give you tinnitus.

My main point is that here in the UK there is no choice in the matter. There is no such thing as manual removal. ENT appointments can take months. Many of us cant afford private healthcare either.

So the only option is to go to the local gp to get the irrigation done.
Its all very well advocating manual removal and disagreeing with irrigation but its not so simple. From what i understand wax removal is a common procedure so if we all switched over from irrigation to manual removal, the demand would shoot up, so would the cost of it and we just wouldnt cope with the demand.

 

My experience with irrigation is wholly negative and I would advise anyone not to allow it to be done - especially if you already have tinnitus. Persevere with olive oil for months if necessary (including days off). If you go for irrigation and it causes damage there might be no way back and you have your lifetime to regret it. Just because some people come out OK it does not mean the procedure is safe.

Manual removal is great if you can get it.

 

One day after syringing I noticed T in my left ear when I woke up.
I didn't persevere this ear with oil.
I Only wanted my rightr ear to be syringed, the one which was persevered with oil.
Before I even knew it the GP nurse was syringing my not oiled ear.

 

I don't know if that's the main cause. The same day of syringing I worked with a loud electric hedge trimmer without ear muffs, when I was helping my dad in his garden. And the neighbour of my dad also told she had a cat deterrent. I read that cat deterrents also can cause T. Before I also used headphones with loud music many times. H came with onset of T. I didn't even notice H.

I only can hear my T. at night or in quiet rooms.
2 months after onset of T I got a much worse H.

 

I remember now that my ear was ringing before they flushed my.ears or at least tried to on Nov 7. I remember an email I sent out that it kept me up..so now I guess. The cleaning did not cause it..just enhanced it i guess. ..

Could it really take almost month from loud noise exposure to get T? In October my.bf and I went to Formula Drift race. And we've gone before with no war plugs. But never heard ringing after the show at all.
We.drove from Los Angeles back to Sacramento and we go through the mountains. So ears plugged up then popped. My right ear took a minute.or 2 to pop. When we got home I heard ringing for a few minutes but it went away
Never heard it since October 12 2014. Until November 6

 

I guess the syringing was just the last push giving me T.
I just had too much noise in my life.
(loud music on headphones, metal detecting beeps on headphones, going out in clubs)
I also had a disco/club T for one week when I was younger.

 

Tinnitussuffer

I'm sorry, I did not factor in the availability and cost factor in my early post. I have a friend in the UK and hes always complaining about the health care there. I guess living in the US are system might be a bit better. But I still pay for my insurance. I hope that you are able to get your problem resolved soon and safely.

Good Luck


Louie

 

My ENT suggested douching too I actually think I pressed the water through too hard - I remember it really hurting and a few seconds later BINGO - ringing ears

 

Worse H came later, so I hope that's not from damage. But hey, at least there is TRT.

 

I believe my initial tinnitus may have been either worsened or partially caused by syringing. I would advise you to avoid it if at all possible.

As for suction, I'm not entirely sure. It seems like it would be potentially harmful, considering how loud it can be. I ended up having to have an impacted ear drum cleaned via suction, which I was terrified of. My ENT who has tinnitus himself told me that suction shouldn't cause tinnitus, or make it worse, at least in his experience, so I went through with it. This was quite awhile ago, but the procedure didn't cause me any trouble as far as I could tell, much to my relief. That being said, I think everyone is different and may react differently.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'll think twice next time and go very very gently if I ever do that again.

Sorry, that bit that you quoted sounds harsh. I only meant to add my voice to those warning about irrigation as I've had a bad experience with it myself.

 

Well, H can decrease or go away.

 

I had my left ear suctioned once and it didn't do anything to me. The doctor said the tool wasn't that loud and it wasn't. I don't see what the big deal is...
Though Ill never do it again now.

 

You got Lucky,,, I bet that the SPL is over 120 DB with all that air rushing past the ear drum, NOT for me that's for sure. I did it once, and regret it to this day. I was never the same after that. It's just a quick and dirty cheep way to remove the wax, that is why they do it. Most ENT's don't care, its all about the Money, and the faster they can get you in and out, the faster they can get someone else done.

But hey, if it woks for you, You do what you want to.

Louie

 

From my experience with suction, it was uncomfortably loud but that's only because I am not used to everyday noise without earplugs, even normal speech is uncomfortably loud for me without earplugs.

I would disagree that it is in the 120db range, i would liken it to the volume of speech at a near shouting level, probably more in the range of 90db maybe, but not 120db I would think!

I agree that I got it done once and never again, my T has stayed at this elevated level and has never gone back down!

 

Obviously this syringing but also ear sprays and ear drops are the worse as well. think putting anything in our ears is bad I was told by my doctor.

 

RichL

Ok,,, I guess in all honesty I should reword my last post, because there's no way for me to know exactly how loud it is, But It "SEEMS" like its over 120 DB, but of course there is probably no way to measure it right at the ear drum where the sound is being generated. I still would never do it again. I have had my ears flushed up with water or ( syringed ) before with no increase to my tinnitus. But I would say that's just a toss of the dice. I just don't want to encourage others on here to entertain getting their ears cleaned using the suction method. Very BAD idea.


Louie

 

when I had my ear(s)suctioned I specifically asked the doctor if the suction was loud and she said that there's no way it could possibly hurt my hearing and it didn't seem overly loud its just when you stick something in your ear that's making noise it's going to seem louder. I only had it done or maybe a grand total of 5 to 10 seconds intermittently she kept on taking it out and putting it back in.

but as I said I'm never going to have it done again. I appreciate the heads upost has sufficiently scared me. I appreciate the heads up

 

Hi Everyone. I have had microsuction 4 times this year and found no increase in my T. BTW which i've had now for 14 years. Last year I was given two hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss, I wear these most of the day and found in the first 6 months i was having a terrible time with wax but after my last appointment I was prescribed Sodium Bicarbonate ear drops which I now use twice a week to keep the wax at bay and to this day its been a real success I must also say the secret is to keep on top of the wax once its been removed by regular oiling your ears. Hope this helps someone

 

Can a forceful ear wax job not only hurt your drum but also increase the whistling sound heard in the ear?

 

Very informative thread.i was about to do the warm olive oil drops inside the ear yesterday.good thing I chickened out.

 

I got a forceful flush out on a left ear cerumen impaction (ear wax blockage) and left me with a very painful drum. The dumb nurse did not use any wax softening and she rushed through the procedure with what it felt like she used a water hose at full blast. Bottom line: PCDs and their nurses SHOULD NOT intervene with delicate and fragile organs as your ears and hearing. Leave that work to ENT. Do not let them flush you out, request a referral to ENT and if your doctor does not want to refer you there while you are in consultation, file an immediate grievance. Any Ear work should be done by specialists (ENTs) and not general med practitioners.

Once you get to ENT, start asking questions; such as, is an ear flush out or any other type of intervention inside your ear going to hurt? If these people (ENT) sound overly confident, something is already wrong; a red flag should go up. Do not trust your precious hearing like your vision to ANYONE! I wish I had read my own advice before I went to a Kaiser PCD and it feels they damaged my ear and hearing. I pray I will recover as I have this never ending hissing sound 24-7 now, totally frustrated.

 

Been a while since I visited this forum ;D . I hibernated to my tinnitus now and had it for just over a year. I also got mine like Markku. Went in for a ear syringed and got it a few days after ;(.

 

If you think drops, sprays, and syringing are the "worse," then why would you think that medical professionals continue to justify invasive methods for ear conditions as safe and helpful? Don't you think that if the methods-mentioned were abrasive to the ear structures, they wouldn't be sued? Please reply.

 

My HMO ENT doctor told me today with a big smile on her face, "NO." Then I asked her, why did my ear started ringing after the flush out? She said: "The flush out exacerbated your already existing condition," which I of course disagreed. I did not have ringing in my ears before I visited my PCD for intervention. In the ears, most people have very soft sounds that they cannot hear and I think she might have been referring to sounds that I couldn't have heard before the wash out but were there already and the syringing made them conscious. Again, there is no way I could have not heard these loud hissing noises then that I have now. The ENT was circumstantial and subjective on this diagnosis, other than a biased hearing test that they had me take and (that is another thread). Reply and keep this thread going.

 

Jesse and Louie, do you both still have Tinnitus?