Finally Some Relief — A Cautionary Tale About Ear Irrigation

I have the utmost sympathy for you guys, that's for sure.

I've had tinnitus for a week after a (quite botched) ear irrigation that was done pretty violently. I gotta say, I was pretty inconsolable throughout the week - the pain was the worst part - but now I can say with confidence that it's getting better almost daily. The sensitivity in my hearing is all but gone (which freaked me out at first because I thought I lost my hearing, nope, I just acclimatised to not having blocked hearing), and the volume of the tinnitus is reducing sharply every day. It's currently more of a hiss like brown or pink noise, and even the slightest of background noise drowns it out effectively. Even that is reducing in volume too, but should it stay like this permanently I would be okay with that. The ringing note is remarkably quiet too.

Here's what I did:

As soon as I identified that the irrigation had irritated my eardrums or something (which surprised me since it was supposed to bloody help), I went on a pretty hardcore routine of protecting that ear. I used Windows' audio settings to balance out my headphones to cut my left ear out entirely, then used my over ear headphones all the time. This meant that I could hear out of my right ear just fine with music, games, et cetera, but my left ear was not only getting irritated by any noise from the computer, it was being protected from outside noise by the headphones themselves (a bit like earplugs). I also slept on the bad ear as well, I don't know if this is a good idea but it totally stopped any chance of noise from the road (sirens and such) from hurting me.

Now my tinnitus which was at a 6 or 7 is at a 2 or maybe a 3 at a push. The pain still comes and goes but it's very manageable, though unfortunately the right ear is quite painful as I type this.

I think this is a cautionary tale about ear wax irrigation. If you have any kind of ear irritation due to ear wax (I had very intermittent tinnitus, like it was very rare and only noticeable in silence when it was apparent) or pain due to ear wax, seriously consider whether or not the convenience and speed of ear wax irrigation at the GP is worth potentially screwing yourself over like I did. I used drops (Otex and olive oil) for five days before and that didn't seem to help all that much. Fortunately I'm recovering slowly, and I have a hearing test on the 28th, but PLEASE seriously consider just using the drops. It will take longer, but it was my own hubris that led to this situation - I wanted fast ear wax relief so I could use my speakers, and now I can't use them as well until the pain is fully gone.

I'm just happy this seems to be clearing itself up.

A huge thank you to the members of this forum who welcomed me with open arms. I hope I never have to come back, and I hope all of you receive the relief that you deserve.