How Can Ear Irrigation / Syringing Cause Tinnitus? What Is the Mechanism?

Can someone please explain by what mechanism can ear syringing cause tinnitus?

I had loud tinnitus due to earwax blockage which immediately subsided after ear syringing, but this mild tinnitus (a deep low frequency tone) remained. Even that improved over last 2.5 months.

Now it is very mild (feels like a slight background noise), but it is still there and seems to have remained steady for a fortnight or so (first long period without measurable improvement).

So, I really want to know exactly what went wrong with ear syringing or if this mild tinnitus is a component of previous loud tinnitus caused by earwax blockage. My hearing is fine in left ear, it's actually worse in right ear where I don't have any tinnitus.

I would really like to know if it will keep improving or should I seek to habituate.

 

Ear wax removal via syringing has a chance of going wrong and damaging hearing - which can result in tinnitus sometimes.
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/arti...resulting-from-cerumen-removal-procedures.pdf

 

is it the same as caloric test?

 

If the angle is wrong or too forceful, the water hitting the eardum is no different to sound waves hitting it, only it is a liquid as opposed to air pressure. The vibrations are still going to be passed through to the cochlea.

 

I think @Markku might know more on the subject (correct me if I'm wrong!).

 

Hi, I was wondering about this myself a while back and did some research. It's also important to say you do see people who got worse tinnitus after syringing for whom it got better over time though.

I emailed the author of one of the very few papers on the risks of tinnitus following the various methods of wax removal and he me he sent me the following document in answer to my query. The document is well worth reading for anyone interested in the subject.

http://www.clarksvillecenterforaudi...k-of-Complications-During-Ear-Wax-Removal.pdf

The document says:

"As for the loudness levels of these ear-cleaning procedures, excessive pressure is more likely to cause problems than sound exposure. Excessive pressure can be applied with irrigation, suction, or with a curette. In some cases, the ear will translate this mechanical pressure into the sensation of loud sound. Excessive mechanical pressure can damage the eardrum or send shock waves into the cochlea causing sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. A gentle, careful approach to ear clean- ing is the number one rule"​

The answer to the question would appear to be – mechanical trauma can mimic acoustic trauma

 

Oh also it may well not have been the syringing causing your ongoing tinnitus. I got tinnitus due to an ear wax impaction that went misdiagnosed for a few months. I had my wax removed using manual tools - the tinnitus only got quieter in that my hearing was restored so it was sometimes partly masked by sound. It is still here over a year later. I think the ongoing tinnitus was caused by whatever damage the delicate eardrum incurred during the wax impaction, rather than by the removal itself, though obviously I cannot be sure of that.

If your tinnitus is still improving there's every chance it will go away. When mine didn't really get better after wax removal I knew that wasn't great.

 

I just had an epiphany, because of your message! It all makes sense now. Thanks!

My T worsening started because of irrigation methode to remove earwax! I had a worsening of my T at first, because of earwax build up. This has to due with the fact that I wore my plugs while going out! This had pushed the earwax even further into my ear. Never a biggie. I tested my plugs so ruled out that it was because of excessive noise exposure, they were good. Then I had the irrigation to remove the wax. At first I experienced a complete cure to my old level of T! But then a day a later it worsened again. But this has to do with the fact that the ear-cleaning procedure produced excessive pressure that translated into the sensation of loud sound, causing the worsening of my T.

Never new that irrigation pressure is worse than noise exposure. I even saw a worsening in hearing scores, afterwards. My god, mystery solved. If I ever knew this on forehand I wouldn't have had this missery.