Is My Tinnitus More Likely to Be Caused by Ear Wax Build Up?

Hi,

I've had a history of ear wax build up and when I was around 6-8 years old I had to go to ENT to have my ears micro suctioned. I remember going for this several times. I am 31 years old now and every day for my whole life I've been removing the ear wax myself using a pen lid I don't even need to put it in that deep for all the ear wax to fall out of my ear and it can get a bit messy sometimes. It's so much that my family are amazed and at how much there is every day.

Anyway, I recently started getting tinnitus a few months ago and in the last few days it became slightly worse, but I would still consider it to be mild tinnitus as I can mask it when I am doing everyday activities. It only really annoys me when I am trying to sleep.

In addition to what I have said about my ear wax issues, today I just tried to get some ear wax out with my pen lid and also put my finger in my ear and moved it around quickly from side to side and it seemed like the tinnitus had stopped ringing, or was at least a lot quieter for maybe 5 to 10 minutes. I also sometimes feel these twitches in my ear like its ear wax moving or something. A few months ago I went to the doctor about my other ear which I felt was full of ear wax and she said it was and gave me Cerumol ear drops which helped remove the ear wax. She checked my tinnitus ear as well and didn't say there was a build up of ear wax in this one, but that could be because I never complained about that ear being full of ear wax.

I think I will try putting the ear drops in my tinnitus ear, but given that I don't have any hearing loss either and have a history of ear wax issues from a young age, what do you think is the probability of this being ear wax related tinnitus? For many years I have also had tinnitus from time to time which lasts for about 5 or 10 seconds and then disappears, but I always felt it was due to ear wax given my history. But now it is there 24/7 in my left ear. I'm also thinking of going and getting my ear micro suctioned while I wait for my ENT appointment to come through. The only other thing I can say is that I have listened to earphones/headphones throughout my life on a near daily basis for an average on 1 or 2 hours per day, but not at excessive noise levels like I hear some other people doing.

Thanks for your help,

 

I would use your drops to help the wax come out and put your pen tops in the bin and wait see ENT.
Keep music on the lowest setting if you use headphones etc.
Love glynis x

 

Thanks for your reply. The doctor told me that she has referred me for a hearing test at a local medical centre. Is this the same as being referred to ENT? I'm assuming it is ENT but I'm not totally sure as the doctor never mentioned ENT. It's been 7 weeks and I'm still waiting for my appointment. Thanks.

 

Being referred for a hearing test at a local medical centre is not the same as being referred to an ENT. It might only mean a five minute hearing test, performed by a nurse, that simply means you are tested to see if you can hear people speaking to you in a normal voice. Something you probably know already!

Make sure you tell the nurse the full extent of your Tinnitus, and don't play it down with typical British understatement. Play it up like a Hollywood starlet! Don't say "It only really annoys me when I am trying to sleep", say, "It's really annoying! I can't sleep!"

During my five minute test I blurted out everything I could about by Tinnitus, including that it was unilateral... which turns out to be one of the criteria for (eventual) referral to an ENT (maybe). But first I have to undergo a more comprehensive hearing test, in seven weeks time.... I wouldn't be surprised to then be referred back to my GP to make the referral, taking another seven weeks...

Don't assume anything. If you are uncertain if you are being referred to an ENT ask your doctor & the medical centre if you have, for certain, been referred to an ENT. If it's been 1 week, and you are still waiting for an appointment, then phone up the medical centre and ask if an appointment has been made. And keep on phoning every week.