Olive Oil on the Ear Drum — Can It Irritate Tinnitus?

Hi,

I'm using olive oil a couple of times a day to soften some ear wax I'm told that is impacted against my ear drum.

Not sure if it's my imagination, but my tinnitus seems a bit more irritable?

Can olive oil cause a tinnitus spike?

 

I don't know about olive oil but ive read that apple cider vinegar is an option and I asked my ENT about it and he said it would ok to try.

 

It did for me as well, do I discontinued it. I've not yet experimented with other substitute oils, but anticipate doing so.

 

Apple cider vinegar in the ear?

 

Did it settle?

 

yep.

it's a natural remedy for ear infections, too.
https://www.healthline.com/health/apple-cider-vinegar-ear-infection

 

I've got sodium bicarbonate now. Nearly got the peroxide one but says on the packet not to use if you have tinnitus.

 

Yeah, within a day or so.

 

Does anyone know if the ear drum can absorb things like olive oil, allowing it to enter the inner ear.

My tinnitus is just changing from week to week at the minute. I just don't know what the hell is going on. Now if I stretch or I stifle a yawn or I yawn my right ear is making a noise very locally as I do it, which stops once the yawn etc is over.

Please can someone help me?

 

I have never heard of olive oil entering the inner ear @Allan1967

Tinnitus can be changeable in the way that you have mentioned especially after a noise trauma. Since this is your second episode after years of habituation, it's like you're starting all over again. A similar thing happened to me when my tinnitus increased after a 2nd noise trauma in 2008. The experiences were quite different from the first in 1996.

You are focusing a lot on the tinnitus which is understandable but with time this will become less. Try and direct your thoughts into doing other things that you find interesting. If you are on medication and having treatment at ENT continue with them.

All the best
Michael

 

But does noise induced tinnitus eventually settle down into fixed noises Michael?

 

Noise induced tinnitus will usually settle down @Allan1967 but this process will be different for each person because we are all different. It is for this reason I often say that tinnitus is 90% mental on how a person is able to deal with it, because our mental and emotional wellbeing can have a huge impact on the way it behaves. My post: The habituation process and others in the links below will explain this in more detail. I know you have read these articles before, but it's important that you read them more than once over a period of time to help reinforce positive thinking. I cannot stress enough how important this is. Negative thinking or allowing it to take hold can have a detrimental impact on moving forward in the habituation process.

Whilst a cure for tinnitus will probably be available one day, it is important not to dwell on it as some people do. With this type of mindset they are closing themselves off to any type of treatment as being helpful and will find habituation difficult. Tinnitus has been around for thousands of years and the first medical account of it was by the Egyptians. Medical treatment for the condition would be considered quite bizarre compared to what we have today.

Physicians back then applied: infused oil, frankincense and tree sap to the external part of the ear using a reed stalk. The Mesopotamians found benefit chanting a mantra or meditated to help ease the whispering in the ears as it was called. The doctors believed in those remedies and therefore, who are we to say they didn’t make life more tolerable for some people with tinnitus? Give yourself time and try not to put too much pressure on yourself. My second noise trauma took 4 years for me to recover and habituate. This doesn't mean the same will apply to you for as I've said each person is different.

Please click on the links below and read the posts.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

 

Thank you Michael. I had different noises when my tinnitus first started... pulsatile tinnitus [I had grommits in my ears] and a couple of others but never to the scale this has been. Every other week, something new. I've had a bad chest infection; cough; lost my voice etc for over 4 weeks now and my hearing keeps getting muffled, so I'm hoping that has something to do with how varied this is being. My ear canals are also quite blocked with wax as well, not that I've noticed anything with my hearing...except of course when it goes muffled.

 

HI @Allan1967

I have had muffled hearing a few times caused by a build up of wax. When it was cleared I had no more problems with hearing. If I were in your situation then I would see my GP and get the wax removed by irrigation. Sometimes a referral to ENT for microsuction is required if the wax is compacted. It is important that eardrops be applied to each ear 3 times a day for 10 days prior to wax removal by these methods.

I have had irrigation three times and microsuction the same and never had a problem. There is much discussion on this forum from people saying irrigation and microsuction can make tinnitus worse but I do not agree. Providing eardrops/olive oil is used as I have mentioned it reduces any risk. If microscution is needed, then I would always attend a hospital ENT department and not a walk-in clinic that advertises on the Internet. With every medical procedure there is a risk even something that is considered minor as wax removal. Some are in favour of manual removal of earwax using a tool known as a curette. This also carries risk and you may have to pay privately for such a procedure or any other.

Earwax needs to be removed if there is a build-up and especially if it's compacted against the eardrum as problems will result: muffled hearing, dizziness, ear pain, infection, vertigo and can cause or make existing tinnitus worse. The choice is yours what you intend to do. I have discussed earwax removal many times in this forum, with those that are against microsuction and irrigation and will not be doing so again. I am just providing information.

Michael

 

Thanks Michael....I'm at ENT on Monday for my original appointment that I had to cancel a month ago due to not being well. I'll see what transpires. Currently I'm using the olive oil twice a day.