Wax Build-Up in One Ear, Is the Increased Loudness of Tinnitus Temporary Until It's Removed?

Hello guys,

You might have seen my other thread about my ears feeling off during my vacation. I went to a doctor and he said he didn't see any wax, HOWEVER, a friend of mine from TT told me to try to lift my ear to see if it was wax build up or not (the fullness disappeared when I lifted my ear), and I also made my mom check it. It is indeed a lot of wax quite deep inside the ear canal and I am currently using oil to loosen it up and hope it comes out the natural way or at least moves out enough so I can have a professional clean it. I really don't want them to use syringing or suction so I am giving it a bit of time.

But as always, the bad ear with the wax is spiking, the loudness is increased and I would assume this increase goes away to baseline level as soon as the wax is removed? Or is it possible that the level stays that way or/and the brain "register the new level and sounds" and make it permanent?

 

I've had massive earwax impaction twice. My tinnitus started because of my first one. It was quite loud but after removing the wax it became much quieter (still loud because of other reasons). The second time my left ear gradually became louder and louder, and removing the wax from that made it much quieter again. You'll have some hyperacusis and everything will sound weird but your tinnitus should absolutely reduce.

 

Thank you for your quick response!
I've had wax build up once at the onset (I have NIHL from a concert) and got some water in that ear from the shower and the wax just blocked my ear due to the water being sucked in. It did come out after a panic visit to my mom that picked it out but this time it's lodged too deep. But glad to hear it does reduce back to the normal level once it's removed, I guess it's like having an earplug in at this point that just blocks T noise back into my head. Hope it comes out soon so I can feel like a normal person again and thank you for your confirmation (now I can stop having minor panic that the T increase somehow can be permanent!)

 

If what you say is true you could experience a tinnitus reduction from your baseline. Hope you get it so you can Enjoy it, ignoring the impending hearing distortions.

 

By the way South Korea is lovely. I loved visiting every time I went.

 

I don't think it'll go quieter than my baseline, at the onset I didn't really have a baseline yet but I do remember the wax build up with the water making T louder. It went back to sort of "normal" after it was removed. Now I just want my old noise level back and don't expect it to become quieter than before. As long as I can get back to my old baseline I'm more than happy.

 

South Korea is nice but they do love honking their cars for no reason ALL the time. Seriously I couldn't step out even for a second without plugs. I think the week of constant plug use was the cause of the build up

 

I thought you've had it since onset. If you didn't then never mind.

Probably Seoul. The countryside is much better. All of east Asia is really loud though. Guangzhou is still the loudest city I have ever visited.

 

I got T from a concert but when I visited the doctor due to the tinnitus onset they noticed the wax build up and told me to use ear drops to loosen it up. Removing it didn't do much to reduce the T baseline but only from the increased loudness as it was blocking one ear. Hopefully, it'll do the same thing this time even if I've been going around with a blocked ear for over a week now :/ Brain is a wonderful and dangerous thing, as it seems to learn a new sound and loudness and just make it permanent even if you remove the source of it.

It was Seoul, and yes I can imagine China being worse. I am visiting family in Shanghai next summer and well, I don't even want to know how loud that is. I never remembered it to be loud from the countless of summers I've spend there but I didn't have T back then..