Aural/hearing damage

[chuckyd4]

For about the last week or so, I've had this really dull, blurry feeling in my left ear. It's accompanied with a really "far-away" aching feeling, and just a general sense that something is not right with that particular ear.

That's the best way I can describe what's going on - nothing acute, and nothing that makes me think I suddenly damaged the ear drum or inner ear or anything, but just a general feeling that something's not quite as it should be.

Does anybody have any idea what might be going on here, or how I might get it back to normal?

FWIW, I'm only 25 (almost 26), so I don't feel like this is some long-term hearing loss (up until a week or two ago, everything with my hearing was perfectly fine). I listen to music on my iPod a lot, with "bass booster" Sony ear pods - which I wonder if has had something to do with the current problem. I cleaned out my ears recently and found a surprisingly large amount of wax in the left one (sorry for the details, but thought it might be important). There was no one incident which led me to believe I might have damaged my hearing in any way, just a general sense that something blurry or dull is going on in my left ear. Can somebody please help? It's making music somewhat uncomfortable to listen to (especially those sinewaves on the Amplify box), and I'd really like to get this back to normal before it gets any worse.

[Jon Abbey]

there are ways to get your ears cleaned professionally, and they pull out a lot of wax you can't get to on your own, you might want to try that. I've had this kind of thing happen to me sometimes a long time ago (when I was around your age), but not recently.

also, those ear pods suck, I'd highly recommend connecting some kind of regular headphones to your ipod if at all possible

[Lenny D.Guitarist]

It sounds like (no pun intended) a conductive ,not sensori-neural, problem. If you have a "far away" sensation, I'm willing to guess that it has something to do with impacted cerumen. If this is the case,a doctor, nurse, or physician's assistant can easily take care of it by irrigation. It will feel like a lot of pressure and then almost instant relief. Mr. Abbey is correct about ear pods... they suck, they hurt like hell, they fall off all the time if you're exercising strenuously and they transfer the music in an overly-concentrated manner to your ear. Real permanent sensori-neural damage can occur. I suggest you use regular headphones. Good luck.

[John P. Cooper]

Go see a doctor to be safe.

[Gentle Giant]

Huh? What?

[Doc Martin]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

Go see a doctor to be safe.

This is sound advise, chuckyd4. At 25 it's probably nothing, but you never know.

[Hot Ptah]

I agree about going to see a doctor. Technology exists now so that the doctor can point a camera in your ear canal down to the eardrum and show it on a big screen. It's astonishing what some of us have deep in the ear canal--big, hard lumps of wax. It's not that difficult for a doctor to remove the mini-boulder with water and instruments, but you could never get it out yourself. There will probably be a great difference in hearing after the lump of wax is removed.

[clinthopson]

After snorkeling this Feb. I developed a feeling like my head was full of cotton (no smartass remarks, please).

When I got home, I went to my ENT guy and he diagnosed the problem as bubbles in the inner ear. He said that I must have gotten some water into my eustacian tubes and it migrated to the inner ear. He prescribed Augmentin to avoid any infection. The bubbles cleared up after I took the stuff.

Next, year a new dive mask - one that doesn't leak, if there is such an animal.

[Mike Schwartz]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

Go see a doctor to be safe.

I was in my early 20's when I experienced a sudden loss of hearing, was on vacation in Fla. and was taken to my Grandfathers EN&T Doctor.

After water irrigation and a couple of marble sized chunks of wax removed, every time I took a step, I could hear a crunching noice every time my shoes hit the floor when I walked for a couple of days.

Instantly went from muffled to super hearing capabilities.

Re; earbuds:
The old world advice that you should not stick anything in the ear smaller than your elbow still rings true.

The near obsessive climate to shut out the world with personal listening devices may very well do the trick with potential generations becoming hard of hearing.

[clinthopson]

I asked my ENT guy about my earphones, Shure EC3s which fit into the ear. He said as long as I regularly wash the wax out, they shouldn't be a problem.

I use a 1600 gph washer.

[graypencil]

Originally Posted by clinthopson

I use a 1600 gph washer.

Clint: Exactly what is that?

I have had lifelong problems with wax buildup and the ERO glycerine/ bulb route aint cuttin' it no more ( no pun intended )

[clinthopson]

graype.

You, know one of those high pressure power wachers you use to clean the grease off your driveway.

Seriously, whenenever I visit my doc, which is way too often as years pile up, I have them clean my earholes. In between I use that rubber bulb baster thingy. It sems to work.

Is earwax build up another goddam sign of geriaticness?

I don't use it to baste turkeys though.

[graypencil]

Originally Posted by rostasi

Don't you hate that fizzy sound that the wax remover makes
when you've got the stuff in yer ear?
It sounds like bacon fryin' in there!

hell no!

it means it's working ..when you DON"T hear fizz ..that's when you Clints pressure washer ..

[patricia]

My late father, who seldom visited his practitioner of the healing arts, thought he was going deaf. This struck fear into his heart and he was persuaded to go, finally.
The doctor did the irrigation thing described earlier and I still remember him saying, afterward, that he could now hear a mosquito fart on the ceiling. He was delighted with the results.
I suspect that the reason that most of us don't fool around with our ears very much is that we are deathly afraid of puncturing our eardrums. I still recall somebody or other being shocked when they heard that there are those who use Q-Tips to clean out the wax that is naturally discarded by our ears.

[clinthopson]

Ah means psi, not gph.

Wadda maroon!

[Doc Martin]

Originally Posted by rostasi

Don't you hate that fizzy sound that the wax remover makes
when you've got the stuff in yer ear?
It sounds like bacon fryin' in there!

That's the hydrogen peroxide and or carbamyl peroxide, found in the OTCs.

You should have some wax in your ear. The wax is called Cerumen, which is produced by glands in your ear canal, in order to trap dust, microorganisms, and other foreign particles, preventing them from entering and damaging the ear canal.

Try using a a vinegar-water-peroxide solution (1:1:2) this can be warmed to body temperature and applied to the ear canal to soften wax. A drop of baby oil can be placed in each ear canal on a regular basis (typically, once or twice per week) to soften hard, painful wax. People who have a history of middle ear infections, swimmer's ear, or a hole in the ear drum should NOT try these remedies, nor should they allow a physician to irrigate their ears, as such methods can lead to a painful and/or dangerous ear infection. As a rule, people with a history of any ear disease should go to an ENT guy/gal for wax problems and not try treating the problem themselves.

Bear in mind that you run the risk of converting a partial blockage into a complete blockage by using over the counter wax removal systems, and the vinegar-water-peroxide solution, because the liquid can become trapped between the wax and the ear drum. There is also a "home remedy " called Candling, which in a nut shell is: a candle is placed in the ear canal. The wick is lighted and the candle is allowed to burn for a short period of time. Supposedly, the burning flame creates a vacuum at the other end of the candle, which can suck wax and other evil humors from the canal. When the candle is removed, the base of candle typically will appear dark brown, leading the person to believe that their ear wax has been removed by candling. This is very dangerous and does not work. If anyone suggests candling, tell ‘em, Doc Martin said GO SCREW!

[chuckyd4]

Thanks for all the helpful advice, folks. If anything, it's had two immediate positive effects: 1) cures my hypochondriac fears that I'm going deaf (does indeed sound like a perfectly curable wax issue), and 2) has inspired me to buy some spanking new Sennheisers for my upcoming birthday and dispense once and for all with my cheapo earbuds.

In the shower yesterday I cocked my head to the right and poured some warm water in my left ear and let it sit in there for a while, which indeed seemed to make it mildly better, which leads me to believe that a true irrigation is just the right solution. I'm off to the pharmacy tomorrow to find a more powerful tool to get in there and get the job done. If it is still bothering me after that, I will head to the doctor once I have the appropriate funds.

Your story was duly noted, Rod, and if I see some worsening of the condition, I will bear it in the front of my mind. Based on the current level of uncomfortability, I would be very excited about that sizzling/frying feeling.

[John P. Cooper]

Why do you refeuse to go see a doctor instead of asking people on a jazzer forum for medical advice?

Do you place that liitle priority on your own health and hearing or are you into self-neglect?

Oh....money....go to a clinic. dont you have all sorst of socialized medicine over theree?

[Gary Sisco]

I've had this same problem lots of times through the years, beginning in my 30s one morning when I realized from rolling over in my bed that I couldn't hear the sparrows outside my window out of my right ear. Freaked the shit out of me. Went to my doc. End of story. It was the aural equivalent of a clean windshield and a shoe shine. Was I ever relieved. Whoa.

Having it again right now in my right ear, as a matter of fact. I'd go to my doc for irrigation but I fired her last week (for reasons other than the quality of my own care). So now the task is to find another who's accepting patients. It's not such an easy thing to do in rural America, where there's an acute shortage of GPs. Thinking of tracking down this guy who gave me my various innoculations prior to leaving for Nicaragua back in Reagan Daze. No charge. He was a postcard collector so when I went to pay him, he said to send him a card from Nicaragua and he'd call it even. I did. He did.

[Steve Reynolds]

one of the miracles of my life is that I have no hearing loss that I know of and no ringing in my ears whatsoever despite abusing my ears through excessive loud music through headphones for many years - many hours per week.

keeps things in perspective when I'm feeling like I do today. they tell me pain is part of my journey through life, so I will get through it - maybe some loud music today is my best medicine.

hope everything turns out ok, chad

[Doc Martin]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

So now the task is to find another who's accepting patients. It's not such an easy thing to do in rural America, where there's an acute shortage of GPs.

I would take you on as a patient, as long as you don’t mind hanging with Lions and Tigers and Bears……OH MY! In addition, it would have to be our little secret, as I am not licensed to practice on Homo sapiens. That said, what could go wrong?

Seriously (and at the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious):
Sadly, as more, and more medical students opt to go into urban based specialized medicine (this of course is where the money is, and speaks volumes on motive etc), numbers of general practitioners (GPs), aka family physicians (FPs)—those most likely to serve rural areas declines.

Not unlike Frank Zappa, they’re only in it for the money, Frank, at least was upfront about. Somewhere Hippocrates is spinning like a friggin’ gyro in a Greek restaurant.
So it goes……………………

[rollhead]

I just stick a hose up to my nose and let it blow out my ears. It cleans everything that way.

[Doc Martin]

Originally Posted by rollhead

I just stick a hose up to my nose and let it blow out my ears. It cleans everything that way.

HEY! That’s a closely guarded medical secret. No really.

[clinthopson]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

Why do you refeuse to go see a doctor instead of asking people on a jazzer forum for medical advice?

You mean these guys don't know EVERYTHING?

[Gary Sisco]

Doc -- I'd trust almost any veterinary doctor over most MDs. It's been my experience that it's a good wager. We had a horse colic on us some years back and our favorite vet (he's been a vet since 1962) did the emergency surgery. I'm telling you what. There are millions of people who wish their scars were that clean and neat. Some years later, today, you'd have to know in advance where that huge incision was made to even see it.

You right about the money, honey. First do no harm -- to one's portfolio.