Incredible improvement in sound quality

No wonder you been busting on everything, you can't hear!

DEBROX, at your local drug store.

I use it once a month.

Patiently in wait for science catching up with tinnitus. Will this happen in some of our lifetimes, only time will tell. But must say, a awesome transformation occurs with such a debilitating condition ... it’s all about music and (just a little) less about gear :-)

Whatever the change, whatever the cause....."better" is better regardless.  😎  Enjoy!

You got me thinking though...I'm going to investigate similar!

Just like seeing better when you clean your eyewear.... 

@larsman good point, but complete opposite approach with tinnitus. Most of us drive around with dirty windshields at times, correct? Dirt, dung, and grunge that we most times see right through, that we pay no attention too.

It’s only when we focus does that “dirt” become a problem. I’d much rather pierce out through dirty windows / eyewear all day everyday :-)

I've got tinnitus as well, but my hearing is always improved all around with an ear cleaning, and the tinnitus becomes less of a percentage of what I hear. I also wear hearing aids.... 

Yeah, I vaguely remember reading one of your posts mentioning your conditions some time back. 

@dabel , normally those who post about cleaning earwax to improve system performance, may forget about prior posts.

Yeah, it's always nice when you go to get your ears cleaned. Things become more trebly. More immersive. More 3D. More dynamic range. Lyrics are more understandable. Your mother-in-law's voice becomes more abrasive.

@ghdprentice 

I was thinking about getting one of those ear cleaners I’ve seen advertised on TV, but then again, I could start shoving a QTip in one ear and out the other.😁

Jim

Tinnitus is not an ear problem! On another note, when I was much younger I worked in a dusty factory environment. (No silver spoons here) I went in for a physical and they found my ears were partially plugged so they did the warm water irrigation thing. OMG, I couldn’t believe how good that felt. Highly recommended.

Nothing like hearing in stereo again. I use my waterpik on lowest setting with the triple jet ear  fittings. Simple enough and kick the q-tips to the curb.

@falconquest 

Tinnitus is not an ear problem!

Then what is it?

I have tinnitus. I use the Rain app to help me sleep. And I get more wax build up in one ear.

Please do not buy any contraption to clean your ears - here is the best / safest way: using an eye dropper drop 10 drops of hydrogen peroxide in your ears, head turned sideways, hold for 1 minute - turn head, repeat for the other ear. Do this every day for a week (or see an ENT and have them clean it for you) and then go to 1 day a week.  

Auditory Cortex damage happens to be the case. As for others, I’d be foolish to speak on their behalf. 

@sgordon1 

I use Debrox every month. But what I have learned is, sometimes that is not enough.

The last month or so, my allergies have been really bad. 

I see my doctor ever six months. He knows I am an audiophile… so, pays attention.
 

I think it was a year ago I had them cleaned. 

Using Q-Tips causes more problems than it solves.

When you push one into your ear, yes you will remove some wax, but you will also push some of the wax deeper into the ear canal where it eventually compacts.

As my mother always said. "Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear."

I have been wondering "why bother" spending thousands of dollars on upgrading a component for a possible 1% improvement in sound quality when my tinnitus adds about 20% static!  It sometimes sounds like trying to find an A.M. channel in the boonies a few decades ago.  It will not deter my stereo listening pleasure, however.  I just like to fantasize about how wonderful it would be to hear my system through clear ears!  Oh well!

So, wow. My system sounds so much better. Sometimes you just need a professional. Although technically you can buy these devices for a couple hundred on line. You need to realize you need to use it.
 

Couple hundred? I lost complete hearing in my right ear from wax. I listened to my system with a plugged right ear; less hearing than using ear plugs, since the wax was stuck to my ear drum. It was amazing to hear sound coloration from the left wall!  I heard things I’d never heard before.

I went to Walmart, spent $25 on an ear wax flush system. Drops to soften. Then a bulb filled with warm tap water. Took 3 flushes to dislodge and remove the wax plug. Several $100????? I’ve got a Yorx stereo to sell you! Only $12,000!!

I've got 8000Hz tinnitus. It may not be an "ear problem" but who do you go to for the limited treatment options? An ear doctor. So duh. There's other types, such as manifesting itself as static, crackling, etc. I just constantly hear an 8000Hz tone. It sometimes get loud, sometimes gets softer, but it is always there. But I try to ignore it as best I can and just listen to the music.  Wish they could figure out a cure but I've done some digging and right now, there seems to be only some low level, not very well funded research being done.  Some think it is more of a sensory nervous system problem and not necessarily related to anything being wrong with your ears.  Sort of like you are hearing your own body's nervous system background noise for some unknown reason.  Anyway, we can hope that some progress will one day be made to turn it off or turn it down. 

3 reasons to leave earwax alone

interesting harvard article I had bookmarked.

My Grandfather had the same problem @ghdprentice 

The solution was krill oil or some other sources of omega-3s plus drink more water. As you get older, you require slightly more water each day. Doing both will prevent excessive earwax buildup and improve overall circulation; especially to the ears.

@mastering92

Thanks. Do you put the krill oil in your ear, or ingest it? I take an omega supplement.

The water thing makes sense.

No to Qtips… absolutely, if you have ear wax… they just push it in… not a good thing.

I bought an orthoscopic camera for my ears last year… I am thinking the late winter is a problem for me. It is a camera and light… with a small spoon to scoop out wax. The display is your iPhone… so, you see what you are doing. While I cannot recommend the spoon… being able to look into your ear, it is really interesting. You can see the long cannel and wax… all the little hairs. So, I understand the anatomy now.
 

@ghdprentice 

Try vibrating the wax out next time:

first move both speakers so they are 24 inches apart,

then turn the drivers to face each other,

place your head in the "sweet spot" between the speakers,

turn volume to "11", stay in that position until your ear wax melts or your nose bleeds, whichever comes first. 😁

@kota1 

😂

@ghdprentice

Just take a spoonful of it a day or whatever it says on bottle.

@kota1

You’ve got a great sense of humour!!! perhaps that very same test methodology would help some ASR veterans and serfs of @amir_asr ​​​​​@kenjit to hear the very real differences in audio gear that was designed for the same purpose...like headphone amps, integrated amps, power amps etc.

it can’t just be "audibly transparent." Else you have lost most of your hearing and only hear the lower midrange frequencies.

@macg19 My spouse is a PhD. who works with brains. Primarily through bio and neurofeedback. Our brains establish neuropathway patterns which can relate to for instance, epileptic seizures in children or yes, tinnitus. It is a brain neuropathway issue caused by any number of factors. That is why it is so hard to cure. In order to resolve it you need to alter the neuropathic pattern and establish a new pattern. Obviously she can explain it far better than I but it is important to understand that tinnitus is not an ear or “hearing” problem although we may want to believe that it is. I suffer from it also so no one should feel like the lone ranger here.

I’m 59 years old and have tried to brighten my system for 15 years with different changes.InDecember I got a comprehensive hearing and cognitive test and found my high frequencies were moderately too  severely damaged.  Ive been a singer in a band and a hunter all my life. I got a pair of Widex Moment 440’s and I  swear my system sounds like I am 21 again. Amazing.  Point is I waited way too long and enjoy my system way more   Protect what you have because it will eventually degrade with time

Good luck Willy-Tee

Great post. When I was in college in the '70s, and had a convenient, and free, health center, I went every semester to get my ears rinsed clean (my audiophilia started in high school, actually). The days afterward were always wonderful; everything was clearer, fresher, more immediate—and not just music. It often amazes me that so much attention is paid on this site to marginal improvements in sound quality that may or may not be obtained by changing power cords or interconnects or whatever, when so little is paid to room acoustics and basic ear health.

As for whether or not tinnitus is an "ear problem," from what I've read it is not well understood (the main reason there isn't yet an accepted treatment) but that it is believed to be largely a cognitive (brain) issue. After all, hearing may start at the ear, and may subjectively be localized at the ear, but it really happens in the mind, in consciousness. The same is true of sight. Many older people (my mother is my personal example) believe they need new glasses when the real problem is cognitive. Although my mother complained about not being able to read the newspaper, she could read her watch face without any trouble at all, even though the hands were tiny. What she blamed on her eyes was really a problem with her mind, as her subsequent mental decline made all to obvious.

@falconquest 

My spouse is a PhD. who works with brains.

Yet she still chose to marry you, well done. After being around brains all day I guess she wanted to leave that at work 😀

@falconquest Thanks for clarifying. There are multiple causes of tinnitus. I have a friend who developed hearing loss and tinnitus after taking an antidepressant - a known side effect.

Mine was caused by being too close to a speaker array in a night club in London in the late 90's. Mine is an ear problem. Some of the "hairs" in the cochlea are damaged. The tones I hear are around but not exactly the frequencies that are damaged. 

I'm aware of a possible cure, that involved a neuro-stimulator implanted near the vegas nerve that can be programmed to "cancel" the frequencies that you hear constantly. Unfortunately for me/us, that technology is being focused on sleep apnea - partially because there is already significant reimbursement for the procedure here in the US and of course because people don't die from tinnitus unless self-inflicted.   

(...Taunto turns to the Lone Deranger....)

mmmm....Taunto thinks @kota1 smoke no peace pipe with @falconquest  tonight...  😏

I like my Phonex, but think it's drawing near to upgrade...

*L*  Instead of chasing the latest in audio tech, I'll pursue some 'on board' audio tech....

....wonder if there's a wearable sub yet.....😎 

@kota1 Well, you’re absolutely right of course but nothing wrong with marrying up eh? 😉 Actually she completed her program well after we were married. I would not recommend it for any married couple because it turns out to be grueling for both. “Hey, there’s some live music at…..sorry, I have a 25 page paper due.”  And that goes on and on. If you want an advanced degree do it when you’re young! 

I've heard that if you just squeeze in a few drops of high quality record-cleaning solution and vacuum it out ....

For $2 give it a shot, herbal medicine is generally 100 day treatment period:

@falconquest 

Good thing she didn't study law or she would have gotten your speakers in the divorce 😀

@kota1,

Sorry, but you’re out of your league on this one buddy. Take that Herbal Supplement and …… well, you understand my drift. 🤣

@dabel

You don’t know if you don’t try. If you don’t got the $2 to try I understand.

Try to google the ingredients, Chinese medicine is different. I can’t order acupuncture for $2 but that is another avenue. The first ingredient is a typo:

I certainly accept / take donations … add four zeros after the two please. And in American Dollars!

There was a previous thread about this and it included a usb camera system to look into your ears and clean them. Anyone can do a search and find the thread in the forum. FYI 

Cannabinoids can worsen tinnitus:

https://www.blueskyhearing.com/tinnitus-articles/the-link-between-cannabinoids-and-tinnitus/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20marijuana%20users%20were%2020,people%20who%20already%20have%20tinnitus.

@bteeg No wonder!!!

I use hydrogen peroxide a couple of  times a month.

I actually went to the Urgent Care (UC) once when I used some over the counter ear wax cleaner. It actually clogged my ear canal, and I couldn’t clean it out. It was weird, everything was muffled.

Once at the UC they actually used the 50/50 Hydrogen Peroxide/ water to clean out the ear canal. Now I use that method regularly.

Huh?

ozzy

I'd have a tad less tinnitus in my left ear if I stopped playing the fiddle.

I just direct warm water from a gentle shower into each ear once in awhile.

Sometimes there’s a huge void behind the earwax.

WHAT ? 👂

Try ear candling for an interesting experience !

I Have tinnitus and excessive ear wax...My doctor says Don't remove the wax...that could worsen the tinnitus and I don't want to take that chance.

My Audiologist says no OTC diy stuff. Get them cleaned professionally only. I think Medicare covers that, or used to do so.