Improving My Hearing


I was going to post this as response to another’s question, but then thought I should make a new thread so more people could see it. 
 

I have seen comments here regarding hearing difficulties as we get older.  At 71, I am not immune (though I have friends whose hearing is worse).  While I was seeing my doctor regarding another issue, I told her about a clicking noise from one ear — I thought maybe I had water stuck and tried to get it out, to no effect.  She asked me if I wanted to have my ears cleaned — “You do that here?  Sure!” 
 

She had a nurse that cleaned ears as a specialty.  The lady came in with her kit, examined my ears and then started flushing them with fluid.  She probed my ears with tweezers and had to flush them again.  Whatever was in there had adhered itself to my ear canals, and as she pulled and pried, I felt pinching pains.  Eventually she gets a grip and extracts a wad of furry content — it looked like a bee had died in my ear.  That was the ear I had problems with.  But then she removed a wad the same size from my other ear.  I was astounded!  I had tried on my own to clean my ears and felt the same pinching, but never produced much debris.  This was really stuck in there!  Afterward, I noticed that I could hear better. 
 

A friend my age has noticeable hearing loss and I was telling him about this.  He expressed interest and I asked the nurse about his getting such service.  She said my friend should ask his doctor, who would either have someone on staff to do it or could refer him to an ear-nose-throat specialist.  I thought maybe this information would be beneficial to members here.  We got to take care of our own equipment too!  

bob540

It’s not that high tech.

Buy a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide from a drug store.  The typical bottle is mainly water with less than 5% peroxide.  It won’t injure you.  Lay down on your bed on one side with one ear up towards the ceiling with a towel underneath you head.  Pour some peroxide in the cap and then pour a capful into the ear.  Let is sit for a minute.  You may notice some bubbling, which is wax dissolving, and some heat may be generated.  That’s normal.

  Then rinse the ear over the sink.  I use one of those rubber bulbs that can be used to aspirate snot from infants noses, usually about $2 at the drugstore.  Fill with lukewarm water from the bathroom sink and then gently insert into your ear.  Don’t try to ram it all the way through your eardrum.  Squeeze the bulb while standing over the sink.  
  Repeat for the other ear and let your ears air dry.

  There are commercial kits for these and they usually substitute a syringe for the bulb, and their peroxide solutions contain some additive to make it smell nice.  Use one of those if you aren’t comfortable with what I’ve written.

  If you think you might have an ear infection-usually these are quite painful- see a professional and don’t do this.  Same with a busted ear drum.  Again these are painful conditions that usually aren’t subtle.

Here is your dose of humor for the week.  A really old guy [older than us]  goes to his doctor because he has lost hearing in one ear.  The doctor examines the ear canal with that little bright light and magnifier. He says "Hey, I see the problem" and takes a tweezer and pulls out a....suppository!  "Look, there was a suppository in you ear!   The old guy goes "Huh, now I know where my hearing aid is".  

@bob540 ,

Your story reminded me of a scene in Shrek, where he reaches into his ear, pulls out a glob of wax and uses it as a candle.  I’ve been using Q-Tips all my life.  Go in slow while spinning the Q-Tip, being careful not to go too deep. I usually do this right after a shower.