ear cleaning worth every penny

[oma]

TMI:
Earwax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ear pick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and most strangely

:

cool background Chinese/Japanese music.

 

[BigNick]

Once had a buildup so bad it was pressing against my ear drum and threw my equilibrium off such that I would get dizzy when standing up. Doc flushed my ears and removed one chunk the size of a pencil eraser.

Last year it took three visits to the ENT guy, with 3, 7, then 21 days of softening, before he was able to remove a piece of was the size of a cigarette filter from my left ear. The kicker was that before softening this was only causing me to lose half the hearing in that ear; during it, the softened bits filled up the ear canal perfectly, making me completely deaf in that ear until it was removed.

His advice: tilt your head in the shower to allow a little water in each time.

 

[Onward]

It is difficult for me to understand all these ear wax problems

I'm pretty sure I read that it's genetic. My dad has the same problem with earwax that I do.

 

[hameshatumkochaha]

I hope the following helps:

I found the following on NPR:
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation) say putting anything in the ear to remove wax should be refrained.
The Joy Of Ear-Cleaning : NPR
Recommendations: Earwax
The study they are referring to might be: http://www.entnet.org/Practice/upload/FINAL-CerumenImpaction-Journal-2008.pdf (not sure and I have not read this)
Also listen to the 3 min audio. It is pretty effective and short description and also addresses why one feels so good while removing wax with q-tips...

My cousin, an ENT specialist, informed me:
"In fact, I advise against using water irrigation and peroxide-containing agents also.
Water (the end-product after H2O2 is done bubbling) often contributes to the formation of mold, when it's in a warm dark place. The process is accelerated when there is residual wax in the canal. Best thing to do is not to use anything, unless absolutely necessary. Then, use a drop or two of olive oil or mineral oil. It works extremely well. Q-Tips are evil!"

Once oil is put, the wax comes out, no need of q-tips...

 

[heardoc]

Once had a buildup so bad it was pressing against my ear drum and threw my equilibrium off such that I would get dizzy when standing up. Doc flushed my ears and removed one chunk the size of a pencil eraser.

I scuba dive and have an ENT clean my ears before every trip because I'm prone to this wax buildup. The wax can trap seawater in the ear canal and then I get ear infections. Going tomorrow in fact because I have a dive trip coming up on the 18th.

What you need to do is to have a little squeeze bottle with a tiny bit of liquid hand soap in water, sort of what you would use to keep your mask from fogging and put a drop or two in each ear canal after swimming to break the surface tension opf any water in your ear. It will just run out with a head tilt. If you are prone to swimmers ear, try an after dive drop of a teaspoon vinegar in a quarter cup of water to change the pH of the canal. Nothing will grow there. Discontinue if your canal becomes irritated.
BTW Debrox is no more effective than dilute soap or even olive oil in softening wax.

 

[Avalon]

This has been an interesting discussion. I have my yearly checkup in a couple of weeks and think I'll ask the Doc to take a close look at my ears. I've experienced some of the symptoms mentioned by other posters.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Geez, maybe I should have my ears cleaned too! I don't have any symptoms but maybe I have some wax lurking down there that I don't know about. I still use Q-tips which I understand is something of a No-No. Who said you should not put anything in your ears smaller that your elbow?

 

[travelover]

If you look back to the 4th post on this thread, I noted that you can buy an inexpensive otoscope and have a partner look into your ears. I was just checking my pooch's ears yesterday. She gets a fungus periodically and the otoscope lets me see how the medication is working.

 

[heardoc]

Geez, maybe I should have my ears cleaned too! I don't have any symptoms but maybe I have some wax lurking down there that I don't know about. I still use Q-tips which I understand is something of a No-No. Who said you should not put anything in your ears smaller that your elbow?

Use a wet wash cloth twisted into a tight cone to remove canal wax.
Have your MD or Audiologist check for wax on appt. Or you can buy an earwax kit at CVS ( squeeze bulb and drops) which works just fine.

 

[BTravlin]

What you need to do is to have a little squeeze bottle with a tiny bit of liquid hand soap in water, sort of what you would use to keep your mask from fogging and put a drop or two in each ear canal after swimming to break the surface tension opf any water in your ear. It will just run out with a head tilt. If you are prone to swimmers ear, try an after dive drop of a teaspoon vinegar in a quarter cup of water to change the pH of the canal. Nothing will grow there. Discontinue if your canal becomes irritated.
BTW Debrox is no more effective than dilute soap or even olive oil in softening wax.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try. No problems this trip other than an obnoxious diver on the boat.

 

[heardoc]

Try squirting him in the eye with the solution.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Watched "Dr. Oz" on Oprah last week and he said you can get the wax out yourself at home with some baby oil and a clean cloth; 3x/week.

Ear Wax Facts | The Dr. Oz Show

 

[heardoc]

Watched "Dr. Oz" on Oprah last week and he said you can get the wax out yourself at home with some baby oil and a clean cloth; 3x/week.

Ear Wax Facts | The Dr. Oz Show

Hmmmm, not any incorrect info but accurate enough for Oprah's audience. Any refined oil should do, olive oil works fine. Impacted wax however will require either
mechanical removal or a water jet.

 

[ERD50]

....but accurate enough for Oprah's audience. ....

From the few times I've allowed myself to get sucked into watching that show, I'd say your 'accurate enough' statement leaves a hole wide enough to pitch a galaxy through. I see no interest in accuracy in that program, only 'can we make the audience go "awwww!, oHHHHH! or eWWWW".

Heck, I 'learned' from Oprah that you can save over $200/month just putting some of your stuff on a power strip and turning it off when you don't use it! "oHHHHHH". Unless I'm running the A/C a lot, I don't even have a $200/month bill. That's a lot of 'phantom power', yet, no skepticism, no question of will this really work for others, just acceptance and "oHHHHH!"

What a way to get rich!

BTW, I've been running around with my Kill-a-watt device, and so far I've only found one thing that I thought was worth turning off when not in use. Most everything I've tested just sips power very slightly ( ~ 1W) when 'off'. The ROI on the power strip is non-existent. Environmental-wise, probably more pollution caused by the manufacture of the strip than the wasted power.

-ERD50

 

[martyb]

lol...guess I need to make an eye appointment. I thought the title of this post was CAR cleaning - worth every penny!!!!! Damn...I'm gettin' old!

 

[Sarah in SC]

From the few times I've allowed myself to get sucked into watching that show, I'd say your 'accurate enough' statement leaves a hole wide enough to pitch a galaxy through. I see no interest in accuracy in that program, only 'can we make the audience go "awwww!, oHHHHH! or eWWWW".

Heck, I 'learned' from Oprah that you can save over $200/month just putting some of your stuff on a power strip and turning it off when you don't use it! "oHHHHHH". Unless I'm running the A/C a lot, I don't even have a $200/month bill. That's a lot of 'phantom power', yet, no skepticism, no question of will this really work for others, just acceptance and "oHHHHH!"

What a way to get rich!

BTW, I've been running around with my Kill-a-watt device, and so far I've only found one thing that I thought was worth turning off when not in use. Most everything I've tested just sips power very slightly ( ~ 1W) when 'off'. The ROI on the power strip is non-existent. Environmental-wise, probably more pollution caused by the manufacture of the strip than the wasted power.

-ERD50

I got one of those Kill-a-watt things at somebody (maybe Nords, or T-Al, or CFB's) suggestion, but I love that sucker. It makes me feel so energy efficient even if it is only a few watts to cut the power. Don't be spoiling it for me like that!

 

[ERD50]

I got one of those Kill-a-watt things at somebody (maybe Nords, or T-Al, or CFB's) suggestion, but I love that sucker. It makes me feel so energy efficient even if it is only a few watts to cut the power. Don't be spoiling it for me like that!

I 'love' mine too. I found that one of the kids little shelf stereo used as much 'off' as it did 'on' ( 8W). We unplug it (it's convenient) if it isn't being used daily. It told me that my 17 and 20 YO fridge/freezer seem to be running as well as they did when new. And the advice you get to replace any fridge/freezer that is over ten YO to 'save money'. Nuts to that. There is no ROI in most cases, and what about the environmental cost of producing a new fridge/freezer?

And my new laptop takes about 2 cents to power all day (combination of use/sleep), less than half of my older desktop unit. My printer is less than 1W in standby - I figure the wear and tear of turning it on/off and having it go through another cycle is going to wear it out sooner and it will need replacing - again, more energy than it uses most likely.

I know you put the "" emoticons after the comment about 'spoiling it for you' - but I don't understand what that means. If someone is interested in reducing their impact on the environment, they should want to take the best action. Buying a power strip to save 1W is probably not a net positive for the environment. Probably not a big deal either way. But shouldn't we use the information/data to tell us what the "right thing" is, and then our "feelings" will be in sync with reality?

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Wait a minute... How did Kill-a-watts and the environment end up in this 'ear cleaning' thread'?

Whew, had to go back - the Oprah connection... OK.

-ERD50

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh, I meant that you found most of the stuff you tested didn't "waste" power, meaning that the kill-a-watt didn't find you any huge electricity eaters.
This part:
Most everything I've tested just sips power very slightly ( ~ 1W) when 'off'. The ROI on the power strip is non-existent. Environmental-wise, probably more pollution caused by the manufacture of the strip than the wasted power.

I'm definitely in favor of the environment--heck, I have to live here! I just meant that the device made me feel like I was saving money, even though, like you, I didn't find any massive energy stealers among my paltry numbers of plug-in devices.

Sorry I wasn't clear--didn't mean to make you think I wasn't being rational, as god knows that is all I cling to, most days.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Hmmmm, not any incorrect info but accurate enough for Oprah's audience.

. I should have mentioned that I NEVER watch Oprah; I was just channel surfing that day and paused to watch Dr. Oz for a minute or two. Personally, I can't wait until Oprah is off the air since I find most of her topics to be quite boring actually....

 

[Nords]

I got one of those Kill-a-watt things at somebody (maybe Nords, or T-Al, or CFB's) suggestion, but I love that sucker. It makes me feel so energy efficient even if it is only a few watts to cut the power. Don't be spoiling it for me like that!

I figured out that I was wasting several KWHr a month keeping a pot of coffee warm. Now I make it one cup at a time and shut it off.

10 KWHr/month doesn't sound like much, but around here that's over $2-- and it sticks out like a sore thumb alongside 80 KWHr/month total consumption.

I wish there was a 240v version of the Kill-A-Watt to use on our electric dryer. But when our kid leaves for college I don't think we'll have to wonder about that power consumption anymore...

 

[ls99]

I wish there was a 240v version of the Kill-A-Watt to use on our electric dryer. But when our kid leaves for college I don't think we'll have to wonder about that power consumption anymore...

To continue thread hijack and have nothing to do with ear cleaning:

You could get one more Kill-A-Watt, make a special jumper for 220 with a set of outlets in the middle for each hot leg. Plug in two Kill-A-Watts, read values. You will find often one leg draws more power than the other. Often the drive motors are 110V. Since the heater is non-inductive, the power factor on one side will be better than the other.

Resume ear cleaning.

 

[Nords]

You could get one more Kill-A-Watt, make a special jumper for 220 with a set of outlets in the middle for each hot leg. Plug in two Kill-A-Watts, read values. You will find often one leg draws more power than the other. Often the drive motors are 110V. Since the heater is non-inductive, the power factor on one side will be better than the other.

Or I could just read the label plate on the dryer and do the math.

I think the attraction of the Kill-A-Watt is that I can plug it in, forget about it for a few months, and then add the numbers to my spreadsheet. The fact that I'm looking for a 240v version to use on an appliance that only runs a few times a month is probably an indication that I'm running out of data worth collecting.

Next week our kid returns from her month's journeys. Coincidentally her departure/return dates are the same as HECO's reading of our meter. That should be an interesting predictor of our empty-nester power consumption. Maybe I won't care about Kill-A-Watt data collection.

All this collection/analysis time is probably better spent on designing the pergola with its 4KW array on its roof. Until we buy a cheap used EV, though, we have no payback and no compelling reason to tackle the project.

I guess my ears are clean enough too...