Hearing problems?

[Audio Al]

Not wanting to Hi Jack the other post , I thought I would let you know my journey with hearing.

Over many years I had kept my ears super clean , using a hair clip ( something like the Romans used ) followed by a good going over with cotton wool buds . Sound good so far :) , well actually NO :(

I had tinnitus ringing / whistling / ringing noises in my ears could not get to sleep etc

So further cleaning and drops / warm cotton wool etc , still getting worse , so off to the doctors who had a look inside and said " whats been going on in your ears ? "

I told him the above

He then gave me a bollocking :steam:

And told me that ears are self cleaning , they have hairs and produce wax that works its way out naturally , and followed this by saying " From today you don't put anything in your ears smaller than your fist :eek:"

He commented that my ear drums were now marked and may never heal :(

Fortunately several years later , my hearing has improved dramatically , back to normal

My ears may not look clinical but I cant see them so will let them continue to self clean and enjoy proper hearing

NO MORE POKING AROUND INSIDE FOR ME :)

[southall-1998]

And sell your system ;)

[steveledzep]

My doctor once told me that the only thing you are allowed to put in your ear is "your elbow"

[walpurgis]

I've had partial deafness in my right ear most of my life.

Funny thing is, I think the wanting to hear things more clearly is what started my interest in Hi-Fi.

The hearing imbalance does not spoil my enjoyment or my perception of stereo 'soundstaging', probably subconcious compensation.

[Tarzan]

Sorry Al, what was the question?:)

[Stratmangler]

Sorry Al, what was the question?:)

There is no question.
Why you no listen? :eyebrows:

[Effem]

I seem to be cursed with ear wax build-up lately and I too have done the daft things a few years ago with cotton wool buds resulting in infections rather than any long term damage - luckily. I used at one time Earex drops as well which felt like it was burning and olive oil simply turned it into unpleasant yuck. So now I keep the ears clean and mostly free of excessive wax just by tilting my head both sides while I am in the shower each day and that really does help the natural process along by not letting the wax build up and become hardened, so it pops out in small dry pale flakes. I can live with that :)

[Marco]

Try sprinkling the flakes on top, to add texture to a risotto. Nice :exactly:

Marco.

[julesd68]

YUK! :spew:

I have had probs with earwax since youth. Used to have them syringed at least a couple of times a year which is really bad for them.

Now I go private to this place -

http://clearearclinic.com/

You can even get a same day appointment which is great, and better still, you don't have to oil your ears for a week beforehand. Nice. They use a "microsuction" technique which is far less invasive than syringing.

[Tarzan]

There is no question.
Why you no listen? :eyebrows:

Tee hee.

[Tim]

Ears and ear wax have been discussed on AoS before and I posted the below previously, which I still stand by as very sound advice IMO.

Originally posted - 01-06-2011, 12:37

I hope you don't mind me posting this Chris, as it's not meant other than advice for others as I am sure your OP was. I had grave concerns about a previous posting on AoS ( http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10496&highlight=hopi ) for home brew methods of cleaning out ear wax and recommendations for Hopi ear candles amongst other things. I was stupid enough to try this once, but it happened before I realised what was fully going on. It did clean out some wax, but I would never do it again.

Ears are very delicate instruments and really shouldn't be messed with at all if you can avoid it. A close friend of mine used to clean her ears out after a shower with cotton ear buds and was quite disgusted by the brown wax, so kept on until nothing was there. She got an ear infection as a direct result and went through what you are now Chris, a very painful experience indeed. Her ear was perforated by the infection and she can no longer scuba dive and has to be very careful with her ears. Very sad indeed, as it was her life and something she was extremely passionate about - she quite happily says she would have rather lost a limb!

Ear wax is there for a purpose, to protect your inner ear canal from drying and cracking. It also keeps your ear canal clean, lubricated and helps repel dirt and water.

Without earwax, the skin inside your inner ear canal can become dry, cracked, infected, or waterlogged and sore. There are ways to help this, but I'm not going to offer advice here as I'm not qualified. If you do suffer from a build up of wax you should seek professional medical advice and not internet forums IMO.

I stand by previous posts, you shouldn't put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow!

This hobby of ours cannot be enjoyed if you have problems with your ears, look after them guys ;)

:cool:


Source:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=220369&postcount=11

[Rare Bird]

Don't worry Al you'll come to the realisation that most Audio nutcases are def anyway. AOS is rife with em :lol:

[Barry]

Ears and ear wax have been discussed on AoS before and I posted the below previously, which I still stand by as very sound advice IMO.

Originally posted - 01-06-2011, 12:37

I hope you don't mind me posting this Chris, as it's not meant other than advice for others as I am sure your OP was. I had grave concerns about a previous posting on AoS ( http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10496&highlight=hopi ) for home brew methods of cleaning out ear wax and recommendations for Hopi ear candles amongst other things. I was stupid enough to try this once, but it happened before I realised what was fully going on. It did clean out some wax, but I would never do it again.

Ears are very delicate instruments and really shouldn't be messed with at all if you can avoid it. A close friend of mine used to clean her ears out after a shower with cotton ear buds and was quite disgusted by the brown wax, so kept on until nothing was there. She got an ear infection as a direct result and went through what you are now Chris, a very painful experience indeed. Her ear was perforated by the infection and she can no longer scuba dive and has to be very careful with her ears. Very sad indeed, as it was her life and something she was extremely passionate about - she quite happily says she would have rather lost a limb!

Ear wax is there for a purpose, to protect your inner ear canal from drying and cracking. It also keeps your ear canal clean, lubricated and helps repel dirt and water.

Without earwax, the skin inside your inner ear canal can become dry, cracked, infected, or waterlogged and sore. There are ways to help this, but I'm not going to offer advice here as I'm not qualified. If you do suffer from a build up of wax you should seek professional medical advice and not internet forums IMO.

I stand by previous posts, you shouldn't put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow!

This hobby of ours cannot be enjoyed if you have problems with your ears, look after them guys ;)

:cool:


Source:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=220369&postcount=11

Since that is impossible, I would suggest nothing smaller than one's little finger.

[Marco]

Wot about Tabatha's tongue? :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Barry]

Wot about Tabatha's tongue? :eyebrows:

Marco.

Ear wax is very bitter Marco. I'm not sure Tabatha would like it, though I'm sure she would do a good job, just as she does with LPs. :lol:

[steveledzep]

Since that is impossible, I would suggest nothing smaller than one's little finger.

Think you miss the point. Shouldn't prod anything into the ear, hence the advice "elbow only" ;)

[walpurgis]

Think you miss the point. Shouldn't prod anything into the ear, hence the advice "elbow only" ;)

Has anybody tried getting an elbow into their ear? If you can manage it you must have very strangely proportioned arms.

[Coelacanth]

Interesting thread - I will have to moderate my use of cotton buds (dammit, cleaning my left ear is, for some reason, close to an orgasmic experience :D).

For a long time I have noticed an imbalance in my hearing - the left ear registering more mid and high frequency information. Quite a frustrating phenomena that always left me feeling that hifi gear sounded imbalanced.

I put the problem down to a perforated eardrum when I was younger, or the muzzle blast from my 7mm08 rifle when out hunting - you can't always get your earmuffs on quick enough for that crucial shot, but only VERY rarely do I fire without hearing protection.

Recently though, I found that 'equallising' the right ear slightly (blocking my nose and blowing carefully - and not anyewhere near as aggressively as I might if I was diving) seemed to lift the performance of my right ear to match the left.

Now I made a habit of sending this tiny bit of pressure into my ear each time I sat down in front of the stereo, but of course every time I swallowed, the effect was reversed. After a while though, I noticed that the ear would stay 'open' even after swallowing. I started blowing my little bubble in more frequently - at work, whenever - and lo and behold, the ear now remains 'open' all the time and my hearing is perfectly balanced - after the best part of ten years of the phenomena having bothered me.

I don't fully understand the mechanics of the human ear, but it seems that I have been able to introduce some sort of 'memory' to the eardrum that sets it in a better position than it was in before to do it's job properly......

I'd been told by two audiologists to accept the condition as a fairly normal part of the aging process and accept my part in the damage of my hearing through poor protection when hunting.. Anyhow, just thought I would share...

[walpurgis]

How coincidental. Your description of impaired hearing in the right ear is exactly what I have and I believe caused by the same thing, shooting. I'm fairly sure my right ear was damaged on a shooting range where Lee Enfield .303 rifles were in use. The Enfield has a pressure relief port on the left side of the breach and this gives off massive amounts of supersonic energy and I think I was too close to the guy next to me on the range, hench the ear damage. No ear defenders back then.

[Coelacanth]

Yup the old Lee Enfield will do that. My old man spent 5 years in the air force, training with SMLE's and Bren guns - he has no HF register. Can't hear cicadas, birds, crickets, mum etc...

Isn't the relief port on the Enfield there in the rare case of split cases/primers? Wouldn't normally expect much noise from there - but the muzzle blast from your neighbours' gun would have been more than enough to freak your ears out..

[walpurgis]

Guess you could be right about the muzzle blast Cade. Hell of a crack on an Enfield.

[Coelacanth]

Paticularly the Jungle Carbines :-)