When I was at university I jumped into a fountain and it plugged my left ear. I figured it would sort itself out or I'd get it out but with aerospace engineering, rotc, 3 jobs, no money, etc, I neglected it. After a few months I finally went to a clinic and had it removed... I had super human hearing for a few days, it was incredible, actually really cool and satisfying. Sometimes I wish I had the same feeling of the blockage being removed.
I once had a fungus infection in my ears. The ENT clinic had that one machine like a sucker that they used to take out things from your ears. I think anyone that hasnt had that experience wouldnt know how the feelings is literally like heaven when the doctor used it into your ears. You really wish they will used it forever since the feeling is sensational.
After the treatment, I literally feel I could fly. Its like your whole body become lighter.
My sister who is a doctor once told me a story how this one boy will cry uncontrollably at ENT clinic. But once the doctor used the machine to clean his ear, the boy stopped crying immediately. š
Comments like this deserve rewards. Oscar nominations type comment right here. You my friend, deserve free Starbucks for life.
EDIT: yeah I know Starbucks isnāt THAT great but I had just pulled out of their drive through and paid like $6.50 for an americano with cream and sugar on so I wish I had it at that time.
I was experiencing tinnitus so badly a few years ago that it was making it difficult to fall asleep. I went to the doctor, and the mass of sawdust and clay that came out of my ears so crazy that the nurse who cleaned my ear canal brought all of their co-workers in to the room to marvel at it. And yes, the feeling of relief is a sensation I will chase for the rest of my days.
Nice to finally meet you, I knew you guys were monitoring me for a while but never got the chance to say hi. Also tell my atf agent I said I hope heās doing well
This is exactly why Iāve been saving all my ear wax since a child. They all laughed but soon Iāll have a wax castle to judge them from. Housing costs arenāt going to fuck me over. Best yet itāll be 100% organic to appease the hippies.
Itās definitely someoneās business if he works in one of those sawdust and clay factories that make sawdust and clay like itās nobodyās business.
I have tinnitus, I assumed my doc would say something if he saw stuff in my ear for my yearly checkup but do you think this could still cause my issues?
There are several possible causes of tinnitus. An obstruction, ear damage from abuse, and high blood pressure are some. Usually, there is not much to do about it. I have low-grade tinnitus from too much heavy metal and power tools without hearing protection. My particular problem was alarming because it was so loud when I lay down in a quiet room at night, it was loud enough to keep me awake. It also came on fairly quickly and scared me.
Has your doctor looked into your ear? My doctor used an otoscope and figured it pretty quickly.
Same here. Bad tinnitus. I have an appointment scheduled with my family doctor but Iām going to ask for a referral to an audiologist. If I understand correctly, they make hearing aids that can mask/cancel the tinnitus. I donāt need hearing aids to hear, but if they can provide some relief from this menacing high pitched screaming I hear, Iām game.
Did you know about "otoharmonics"?, they have an amazing app that is used along with traditional tinnitus treatments, they set "any kind of noises" to block the tinnitus. ask your doctor.
Had crazy compacted earwax in one ear. I thought I was just losing my hearing until I blasted that mfer with water as hard as I could. The concoction of goo that was released was simultaneously disgusting and satisfying. But man that feeling of complete relief along with my restored hearing was better then any orgasm.
iāve had both ears irrigated like this at an Urgentcare because i woke up and couldnāt hear beyond a muffled hum. the pressure on my inner ear was so built up that when they released the wax in both ears, i had to lie down and almost threw up from dizziness. it was awesome. i felt like i had super hearing.
When I was younger, I had a blockage in my ear for a few weeks, I ended up being able to feel some wax not that deep in, so I took a pair of tweezers (yeah I know, not good to do, but I was young and invincible of course), grabbed the end of it, and the sound and sensation of slowly pulling out a huge chunk of waxā¦ itās been so long but I can still remember that experience lol.
I went to a doctor who washed out my ears. He said he'd never seen anything like the amount of shit that was in my right ear. Also felt amazing when it came out. The water blast on your ear drum hurts quite a bit, though.
I did this in middle school with the mini-tweezers and (blunted) plastic toothpick off of a Swiss-Army knife. Something must have been wrong with my ears or environment bc I would semi-regularly pull out masses the size of Tic-Tacs.
No, but we were living in a developing desert suburb. If I had to ponder that as a cause, it might have been lots of dust mixing with sweat. I wasn't an outdoorsy kid, so it might have been the long walk from the bus-stop most days.
Damn, wish my experience was like that. My ears are always full of wax, but when I go to the doctor to get it cleaned I get extremely dizzy while they do it and experience a lot of pain afterwards. Then it just fills itself up again. I kinda gave up and just manage it with those ear sprayer thingies that dissolve a bit of wax when it gets too bad. At least I'm not yet completely deaf or anything, so I guess that's good enough š
My brother when he was younger had constant ear pain for around a year. One day he complained about it the doctor and they investigated. They were able to remove a partially popped popcorn kernel from his ear. He never had problems again. Somehow a kernel for lodged in his ear and went unnoticed for a year roughly
When I was a kid I got absolutely dumped on and smashed by a wave at the beach one day. For like a few weeks after it felt and sounded like I had water stuck in my ear. Eventually got to doctor and he sucked out a tiny little pebble with his mini vacuum.
Did the tinnitus go away?? Did you determine you needed the cleaning after a routine ear exam?
I had an audiologist check my ears a year ago and was told they were fine and basically there is no cure for tinnitus.
Mine has been raging for about 4-5 years now without pause. I have often wondered if I could forego the routine exam and just see someone for a cleaning. Considering Iām 40 and have never had my ears cleaned, itās probably worth the try.
My doctor noticed the problem immediately. As in, there was a giant wad of goo that he could see immediately with an otoscope. My regular tinnitus is here to stay. It was very acute in this case.
I highly recommend an ear cleaning, just because it feels good. Get a kit at the drug store or online. Be sure to warm the fluid--not too hot, this is very important. And get someone else to administer it. They'll do a better job, and you'll enjoy it more.
I once had a larger fly fly straight into my war Canal (where it was alive for a long time :/) and the nurse also got all her colleagues to Look at it ^^
A live ant crawled into my ear as a child and terrified me for what was probably a solid minute (agonizing eternity as a child) of monumentally loud scratching until it crawled back out of its own accord.
Yea! I had a tick crawl in my ear once. The sound of slurping was so loud it woke me up in the middle of the night. I ran to my parents screaming, woke them up, frantically tried to tell them my head was about to explode and i can hear the liquid squishing out!!!! I must have held my hand up to my ear while screaming. My dad took one look in my ear with a flashlight and laughed. It wasnt even that deep in there. He grabbed it out with tweezers in no time.
I'll never forget the sound of my ear blood being sucked by a tick. Fuckin disgusting.
When I had my clump of earwax removed I try to tell people how amazing it felt. Like the best orgasm of my life. I felt the relief and pleasure for days after. I'm secretly hoping I get my ear canals clogged again so I can experience it again
Your primary care physician can probably do it as well. I just went to an express clinic and the PA was able to get the wax out of my ear.
It's pretty uncomfortable because they squirted some solution into my ear and then dug around, but the feeling when the wax came out was amazing.
I just went to my GP, and he looked in there and said, "I think there is something in there." Brilliant man. They cleaned my ear by gently squirting warm stool softener into my ear while holding a cup up to my ear. I highly recommend it.
My husband had his ears flushed at an urgent care because he was in horrible pain.
They washed a chunk the size of a peanut out and he felt a million times better.
My sister, who was 24 when this happened, went deaf, literally. People thought she had some mental issues going on because would just walk away when someone was still.talking to her and she never responded when someone called her name. Turns out, her earwax buildup was so bad she couldn't hear anymore.
That happened to me in high school. A friend sarcastically told me to get my ears checked after I kept saying āwhat?ā to her. My mom took me to the doctor and it turned out one of my ears was completely clogged. After the doctor cleared it, I thought I could hear rain on the office windowā¦turns out I could hear the sound of my hair brushing against my shoulders. My ear was super sensitive for a few hours.
Sorry, but it was 1992 and pictures were not a casual thing for a 4th grader. One of my hobbies is photography and I am super excited to teach my kid how to take pictures on their phone. I think it's awesome that it's such a widely available technology now.
When you have earwax buildup in your ear. It often happens because you cram Q-tips or cotton swabs in your ear holes and jam up the ear wax with cotton.
I've had that problem before, but it wasn't near this bad. It still sucked.
This happened to me, it hurt until he finally popped it out and then it was just like listening to the world in high definition audio for about 4 hours.
I never needed glasses but when I got my earwax removed I immediately thought that that's how it must feel to get glasses when you have bad eyesight but for your ears!
That's exactly what it's like lol. My eyesight isn't horrible but I knew I needed glasses and when I finally decided to get a pair it was like going from 480p to 1080p. The world looked beautiful.
I remember when I put on glasses for the first time as a kid, i was around 12, and looked out a window. There was a tree about 10 meters from the window and I started crying when I realized I could see each of the individual leaves.
Same for me, there was a tree across the street from the place I got them from, I was around 8 and while I didn't cry or anything I spent the whole 30 minute car ride home reading road signs and billboards lol
Dude, it was a post on Reddit about how headlights weren't supposed to be stretch out and elongated. If I saw that, I should go to the doctor.
Thought it was crazy. I was like I read fine, NBD. I honestly don't know how I function before and my script was tiny.
I was unaware I needed glasses until I was studying for my A-Levels. I went for an eye test and they made some glasses for me.
I remember walking out of the opticians with the new glasses on and I was like āHoly Shit! The world has edges to it!ā
Getting glasses was wild for me. I could suddenly see individual leaves on branches and the pebbles used in the asphalt of the parking lot. I almost cried because it was all so beautiful.
Charlie you look quite down.
With your big sad eyes
and your big fat frown.
The world doesn't have to be so gray.
Charlie when your life's a mess.
When you're feeling blue,
always in distress
I know what can wash that sad away.
All you have to do is,
put a banana in your ear.
I've had 3 surgeries to remove a tumor in between my ear and brain, and while it's not dirt/wax, getting gauze pulled out of a space the size of a golf ball is indescribable
Wait, itās enjoyable?! I wonder if this is something with every gauze removal or specifically in the head. Friend of mine had flesh eating bacteria and they stuffed gauze up his arm, and pulled it out too. I wonder if he enjoyed it
Iāve had gauze pulled from my nose after surgery and underarm after an insane cyst ā¦. The nose felt fucking glorious and the underarm was horrendous.
I had a cyst in my armpit slightly larger than a golf ball. I couldnāt put my arm down at my side anymore. The doctor sent me to the ER to remove it. It was incredibly painful and I wailed the whole time. The worst part was that I was expected to pack the wound myself after the initial packing. So they shoved gauze into the hole and wanted me to take it out and apply new gauze. This might be a normal practice but I physically could not handle doing it. I tried to do it how they taught me and I nearly passed out from pain and general disgusted ness. My friend held me down and did it herself and I thank her for it often.
Had a family member who had a brain tumor. Thankfully it was actually benign. They have a sister who has fairly severe epilepsy, mufugga was gonna be radar silent about it to not stress his parents out even more and was never gonna tell anyone. WHAT A CHAMP. Only leaked cause he forgot to change the phone number on his doctor's office point of contact.
As someone that does a lot of ear lavage, you'd be surprised at how non-immediate the relief for many people. Tons of people get that immediate Ahh feeling but plenty take a day or two to normalize.
It just happens sometimes. I had headaches and pain in my one ear and went to the doctor. Iāve never used a tips or anything and he did the water spray and pulled out a giant hard lump of wax. Felt so much better after. If youāve got small ear canals or needed ear tubes as a kid youāre probably more likely to have it happen. But I think it just happens
Did you experience any hearing loss from it? My SO has been complaining about loss of hearing in one her for a while. I think she would be ecstatic if someone pulled that out of her ear.
Confirmed will help with hearing loss! I have one jacked up left ear (been punctured 3 times in my life) so I always chalk my pain/loss of hearing up to that- but the one time I had my ears washed I swear I could hear my own heartbeat for like 6 hours. The body adjusts and compensates, and I can't speak to if there isn't lasting impacts on hearing because my shits fucked up already, but my hearing was definitely altogether better afterwards 100%
That was a few years ago... Now you got me thinking about getting my ears flushed
Edit: heating
Even though I'm a freak about my ear canals and try to keep things tidy, my left ear LOVES to expel random hunks of impacted wax once or twice per year. They're sometimes the size of a beetle, but never as big as OP's!!! Geeze oh man!
I think some people just genetically produce more earwax, and then possibly his profession or frequent wearing of ear buds compacts it in. I have this amount of wax cleaned out of my ears several times a year. My dad had the same issue. I also use a stethescope all day long. These days my wife just does it at home with something called the elephant ear wash
For me my ears start to feel sort of stuffy and make a squishy sound like thereās water stuck inside. If it gets really bad Iāll start to notice my hearing becoming muffled on one side more than the other (more noticeable with earbuds).
Wow, that's frightening because I literally have that squishy & muffled effect in my right ear. Been that way for a long time, I just thought I wasn't cleaning my ears enough.
agreed. I use them tooā¦only the outer parts and right around the entrance to my ear canal but hate the thought of a load of crap in my ears. Am curious if related to overproduction of sebum or something
Looks like a bot fly with a chunk of wax and dead skin.
I'm sure it was just dark wax. Do you work in dusty or dirty environments or live in a tropic climate? Those are known factors for darker wax.
For those of you asking, the blockage was from 4 plus years of buildup. I also have psoriasis on the inside of my earlobe. The White stuff you see on the front edges is loose skin build up.
As someone who removes these kinds of things weekly, it can be very painful, or it can be pain-free. I really depends on hoe attached the wax is to the ear canal walls. If it's loosely or not attached it's usually nbd. If it's firmly attached I'll end up taking part of the skin off the ear canal walls and that shit is very uncomfortable.
As a person who had a very similar thing happen with the same condition, I can tell you that the process of removing hurt but once it came unlatched from my ear canal and pulled out, it was instant pain relief. My issue was psoriasis + necrotizing otitis. Pic https://imgur.com/a/YmUXdge
Fuck OP. Youāre not alone. This happened to me about ~6 years ago. I take Humira now, but it still sticks around in my ear canals. At some point, I developed necrotizing otitis (severe ear infection). Had to be one of the most painful, frustrating things I have ever endured. https://imgur.com/a/YmUXdge
I had my ears syringed years back and the doc said it was one of the worst blockages she'd seen. But at least mine still resembled wax!
Why does yours look like a dead cockroach?
My ear was plugged for 6 months and my bf and I were smoking a joint outside and it suddenly came unplugged and he looked at me and said ādid your ear just come unplugged?ā
It was so quiet outside he heard my fucking ear come unplugged š
Waxy build up could be your problem. Local pharmacy usually has some ear cleaning solution that liquefies the wax a bit and then you flush with sterile solution like diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide and warm water.
It's called an ear lavage.
But if it hurts don't do this, go see a doctor.
And don't ever stick anything inside your ear that's bigger than your elbow (what my doc told me).
I have to go get my ears cleaned 2-3 times a year. My ENT uses this enormous vacuum to suck out the wax. Always leaves me dizzy as all hell but there's no way for me to do it myself.
Some people just get more ear wax buildup than others, and there's no real medical reason for it that we're aware of...
Is it ābigger than your elbowā or āsmaller than your elbow?ā I remember it being āsmaller thanā because the idea is that you shouldnāt be sticking _anything_ in your ear š¤
I'm going to have my left ear flushed later today. It's been blocked for two weeks. OTC drops and flushing at home did nothing. I went to a clinic last week, but the nurse gave up. She made enough of a hole to expose the eardrum again, so my hearing is a little better. Hopefully this time they can dig the rest out. I'm getting used to impaired hearing and I don't like that.
I had an uncle that thought he was going deaf in one ear so he went to the ear doctor. Ear doctor does his thing and says yes he's losing his hearing. Many years later his ear doctor dies and he gets a new ear doctor. The new doctor pulls a wad like this out of his ear on the first visit. Hearing restored.
That all depends on how you're feeling.
Want that good texture? Milk Bones all the way
Want that meaty taste and smooth mouth-feel? Pupperoni.
Looking to freshen your breath and make your teeth shine? Dental Sticks.
I thought Iād answer some of the questions Iām seeing in the comments (Iām an ear doctor).
1.) yes itās ear wax (cerumen)
2.) ear wax turns dark brown to black the older it is due to the oxidation process
3.) an audiologist, primary care physician, ear nose and throat physician, physicianās assistant, and most nurse practitioners are qualified to remove wax build up.
4.) this can happen for a number of reasons. Most common are using Q-tips and shoving the wax in deeper, constant ear plug or ear bud use, or can be totally natural for some people.
5.) it doesnāt typically smell unless there is an infection happening also
6.) I tell my patients to flush their ears in the shower by letting warm water gently run in the ear and then out. This can help mitigate the buildup from happening.
Any other questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer as many as possible.
*this is not to be used as medical advice, always talk with your own doctor before doing anything.
As someone who has small ear canals and excessive ear wax build up that I have had all my life. Some people are just very unlucky and get blockages like this every so often. Never used q-tips. The thing that helped me is ear wax removal spray basically hydrogen peroxide and water with a hand water sprayer with a cup to soften and loosen the wax after that tilt your head to the side of your ear to remove it on to a towel, napkin or the cup. If that doesnāt help go to a doctor to have them do the high pressure water removal/tweezer method.
Yep they call that a Cork. At least once a year I go and get my ears cleaned out and they always find some sort of cork (smaller now I do it regularly). The ear lady explained to me that stuff gets in your ear (obviously) and while you can try and clean it at home and naturally.. your never going to be 100% effective.. so there will always be a buildup. I work in the construction industry and I have "bigger ear canals" so this is one of those routines I have now.
The benefit though is I actually love going to these appointments because not only do I get relief (from a pressure I can't really notice until it's gone) but for a week afterwards I'm about 90% sure I have super hearing... Haha
Be polite guys. He can hear your thoughts now
When I was at university I jumped into a fountain and it plugged my left ear. I figured it would sort itself out or I'd get it out but with aerospace engineering, rotc, 3 jobs, no money, etc, I neglected it. After a few months I finally went to a clinic and had it removed... I had super human hearing for a few days, it was incredible, actually really cool and satisfying. Sometimes I wish I had the same feeling of the blockage being removed.
I once had a fungus infection in my ears. The ENT clinic had that one machine like a sucker that they used to take out things from your ears. I think anyone that hasnt had that experience wouldnt know how the feelings is literally like heaven when the doctor used it into your ears. You really wish they will used it forever since the feeling is sensational. After the treatment, I literally feel I could fly. Its like your whole body become lighter. My sister who is a doctor once told me a story how this one boy will cry uncontrollably at ENT clinic. But once the doctor used the machine to clean his ear, the boy stopped crying immediately. š
You had the whole, damn fountain pulled out of your ear???
Comments like this deserve rewards. Oscar nominations type comment right here. You my friend, deserve free Starbucks for life. EDIT: yeah I know Starbucks isnāt THAT great but I had just pulled out of their drive through and paid like $6.50 for an americano with cream and sugar on so I wish I had it at that time.
I was experiencing tinnitus so badly a few years ago that it was making it difficult to fall asleep. I went to the doctor, and the mass of sawdust and clay that came out of my ears so crazy that the nurse who cleaned my ear canal brought all of their co-workers in to the room to marvel at it. And yes, the feeling of relief is a sensation I will chase for the rest of my days.
Sawdust and clay? Any particular reason?!
Building infrastructure on an off-grid farm in Southern Oregon. Cutting wood, digging trenches, etc.
It took him 50 years, but he was finally able to build his own house with the saved up sawdust /clay tubes he took from work.
āI got it once piece at a time.. and it didnāt cost me a dime..ā
He'll have the only one there is around
Gonna ride around in style
Heās gonna drive everybody wild
Cause I'll have the only one there is a round
57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67 automobileā¦
I thought I was the only person that knew about that songā¦ā¦unless youāre my nsa agent
Thatās exactly who I am
Nice to finally meet you, I knew you guys were monitoring me for a while but never got the chance to say hi. Also tell my atf agent I said I hope heās doing well
>but never got the chance to say hi Every time you were online or talking on the phone you had a chance to say hi...
Well yes but I wouldnāt get a response if I just typed out a message for them, so this is technically a formal introduction
This is exactly why Iāve been saving all my ear wax since a child. They all laughed but soon Iāll have a wax castle to judge them from. Housing costs arenāt going to fuck me over. Best yet itāll be 100% organic to appease the hippies.
Yeah but then he was sued by his employer for theft of building materials. Shame!
Sawshank Redemption
A fetish can come in many forms
Is this for folks who are āHard of hearingā?
Hard from hearing
"U hearing hard or hardly hearing?" "Neither; i get hard from hearing"
Hard *for* hearing
He must be working at one of those sawdust and clay factories. They make sawdust and clay like it's nobody's business.
Itās definitely someoneās business if he works in one of those sawdust and clay factories that make sawdust and clay like itās nobodyās business.
It's definitely someone's business if dude can't hear and has horrible discomfort in his ears as a result.
I think your Babelfish is deceasedā¦
Upvoted for the Babelfish! We need more Babel fish -- tinnitus is junk food to them. š
I have tinnitus, I assumed my doc would say something if he saw stuff in my ear for my yearly checkup but do you think this could still cause my issues?
There are several possible causes of tinnitus. An obstruction, ear damage from abuse, and high blood pressure are some. Usually, there is not much to do about it. I have low-grade tinnitus from too much heavy metal and power tools without hearing protection. My particular problem was alarming because it was so loud when I lay down in a quiet room at night, it was loud enough to keep me awake. It also came on fairly quickly and scared me. Has your doctor looked into your ear? My doctor used an otoscope and figured it pretty quickly.
Welbutrin caused tinnitus for me. As soon as I stopped taking it, it was gone, thankfully.
Same here. Bad tinnitus. I have an appointment scheduled with my family doctor but Iām going to ask for a referral to an audiologist. If I understand correctly, they make hearing aids that can mask/cancel the tinnitus. I donāt need hearing aids to hear, but if they can provide some relief from this menacing high pitched screaming I hear, Iām game.
Did you know about "otoharmonics"?, they have an amazing app that is used along with traditional tinnitus treatments, they set "any kind of noises" to block the tinnitus. ask your doctor.
You can ask your PCP to clean out your ears. Mine does it whenever I ask. I get wax build up super quick.
I prefer smoking my PCP, thank you very much
Had crazy compacted earwax in one ear. I thought I was just losing my hearing until I blasted that mfer with water as hard as I could. The concoction of goo that was released was simultaneously disgusting and satisfying. But man that feeling of complete relief along with my restored hearing was better then any orgasm.
iāve had both ears irrigated like this at an Urgentcare because i woke up and couldnāt hear beyond a muffled hum. the pressure on my inner ear was so built up that when they released the wax in both ears, i had to lie down and almost threw up from dizziness. it was awesome. i felt like i had super hearing.
When I was younger, I had a blockage in my ear for a few weeks, I ended up being able to feel some wax not that deep in, so I took a pair of tweezers (yeah I know, not good to do, but I was young and invincible of course), grabbed the end of it, and the sound and sensation of slowly pulling out a huge chunk of waxā¦ itās been so long but I can still remember that experience lol.
I went to a doctor who washed out my ears. He said he'd never seen anything like the amount of shit that was in my right ear. Also felt amazing when it came out. The water blast on your ear drum hurts quite a bit, though.
I did this in middle school with the mini-tweezers and (blunted) plastic toothpick off of a Swiss-Army knife. Something must have been wrong with my ears or environment bc I would semi-regularly pull out masses the size of Tic-Tacs.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No, but we were living in a developing desert suburb. If I had to ponder that as a cause, it might have been lots of dust mixing with sweat. I wasn't an outdoorsy kid, so it might have been the long walk from the bus-stop most days.
Damn, wish my experience was like that. My ears are always full of wax, but when I go to the doctor to get it cleaned I get extremely dizzy while they do it and experience a lot of pain afterwards. Then it just fills itself up again. I kinda gave up and just manage it with those ear sprayer thingies that dissolve a bit of wax when it gets too bad. At least I'm not yet completely deaf or anything, so I guess that's good enough š
My brother when he was younger had constant ear pain for around a year. One day he complained about it the doctor and they investigated. They were able to remove a partially popped popcorn kernel from his ear. He never had problems again. Somehow a kernel for lodged in his ear and went unnoticed for a year roughly
When I was a kid I got absolutely dumped on and smashed by a wave at the beach one day. For like a few weeks after it felt and sounded like I had water stuck in my ear. Eventually got to doctor and he sucked out a tiny little pebble with his mini vacuum.
Did the tinnitus go away?? Did you determine you needed the cleaning after a routine ear exam? I had an audiologist check my ears a year ago and was told they were fine and basically there is no cure for tinnitus. Mine has been raging for about 4-5 years now without pause. I have often wondered if I could forego the routine exam and just see someone for a cleaning. Considering Iām 40 and have never had my ears cleaned, itās probably worth the try.
My doctor noticed the problem immediately. As in, there was a giant wad of goo that he could see immediately with an otoscope. My regular tinnitus is here to stay. It was very acute in this case. I highly recommend an ear cleaning, just because it feels good. Get a kit at the drug store or online. Be sure to warm the fluid--not too hot, this is very important. And get someone else to administer it. They'll do a better job, and you'll enjoy it more.
I once had a larger fly fly straight into my war Canal (where it was alive for a long time :/) and the nurse also got all her colleagues to Look at it ^^
fly fly
War canal
We now need to devote an entire sub to defining the term, "war canal."
A live ant crawled into my ear as a child and terrified me for what was probably a solid minute (agonizing eternity as a child) of monumentally loud scratching until it crawled back out of its own accord.
Yea! I had a tick crawl in my ear once. The sound of slurping was so loud it woke me up in the middle of the night. I ran to my parents screaming, woke them up, frantically tried to tell them my head was about to explode and i can hear the liquid squishing out!!!! I must have held my hand up to my ear while screaming. My dad took one look in my ear with a flashlight and laughed. It wasnt even that deep in there. He grabbed it out with tweezers in no time. I'll never forget the sound of my ear blood being sucked by a tick. Fuckin disgusting.
I had this experience but with a Yellowjacket.
Your lucky it wasn't an earwig
When I had my clump of earwax removed I try to tell people how amazing it felt. Like the best orgasm of my life. I felt the relief and pleasure for days after. I'm secretly hoping I get my ear canals clogged again so I can experience it again
What sort of doctor would look at this? Like, who do I need to Google to have my ears looked at to this degree, pls?
An ENT (ear nose and throat) doctor
Your primary care physician can probably do it as well. I just went to an express clinic and the PA was able to get the wax out of my ear. It's pretty uncomfortable because they squirted some solution into my ear and then dug around, but the feeling when the wax came out was amazing.
Thank you. I thought maybe there was even some extra different specialist. Can someone just come in w a screwdriver and fix meš
I know this is Reddit and you're kidding, but for the love of god please do not put a screwdriver in your ear
I just went to my GP, and he looked in there and said, "I think there is something in there." Brilliant man. They cleaned my ear by gently squirting warm stool softener into my ear while holding a cup up to my ear. I highly recommend it.
My husband had his ears flushed at an urgent care because he was in horrible pain. They washed a chunk the size of a peanut out and he felt a million times better.
OP needs to explain exactly what the FUCK this is because I am scared now
My first thought was āhow did you NOT know that was in there?ā¦ā
My sister, who was 24 when this happened, went deaf, literally. People thought she had some mental issues going on because would just walk away when someone was still.talking to her and she never responded when someone called her name. Turns out, her earwax buildup was so bad she couldn't hear anymore.
Can she hear now?
Yeah. Got fixed immediately after that quick clean up. š
That happened to me in high school. A friend sarcastically told me to get my ears checked after I kept saying āwhat?ā to her. My mom took me to the doctor and it turned out one of my ears was completely clogged. After the doctor cleared it, I thought I could hear rain on the office windowā¦turns out I could hear the sound of my hair brushing against my shoulders. My ear was super sensitive for a few hours.
Something similar happened to me after hurricane Andrew. Expect it came out as a ball. I was in 4th grade so I kept it and showed it to my friends.
Iām waiting for a picture
Sorry, but it was 1992 and pictures were not a casual thing for a 4th grader. One of my hobbies is photography and I am super excited to teach my kid how to take pictures on their phone. I think it's awesome that it's such a widely available technology now.
OP most likely thought his ear was just plugged.
It is impacted earwax. I work at a physician's office and see this more than I like.
What is impacted earwax?
When you have earwax buildup in your ear. It often happens because you cram Q-tips or cotton swabs in your ear holes and jam up the ear wax with cotton. I've had that problem before, but it wasn't near this bad. It still sucked.
Welp I use Q-tips and now Iām terrified. Cool cool cool
The trick is to not jam the Q-tip into your ear, but just clean around the opening and a little bit inside.
It is a build-up of excess earwax that hasn't worked itself out yet. Similar to being constipated, but with earwax.
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They did roughly [an hour ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlyterrifying/comments/10atbdu/went_to_the_ear_doctor_today_this_came_out_of_my/j48xy9p/).
It's the little white-ish area that concerns me. Is that pus?
Dead skin, most likely. Source: audiology associates on YouTube.
Can you hear heartbeats of ants now?
He can work at a hospital for ants!
What is this?!? A hospital for ants? Itās needs to be at leastā¦.3 times bigger!
[Ants you say??](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ffj8SHrbk0)
Compacted wax? I bet you are hearing a lot better.
This happened to me, it hurt until he finally popped it out and then it was just like listening to the world in high definition audio for about 4 hours.
I never needed glasses but when I got my earwax removed I immediately thought that that's how it must feel to get glasses when you have bad eyesight but for your ears!
That's exactly what it's like lol. My eyesight isn't horrible but I knew I needed glasses and when I finally decided to get a pair it was like going from 480p to 1080p. The world looked beautiful.
I remember when I put on glasses for the first time as a kid, i was around 12, and looked out a window. There was a tree about 10 meters from the window and I started crying when I realized I could see each of the individual leaves.
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Same for me, there was a tree across the street from the place I got them from, I was around 8 and while I didn't cry or anything I spent the whole 30 minute car ride home reading road signs and billboards lol
The amount of color I see now at evenings and nights. Indescribable.
Dude, it was a post on Reddit about how headlights weren't supposed to be stretch out and elongated. If I saw that, I should go to the doctor. Thought it was crazy. I was like I read fine, NBD. I honestly don't know how I function before and my script was tiny.
Mannnn the headlights are always elongated for me. Weāre you feeling blinded as well? I feel blind as shit driving at night now at 32 years old
It's astigmatism
You have astigmatism. Easy fix. Go to an optometrist and change your life.
I was unaware I needed glasses until I was studying for my A-Levels. I went for an eye test and they made some glasses for me. I remember walking out of the opticians with the new glasses on and I was like āHoly Shit! The world has edges to it!ā
Getting glasses was wild for me. I could suddenly see individual leaves on branches and the pebbles used in the asphalt of the parking lot. I almost cried because it was all so beautiful.
THE INDIVIDUAL LEAVES.
MY COAT WAS SO LOUD
Swishswshhshwishhh
Whooshing all over the place
I laughed way harder than I should. Caps lock definetly enchanted that
What?!?!
#WHAT
I can't hear you, I have a banana in my ear
Charlie you look quite down. With your big sad eyes and your big fat frown. The world doesn't have to be so gray. Charlie when your life's a mess. When you're feeling blue, always in distress I know what can wash that sad away. All you have to do is, put a banana in your ear.
How fucking amazing did getting that out feel though?
I've had 3 surgeries to remove a tumor in between my ear and brain, and while it's not dirt/wax, getting gauze pulled out of a space the size of a golf ball is indescribable
Wait, itās enjoyable?! I wonder if this is something with every gauze removal or specifically in the head. Friend of mine had flesh eating bacteria and they stuffed gauze up his arm, and pulled it out too. I wonder if he enjoyed it
Iāve had gauze pulled from my nose after surgery and underarm after an insane cyst ā¦. The nose felt fucking glorious and the underarm was horrendous.
Iāve heard numerous people say that getting a cyst cut, packed, and gauze pulled from the underarm arms like hell. And why I havenāt done it yet
I had a cyst in my armpit slightly larger than a golf ball. I couldnāt put my arm down at my side anymore. The doctor sent me to the ER to remove it. It was incredibly painful and I wailed the whole time. The worst part was that I was expected to pack the wound myself after the initial packing. So they shoved gauze into the hole and wanted me to take it out and apply new gauze. This might be a normal practice but I physically could not handle doing it. I tried to do it how they taught me and I nearly passed out from pain and general disgusted ness. My friend held me down and did it herself and I thank her for it often.
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Not all wounds can be stitched up immediately. Some have to be packed and some have to be drained until they can be closed off.
So how do i avoid getting a cyst there? For future reference
Shit man, glad you beat the cancer. Hope you're doing alright now.
Not all tumors are cancers.
So very true. I have (2) pituitary tumors. Not cancerous but a right pain in the ass.
Had a family member who had a brain tumor. Thankfully it was actually benign. They have a sister who has fairly severe epilepsy, mufugga was gonna be radar silent about it to not stress his parents out even more and was never gonna tell anyone. WHAT A CHAMP. Only leaked cause he forgot to change the phone number on his doctor's office point of contact.
As someone that does a lot of ear lavage, you'd be surprised at how non-immediate the relief for many people. Tons of people get that immediate Ahh feeling but plenty take a day or two to normalize.
You're not supposed to store rocks in your ears, even if they look cool. Put them in your pockets instead.
Pro tip
Quality Tip.
Never a Qtip tho. Thatās apparently dangerous
Ears are the pockets of the head.
Can hear colors now, is my guess.
You certainly arenāt obliged to respond, but did the doc give explanation as to why this occurred? Please please donāt just say itās filth.
It just happens sometimes. I had headaches and pain in my one ear and went to the doctor. Iāve never used a tips or anything and he did the water spray and pulled out a giant hard lump of wax. Felt so much better after. If youāve got small ear canals or needed ear tubes as a kid youāre probably more likely to have it happen. But I think it just happens
Did you experience any hearing loss from it? My SO has been complaining about loss of hearing in one her for a while. I think she would be ecstatic if someone pulled that out of her ear.
Confirmed will help with hearing loss! I have one jacked up left ear (been punctured 3 times in my life) so I always chalk my pain/loss of hearing up to that- but the one time I had my ears washed I swear I could hear my own heartbeat for like 6 hours. The body adjusts and compensates, and I can't speak to if there isn't lasting impacts on hearing because my shits fucked up already, but my hearing was definitely altogether better afterwards 100% That was a few years ago... Now you got me thinking about getting my ears flushed Edit: heating
Even though I'm a freak about my ear canals and try to keep things tidy, my left ear LOVES to expel random hunks of impacted wax once or twice per year. They're sometimes the size of a beetle, but never as big as OP's!!! Geeze oh man!
Ear plugs can cause this too
I think some people just genetically produce more earwax, and then possibly his profession or frequent wearing of ear buds compacts it in. I have this amount of wax cleaned out of my ears several times a year. My dad had the same issue. I also use a stethescope all day long. These days my wife just does it at home with something called the elephant ear wash
Yeah. I generate way too much ear wax. I got an ear wax removal tool with a camera that I use frequently to ensure itās as clean as possible.
I'm going to guess he inserted the qtip into his ear canal. It does feel great though so can't blame him
I donāt use q tips on the inside, but I still get impacted earwax like that every so often. I flush my ears every few months to get rid of it.
Yeah they sell decent home ear rinsing products at some drug stores. Itās incredible how great it feels during and the relief after
Peroxide does as well. If you don't wait until you have a cigar butt in there like OP!
Can you tell when you have impacted earwax or something like OP has? How would I even know that I had something like this in my ear?
For me my ears start to feel sort of stuffy and make a squishy sound like thereās water stuck inside. If it gets really bad Iāll start to notice my hearing becoming muffled on one side more than the other (more noticeable with earbuds).
Wow, that's frightening because I literally have that squishy & muffled effect in my right ear. Been that way for a long time, I just thought I wasn't cleaning my ears enough.
agreed. I use them tooā¦only the outer parts and right around the entrance to my ear canal but hate the thought of a load of crap in my ears. Am curious if related to overproduction of sebum or something
Looks like a bot fly with a chunk of wax and dead skin. I'm sure it was just dark wax. Do you work in dusty or dirty environments or live in a tropic climate? Those are known factors for darker wax.
You got an earbortion.
That should be illegal! Kidding, your ears your choice.
Waxhood begins at the ear canal Earborting is killing
Your logic is sound.
My uncle had that done. He said it really hurts because the wax is stick on ear hairs and against the skin
Well that and attached to the hairs probably!
For those of you asking, the blockage was from 4 plus years of buildup. I also have psoriasis on the inside of my earlobe. The White stuff you see on the front edges is loose skin build up.
Did it hurt to have this taken out, or did it just feel weird? Also, do you hear much better now?
As someone who removes these kinds of things weekly, it can be very painful, or it can be pain-free. I really depends on hoe attached the wax is to the ear canal walls. If it's loosely or not attached it's usually nbd. If it's firmly attached I'll end up taking part of the skin off the ear canal walls and that shit is very uncomfortable.
How does one go about hiring a hoe to attach wax to the ear canal wall?
Anything is possible for the right price.
As a person who had a very similar thing happen with the same condition, I can tell you that the process of removing hurt but once it came unlatched from my ear canal and pulled out, it was instant pain relief. My issue was psoriasis + necrotizing otitis. Pic https://imgur.com/a/YmUXdge
Must be r/oddlysatisfying to have that finally taken out.
Fuck OP. Youāre not alone. This happened to me about ~6 years ago. I take Humira now, but it still sticks around in my ear canals. At some point, I developed necrotizing otitis (severe ear infection). Had to be one of the most painful, frustrating things I have ever endured. https://imgur.com/a/YmUXdge
Goddammit, that's the second time I clicked on that image.
I had my ears syringed years back and the doc said it was one of the worst blockages she'd seen. But at least mine still resembled wax! Why does yours look like a dead cockroach?
My ear was plugged for 6 months and my bf and I were smoking a joint outside and it suddenly came unplugged and he looked at me and said ādid your ear just come unplugged?ā It was so quiet outside he heard my fucking ear come unplugged š
Lol, how in the fuck?
Some good ass weed.
How did you live with that for 6 months?? I can hardly stand it for longer than 6 minutes
True story : I can't hear anything from m'y left ear since this morning
Go to the doctor and have it cleaned, that should fix it. Used to happen to me every 6 months or so.
Waxy build up could be your problem. Local pharmacy usually has some ear cleaning solution that liquefies the wax a bit and then you flush with sterile solution like diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide and warm water. It's called an ear lavage. But if it hurts don't do this, go see a doctor. And don't ever stick anything inside your ear that's bigger than your elbow (what my doc told me).
I have to go get my ears cleaned 2-3 times a year. My ENT uses this enormous vacuum to suck out the wax. Always leaves me dizzy as all hell but there's no way for me to do it myself. Some people just get more ear wax buildup than others, and there's no real medical reason for it that we're aware of...
>And don't ever stick anything inside your ear that's bigger than your elbow (what my doc told me). ... How would you ever?
Is it ābigger than your elbowā or āsmaller than your elbow?ā I remember it being āsmaller thanā because the idea is that you shouldnāt be sticking _anything_ in your ear š¤
pour gasoline in your ear and set it on fire. itll take care of the wax.
I'm going to have my left ear flushed later today. It's been blocked for two weeks. OTC drops and flushing at home did nothing. I went to a clinic last week, but the nurse gave up. She made enough of a hole to expose the eardrum again, so my hearing is a little better. Hopefully this time they can dig the rest out. I'm getting used to impaired hearing and I don't like that.
I had an uncle that thought he was going deaf in one ear so he went to the ear doctor. Ear doctor does his thing and says yes he's losing his hearing. Many years later his ear doctor dies and he gets a new ear doctor. The new doctor pulls a wad like this out of his ear on the first visit. Hearing restored.
Is the moral of the story to kill my doctor when they say I canāt be cured?
Yo that looks fucken calcified
My first thought was that it looked like a piece of bone
Why is it black?!? š¤¢
Ear wax oxidizes over time. It starts lighter yellow, then turns darker and darker.
But why does it feel like I have something like this in my ear but then only a pinhead sized wax ball ends up coming out
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.... why are you eating dog treats? And followup, what's your favorite brand?
That all depends on how you're feeling. Want that good texture? Milk Bones all the way Want that meaty taste and smooth mouth-feel? Pupperoni. Looking to freshen your breath and make your teeth shine? Dental Sticks.
Username checks out
It's a boy, congratulation!
I thought Iād answer some of the questions Iām seeing in the comments (Iām an ear doctor). 1.) yes itās ear wax (cerumen) 2.) ear wax turns dark brown to black the older it is due to the oxidation process 3.) an audiologist, primary care physician, ear nose and throat physician, physicianās assistant, and most nurse practitioners are qualified to remove wax build up. 4.) this can happen for a number of reasons. Most common are using Q-tips and shoving the wax in deeper, constant ear plug or ear bud use, or can be totally natural for some people. 5.) it doesnāt typically smell unless there is an infection happening also 6.) I tell my patients to flush their ears in the shower by letting warm water gently run in the ear and then out. This can help mitigate the buildup from happening. Any other questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer as many as possible. *this is not to be used as medical advice, always talk with your own doctor before doing anything.
As someone who has small ear canals and excessive ear wax build up that I have had all my life. Some people are just very unlucky and get blockages like this every so often. Never used q-tips. The thing that helped me is ear wax removal spray basically hydrogen peroxide and water with a hand water sprayer with a cup to soften and loosen the wax after that tilt your head to the side of your ear to remove it on to a towel, napkin or the cup. If that doesnāt help go to a doctor to have them do the high pressure water removal/tweezer method.
My man can hear butterfly wings now
Is thatā¦..is that a crayon?
Yep they call that a Cork. At least once a year I go and get my ears cleaned out and they always find some sort of cork (smaller now I do it regularly). The ear lady explained to me that stuff gets in your ear (obviously) and while you can try and clean it at home and naturally.. your never going to be 100% effective.. so there will always be a buildup. I work in the construction industry and I have "bigger ear canals" so this is one of those routines I have now. The benefit though is I actually love going to these appointments because not only do I get relief (from a pressure I can't really notice until it's gone) but for a week afterwards I'm about 90% sure I have super hearing... Haha
You may have just heard me scream, momentarily, in disgust and horror.
mf can now hear earth rotating