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Author Topic: How to properly clean the ears??  (Read 1289 times)

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joeexp

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How to properly clean the ears??
« on: May 16, 2015, 07:51:48 PM »

What is the best way to clean out the ears?

This is a gross subject  poo poo - but it is probably very important to clean your own ears from wax, dust etc. to hear things properly

I've heard about ear-wax-candles.   :)p8 :)p8

What is the best way?
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LFF

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2015, 08:10:25 PM »

I use two cotton swabs every morning right after I get out of the shower.  I gently rotate them and pull out. Leaves them squeky clean.

Don't know if it's the best but it's always worked for me. Never had any wax issues and my audiologist hasn't complained.
Edit: misspelled by autocorect.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2015, 03:23:57 AM by LFF »
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Ringingears

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2015, 08:29:30 PM »

My suggestion. Have them washed out by a medical professional. Don't use ear candles.  :spank: People have damaged their ears and hearing using them. I have had mine washed out a few times. They use a surfactant and warm water and a syringe. Since they can look in your ear while cleaning them you can be sure they are clean. I have also had them use a water pick. My doctor says you can over do it as the wax is supposed to be there to protect the ear canal. It is only a problem after it builds up over time. 
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jerg

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2015, 08:40:30 PM »

Get one of those asian earpicks and get good at em.
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Thad E Ginathom

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2015, 08:56:56 PM »

In my childhood, long, long ago, the standing advice was that the only thing you should ever put in your ear is your elbow.
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frenchbat

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2015, 08:58:19 PM »

Hydrogen peroxyde is a good way to disolve earwax buildup.
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Thad E Ginathom

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2015, 09:16:38 PM »

Stuff near the outside world, that tickles and fowls up shallow-fit earbuds, I remove with the curve of a wire paperclip. There is absolutely no chance that I get this anything like far enough in to cause any damage.

I do suffer from bad wax buildup. One thing I notice is not being able to hear the beep-beep kitchen timer across the room. Then I go to the ear doc. he has scoops, tools, vacuum tubes (not of the audio kind) and all sorts of stuff, but I get so nervous when he digs deep that I can't sit still, so I request the old-fashioned water wash.

I do this about three times a year. it's due about now, even though I can hear the kitchen timer. Back in January my doc was out of town, and a different one did it. He used a hydrogen peroxide soak, as there was a lot of wax. it bubbled and sounded like explosions!

Hydrogen peroxide comes in different strengths. I think it could be dangerous if you didn't know what you were doing. The only thing I do is to put drops, as specified by the doc, in my ears for a few days, that softens the wax and makes the removal easier. Once I start that process, I am almost completely deaf until it all gets washed out. Once that is done, for a few days, I can understand why my wife says I have a heavy hand on the PC keyboard!
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knerian

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2015, 09:55:03 PM »

I dont know the best method, but q-tips might compact it.  When I used in-ears I had built up wax over time and apparently kept pushing it in.  One day while in China I had too much pain in my ears, I thought it was a cold or maybe an ear infection so went to the hospital.  They used a scope to look inside and said there was compacted wax in there, then they took a fucking needle looking metal scooper and just dug all the wax out.  Two balls the around diameter of a dime resulted from each ear!!!

I was immediately sensitive to high frequencies and had super sensitive hearing for the next week or so after that. My canals apparently had been blocked up for quite a while.

I just bought this, haven't used it yet though, just to check things out:   

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053NHR8M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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ohhgourami

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2015, 10:27:47 PM »

H2O2 is your friend. I've used the stuff that you get in the pharmacy section which should be 3%. If you're unsure about that, you can dilute it with water. Luckily, I don't get much earwax in the first place so I do it rarely.
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joeexp

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Re: How to properly clean the ears??
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2015, 07:56:25 AM »

Cotton buds are a no no!

But H2O2  -  how do you apply that??
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