Clogged ears !help!!

[Rocco]

This morning I woke up with clogged ears ,both ears ..I haven't cleaned the wax ever as far as I can remember but supposedly it works it's way out swimming and showers.. I took debrox it dissolves ear wax .but they feel worse now .has anyone had this problem or know of a remedy or what can cause this?maybe it's not earwax??? Any comments? Im all ears

[mimi]

@Rocco - Do you have any pain in your ears? If you have pain, it's possible that you are developing an ear infection. Do you have any pain or just clogged ears?

If you don't have any pain, then it's possible that your ears are clogged with wax and/or water. When your ears are clogged with water, sometimes it just takes a little time for the water to drain out. If your ears are clogged with wax, then that ear wax removal stuff should help, but that might also take a little time to work. Maybe you could buy one of those bulb syringes that are used to remove stuff out of a baby's nose, and use it gently in your ears. I'm not a medical expert. I'm just throwing ideas out there. However, if you have pain, then it's quite possible that you're developing an ear infection. Whenever I have an ear infection, I always have clogged ears with pain.

Hopefully you just have wax or water stuck in your ears, and hopefully it will drain out soon. I really hope you don't have an ear infection because I get frequent ear infections, and ear infections are more painful for me than childbirth!! Keep us posted. It's probably just wax and/or water stuck in your ears, and it will probably just take a little time to drain out of your ears.

[dafeet]

I had that problem a few summers ago. After using an at-home wax remover, my ears were so much worse. I ended up having to go into an emergency clinic where they said the wax was so hard and built up that no at-home remedy would work. The dr. ended up using a took and flushing both ears. He also said some people just happen to have "waxier" wax than others lol

[brandon7467]

Warm baby oil works...

[Piper]

@all I've been told by the ENT that some people just produce more earwax than
others. I happen to be one of them. End up in his office about every 2and a half yrs.
so he can stick a dental pick in there and pull it all out. He told me to slow it down
to warm some olive oil and let it sit in my ears. I guess it warms it and helps it
drain out. I've never done it though. I'd rather hear the pop when he pulls that
chunk of wax out lmao!

[betsky]

@Rocco
whatever else you do,do not try to put anything in your ears to "pull "out the wax. Try the warmed oil,put in one side and leave in till cooled. Turn on other side and do the same,put a towel under the first ear as some oil may leak out,or just lay on that side and allow gravity to do its job when you putthe oil in opposite side. Good luck

[mimi]

@Rocco
whatever else you do,do not try to put anything in your ears to "pull "out the wax. Try the warmed oil,put in one side and leave in till cooled. Turn on other side and do the same,put a towel under the first ear as some oil may leak out,or just lay on that side and allow gravity to do its job when you putthe oil in opposite side. Good luck

@Rocco - And definitely don't shove q-tips in your ears. I think my obsessive use of q-tips since I was a kid is what caused me to develop frequent ear infections as an adult.

[no name]

Do you have a cold or congestion along with it?
i had an infection in the eusctachian (sp) tubes from my throat, didnt feel all that bad ,i did all the treatments too when i should have had a dr look at my ears and throat,took a decongestnat and oral steroids for a week and got my hearing back, moral of the story have your ears checked

NN

[Rocco]

No pain ,I just woke up clogged I've felt this before . I think the left ear feels better I can hear better ,I think I'll need a week twice a day with the ear stuff to clear it out I'll keep you posted .

[betsky]

No pain ,I just woke up clogged I've felt this before . I think the left ear feels better I can hear better ,I think I'll need a week twice a day with the ear stuff to clear it out I'll keep you posted .

@Rocco
Glad to see you're. Still running around your square I'd still recommend the oil treatment. Cant hurt and may help instead of suffering 2 weeks.

[Rocco]

Hydrogen peroxide with warm water isn a remedy too ,I may try that if this dosent work .thanks

[betsky]

Hydrogen peroxide with warm water isn a remedy too ,I may try that if this dosent work .thanks

@Rocco
if u use hydrogen peroxide be sure to dilute it %50percent with water.

[HR89]

witch hazel... can help.. iME, but i tended to ause it when my ears hurt..

[photogirl1980]

listen to everyone who says "dont put q tips on your ears". it is very true. you will just compact the ear wax and make things worse. the ear wax softener works well but you have to leave it in one side of your ear for 30 or so minutes, then slowly let the ear wax flow out by putting your head in the opposite direction, this too takes 30 minutes, sometimes as long as an hour. i would have clogged ears so bad i couldnt hear the doorbell ringing, my boyfriend yelling at me to wake up or my phone alarm to wake me up. it got so bad my ears starting ringing all the time (they are ringing right now). i still havent completely fixed the problem but i have tried everything and what i recommended above worked the best so far (but still not good enough obviously)

also, a few random things that can cause ear wax buildup....ear buds in ear from mp3 player or i pod, the way you sleep (if you sleep with your head on it's side), using your shoulder to hold your phone while talking on it....

[Kittsoan1989]

@photogirl1980 - You are 100 percent correct! As tempting (and as good as it feels - maybe I'm wierd but I REALLY like the feel) as it is to put Q-Tips in your ears if you fear a wax build-up - DON'T do it - it will only "compact" the problem. I've had problems with too much wax in my ears in the past and the $10 kits you can buy at Walgreens, K-Mart, wherever that are designed to "flush" your ears out work GREAT in my opinion - They're kind of a pain to use and a bit uncomftorable - but you'll literally have "chunks" or earwax darining from your ears. So that would be my best advice - for the cost and convenience (sure as hell beats a doctor's visit - which some nurses will advise) - this is by far the best solution that I've found!

[Tece68]

I have this same problem in the winter it is fine in the summer because I swim all the time. I use one of those blue ball things you get from the drug store I do not know what it is really called but people use them for babies to suck the buggers out. I fill a bowl with warm water, turn my head until it drains, and keep squirting water in to soften the wax. It does take a little while but it gets it all out. Once you get it out do that a couple times a month to get it ut before it backs up. I have used the oils before but once it got backed up behind the wax and I ended up with a horrible ear infection.

[sophie30]

@Kittsoan1989, so is it a bad idea to use q-tips at all or just once wax builds up? I use q-tips right after I shower, assuming the wax will be softer, but I don't want to do any damage!

[Jeremy Fisher]

I have heard about hydrogen peroxide working too. But I would dilute as @betsky suggested. Gotta be nice to your ear drums. Also, i'd take a sudafed (behind the counter now). Those decongestants are great and may help a bit w/the discomfort, not the wax of course.

[Roswell1947]

I swim 3 times a week and several times in the past
I had clogged ears for weeks. After searching the web, I found a formula
that deep sea divers apparently use and it works great and it's cheap.
50/50 solution rubbing alcohol and distilled white vinegar.
I use a dropper and put a few drops in each ear after each swim
then keep head tilted, place a cotton ball in to keep solution in the ear.
After 20 to 30 min remove cotton.
The alcohol removes the water and the vinegar deals with any
possible infection.
No problems now for 5 years.

[Piper]

@Sophie, the ENT told me qtips are ok; but just use them around the outer edge
of your ear. If you jam them in, you're just pushing all the wax back in. Your ears
produce wax as a defense against small foreign objects getting into your ears, so
you do need some. I just produce more than most people. I never put qtips in
there either. I've never forgotten what my gpa said when I was a little girl. He was
an osteopath and he told me to never put anything smaller than my elbow in my
ears! I thought he was sooo funny!! But it's true.