Wax in ear?!
Question: Hello can you help me with what I should do now, I've just been from A & E, with pain in my ear through clogged up wax, I have done the bad mistake of using cotton buds of trying to deal with this wax. It has only caused me to push it in my ear drum and the nurse said that the ear wax has gone dark and hard and if she tried to syringe the ear will get damage, so the nurse said that if my ear is no better within a week that they will get a oncologist to suck out the the wax with a machine. What I would like to know is will it be painful, will it damage my ear, and shall I get this sorted out now rather than wait a week if the proceedur is safe. As ears are delicate and I am worried that I could get a ear infection or lose the hearing in my ear.
Answers: Hello can you help me with what I should do now, I've just been from A & E, with pain in my ear through clogged up wax, I have done the bad mistake of using cotton buds of trying to deal with this wax. It has only caused me to push it in my ear drum and the nurse said that the ear wax has gone dark and hard and if she tried to syringe the ear will get damage, so the nurse said that if my ear is no better within a week that they will get a oncologist to suck out the the wax with a machine. What I would like to know is will it be painful, will it damage my ear, and shall I get this sorted out now rather than wait a week if the proceedur is safe. As ears are delicate and I am worried that I could get a ear infection or lose the hearing in my ear.
It seems that you might be seeing an otolaryngologist (Ear Nose Throat specialist) rather than oncologist, who specializes in cancer. The treatments I've had for this involve a gentle stream of water being sprayed very gently into the ear. It's a little annoying becuase you have water in your ear, but it doesn't hurt. I would let the ENT take care of your problem since you run the risk of making things worse if you do it yourself. The ENT is fully aware of the delicacy of your ears and will be careful. Good luck.
If you feel up to it, you can treat this problem yourself. At bedtime, place several drops of olive oil in each ear and seal it in with sponge ear plugs, the kind you wear to block out noise. The olive oil will soften the wax. In the morning fill a ball syringe (available in most drug stores) with warm water and direct a reasonably vigorous spray into each ear. Do it over your bathroom sink which you have previously partially filled with water. With one ear facing the sink, spray the water in. Check the sink of water to see if wax fell out. Repeat spraying. Do the same in the other ear. If nothing comes out, try the oil again at bedtime. Flush in morning. Unless you have a serious blockage, this should do it for you. If it works for you, do it periodically so that your buildup doesn't get so bad next time.
There are OTC ear wash kits like at walmart..read directions