How was I still able to hear?
January 27, 2020 7:04 AM Subscribe
I have a dumb and kind of gross question involving ear wax and hearing. To save you all from the horror I will keep most of it below the fold.
Anonymous because gross.
I recently went to the doctor to check on a cough I've had for a bit. I'm mostly fine, just some post-nasal drip, but that's not the important part of the question. When he was checking my ears with that lighted ear microscope thing, he told me "you have a lot of ear wax."
So when I got home I put some drops in my ears and then cleaned them out with an ear bulb and some warm water. Reader, I was not prepared for what happened next.
From each ear fell a lima bean-sized blob of solidified ear wax mixed with, I dunno, hair and other flotsam and jetsam. It looked like an owl pellet. Two owl pellets.
It was gross.
Anyway, my question is this: How did I still have hearing? If there was a mass of crud stuck deep in each ear, wouldn't it block my hearing?
I was not suffering from any hearing loss and after cleaning out my ears I noticed no improvement at all.
Perhaps my ears don't work how I think they do, but I was always under the impression sound came through my little ear hole and vibrated on the hammer and anvil thingy inside. If the earhole was blocked, how did the sound get through to my ear drum? Wouldn't it have affected it even a little bit? If I stick an actual lima bean in my ear I bet it would block my hearing. I probably shouldn't do that though, not even for science.
What's the deal?
Anonymous because gross.
I recently went to the doctor to check on a cough I've had for a bit. I'm mostly fine, just some post-nasal drip, but that's not the important part of the question. When he was checking my ears with that lighted ear microscope thing, he told me "you have a lot of ear wax."
So when I got home I put some drops in my ears and then cleaned them out with an ear bulb and some warm water. Reader, I was not prepared for what happened next.
From each ear fell a lima bean-sized blob of solidified ear wax mixed with, I dunno, hair and other flotsam and jetsam. It looked like an owl pellet. Two owl pellets.
It was gross.
Anyway, my question is this: How did I still have hearing? If there was a mass of crud stuck deep in each ear, wouldn't it block my hearing?
I was not suffering from any hearing loss and after cleaning out my ears I noticed no improvement at all.
Perhaps my ears don't work how I think they do, but I was always under the impression sound came through my little ear hole and vibrated on the hammer and anvil thingy inside. If the earhole was blocked, how did the sound get through to my ear drum? Wouldn't it have affected it even a little bit? If I stick an actual lima bean in my ear I bet it would block my hearing. I probably shouldn't do that though, not even for science.
What's the deal?
I am not an ear, nor am I an ear doctor, but I do have ears. And wax. Here's my understanding of how this all works:
Sound is basically pressure waves travelling through the air. These pressure waves don't vibrate your hammer and anvil thingy directly; rather, they vibrate your eardrum, which vibrate the hammer and anvil thingy, which then stimulate some nerves to send signals to your brain.
If you have wax in your ears, if it's jammed right up against the eardrum, the pressure waves can travel through the earwax and still vibrate your eardrum. That's why you're not totally deaf even if your ear canal is blocked by wax.
I was not suffering from any hearing loss and after cleaning out my ears I noticed no improvement at all.
It's hard to notice subtle hearing loss at some frequencies, and your brain is good at picking out signals. A few times after cleaning out my ears, I noticed that right away things sounded louder than before, but that quickly faded as my brain adjusted to the new situation.
[On preview, what SaltySalticid said.]
posted by number9dream at 7:13 AM on January 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Sound is basically pressure waves travelling through the air. These pressure waves don't vibrate your hammer and anvil thingy directly; rather, they vibrate your eardrum, which vibrate the hammer and anvil thingy, which then stimulate some nerves to send signals to your brain.
If you have wax in your ears, if it's jammed right up against the eardrum, the pressure waves can travel through the earwax and still vibrate your eardrum. That's why you're not totally deaf even if your ear canal is blocked by wax.
I was not suffering from any hearing loss and after cleaning out my ears I noticed no improvement at all.
It's hard to notice subtle hearing loss at some frequencies, and your brain is good at picking out signals. A few times after cleaning out my ears, I noticed that right away things sounded louder than before, but that quickly faded as my brain adjusted to the new situation.
[On preview, what SaltySalticid said.]
posted by number9dream at 7:13 AM on January 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Maybe it is the positioning or the hardness of the wax, but I have had earwax where it was blocking sound (so removal resulted in a minor revelation of hearing clear sounds again) and earwax where it must not have been blocking much sound because things sounded the same after removal, like yours.
Earwax, land of contrasts, etc.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:39 AM on January 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Earwax, land of contrasts, etc.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:39 AM on January 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
I watch earwax removal videos on Youtube from Audiology Associates in the UK. The audiologist, Rhys, pulls absolutely massive wax plugs from people's ears who were not even aware there was an issue because they had no hearing loss and no sense of fullness in the ear.
In response to aghast comments asking how it's possible that the patient didn't know that they had such a quantity of wax, he's explained that sound can travel through a "gap" in the wax and that the sense of fullness is only caused by certain wax that presses on the canal walls. There's some soft, non-dense wax that can just... hang out, for months and years.
posted by cranberrymonger at 7:54 AM on January 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
In response to aghast comments asking how it's possible that the patient didn't know that they had such a quantity of wax, he's explained that sound can travel through a "gap" in the wax and that the sense of fullness is only caused by certain wax that presses on the canal walls. There's some soft, non-dense wax that can just... hang out, for months and years.
posted by cranberrymonger at 7:54 AM on January 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
SaltySalticid basically has your answer. If you want to see empirical data for this hypothesis, and you love gross things on YouTube, let me point you to one of the many fine audiology/otolaryngology channels where they film the process of digging impacted wax out of patients' ears. There you will see hapless people with half-inch-wide wax clogs being pulled out of their external auditory meatus, all of whom loudly remark upon how that's not possible because they could still hear clearly.
posted by Mayor West at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2020
posted by Mayor West at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2020
I'm an audiologist and dig a lot of wax out of people's ears. I know you think its gross what happened, but keep in mind your ear wax did exactly what it was supposed to do by collecting all that stuff. Having to use drops and then having big wax chunks come out is really common.
Agree with the above that ear wax does not usually have much impact on hearing, particularly at low frequencies. Hearing remains normal basically until the wax is fully impacted. Even if there is just a tiny space for sound pressure to freely pass unimpeded, hearing remains pretty normal.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
Agree with the above that ear wax does not usually have much impact on hearing, particularly at low frequencies. Hearing remains normal basically until the wax is fully impacted. Even if there is just a tiny space for sound pressure to freely pass unimpeded, hearing remains pretty normal.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
If you want to see empirical data for this hypothesis, and you love gross things on YouTube, let me point you to one of the many fine audiology/otolaryngology channels where they film the process of digging impacted wax out of patients' ears.
posted by Mayor West
WHY DO YOU TEASE US SO. Please, point us.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mayor West
WHY DO YOU TEASE US SO. Please, point us.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Wait! Everyone! Should I be doing this as a person whose doctor has not commented on my earwax?! (I know this isn't answering the question. We all want to know. Please don't flag me.)
posted by bluedaisy at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bluedaisy at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Wait! Everyone! Should I be doing this as a person whose doctor has not commented on my earwax?!
It isn't recommended but I have a bad habit of removing earwax using a Microspatula about 6 times a year. It feels awesome and I think I hear better for a few days after. It is amazing the gunk that I scrape out.
posted by koolkat at 1:50 AM on January 28, 2020
It isn't recommended but I have a bad habit of removing earwax using a Microspatula about 6 times a year. It feels awesome and I think I hear better for a few days after. It is amazing the gunk that I scrape out.
posted by koolkat at 1:50 AM on January 28, 2020
Should I be doing this as a person whose doctor has not commented on my earwax?!
Again, my sole source for all these comments is that single audiology YouTube channel so take this with a grain of salt: the purpose of removing the wax seems to be an examination of the eardrum. If your doctor has peeked in your ears and can see the eardrum, that's probably why they didn't comment.
posted by cranberrymonger at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2020
Again, my sole source for all these comments is that single audiology YouTube channel so take this with a grain of salt: the purpose of removing the wax seems to be an examination of the eardrum. If your doctor has peeked in your ears and can see the eardrum, that's probably why they didn't comment.
posted by cranberrymonger at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2020
ENT doctor here. So, earwax can and does cause conductive hearing loss that can be quite debilitating. BUT it typcally takes a >90% obstruction of the ear canal to start to cause a loss, as the sound waves can navigate very small passages. The most severe loss from wax comes when there is a total blockage.
By the way, did your cough improve after you cleaned them out? A rare, but real, cause of chronic cough is wax pressing on a branch of the Vagus nerve called "Arnold's nerve."
posted by Fritzle at 1:16 PM on January 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
By the way, did your cough improve after you cleaned them out? A rare, but real, cause of chronic cough is wax pressing on a branch of the Vagus nerve called "Arnold's nerve."
posted by Fritzle at 1:16 PM on January 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
This is sort of like that. Audio frequency vibrations travel through solid media just fine. You most likely did have some hearing loss at high frequencies. If you are around 40 or older, you already have hearing loss at high frequencies, compared to your younger self.
Selective and minor high frequency hearing loss can be easy to miss, because it doesn’t interfere much with daily life and human speech.
But the point is, mid- and low-frequencies travel through your wax plug (and the air/wax interface) without all that much loss, and your brain can adapt/compensate for a lot too.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:10 AM on January 27, 2020 [7 favorites]