Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ear

Look into my...ear

bilabial — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:51:38 -0800

YANMD filter. I have had an earache for...a long time. I need a super low cost ENT type visit in the miami/fort lauderdale area. I've been taking ibuprofen and benadryl to faciltate sleeping at night. This was fine with me until it stopped working.

I'm under employed and uninsured (working 11-15 hours/week, had a hopeful job interview today). Minute Clinic at cvs (a drugstore chain here in Florida) is the cheapest option I can find, but at $62 for the visit, that's just not affordable. I do not have a credit card. I'm not in need of emergency room care, so please don't suggest I go there. I'm not currently enrolled in college classes, so utilizing campus health is not possible.

My google fu is failing me and at the moment my ear hurts so badly that chewing is uncomfortable. I can't put this off until I get health insurance or find a winning lotto ticket in the gutter.

I have a broward county bus pass and a bike. I could use the Miami buses. I might be able to get a ride someplace from a friend. So, transportation is a challenge, but less of a barrier than money.

Is there a clinic with a sliding scale? Does anyone have a doctor friend in Miami who could look into my ear and say, 'yup that's infected.' (I've had a lifetime of ear infections. I'm 70% certain that's what it is. Of course, I'm not a doc, and even if I were, I'm not physically able to look into my ear. So my guess at what the problem is doesn't amount to much. What I know is, it hurts and before I consider drinking myself to sleep, I need to see a doctor.)

Why so waxy?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:44:48 -0800

My right ear has been extra waxy for the past few years. Is there something wrong with it? How can I better clean it, since I know I'm not supposed to use Q-tips? I am a 27 year old caucasian woman. I used Q-tips every day of my life after showering and never had an ear wax problem until five years ago.

I woke up one morning with poor balance and some pain in my right ear. Several people at work had recently had ear infections, so I thought that was my problem. I went to the doctor, and my left ear looked fine, but he couldn't even see into my right ear to see if it was infected because it was plugged with wax. I used wax softening drops for a couple days at home, then went back to the doctor where he used a syringe of water to force out a cylinder of orange/brown wax about the size of a new pencil eraser. My ear felt awesome after that, and no, it was not infected.

The doctor recommended against using Q-tips at all, because he said they were forcing wax back into my ears, so I stopped using them for a few months. Eventually, my ear started feeling kind of sticky and waxy, so I started (and continue) to use them just a couple times a week.

Ever since that day, my right ear has produced much more, darker-colored wax than it ever had. Sometimes - but not every time - when I clean my right ear I'll pull out chunks of sticky, orange or brownish wax. I never experienced anything like this before my ear was "unplugged" five years ago. My left ear doesn’t produce this amount of wax.

Is this just a normal change in life that happened to coincide with my medical ear cleaning? Or was something done that day that's caused me to produce more wax ever since? Is there anything I can do to reduce the amount of wax my ears produce, or a better way to clean it out besides an occasional Q-tipping? (I've tried drops and a bulb of water, but haven't had good results.)

By the way, I've had doctors look in my ears since then, and nobody's commented on excessive wax or blockage.

Side note that is probably relevant: I vaguely remember my father, with whom I have no contact (and do not wish to), had ear wax issues as well. He was hard of hearing, due in part to a build-up of wax, and periodically went to the doctor to have his ears vacuumed with a small tube (I went with him once when I was very young). Is excessive ear wax hereditary?

What are the best earplugs for swimming?

Sevenupcan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:58:28 -0800

What are the best ear plugs for swimming? As a child I always had really bad ear infections. So much that it put me off swimming for a while as I would always get water in my ears and it would really hurt! I soon discovered that wearing a swimming cap was the best solution. A fair few years have passed now and I am a little less bothered by water getting in my ears but still find it painful at times.

Now I'd like to find a really good pair of earplugs. I always used to find the wax ones let water in after a while and often get dirt on them. But then again some silicon ones felt uncomfortable because it felt like they were digging into my ear canal.

When it comes to earplugs for swimming is there one universal name or brand that springs to mind?

Super human? Ear sucks?

floam — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:00:28 -0800

This thread reminded me of my Crazy Ears. I've always wondered if mine are broken or if I'm some kind of superhero. My ability: I can cause them to pop at will, without moving anything else in my head. And then things I think are Bad. On airplanes, I've never had trouble trying to get my ears to pop. I don't need to chew gum, or blow with my mouth shut, or move anything around with my jaw or anything like that. I seem to be able to just cause it to happen whenever I like, with only the power of my mind! I can do it up to about twice per second. Is this normal for humans? Something most people can do with practice? Evidence of some problem?

I ask if it's a problem, because of three things that don't seem to be problems but I think are at least abnormal:

Every single time I swallow, like perhaps some saliva, or even nothing, the ears pop. Can't be helped, unless I try really really hard to sort of softly swallow. I don't think this is universal, and would guess this is evidence of my opening/closing of the eustachian tube being on some sort of hair-trigger.
I think I have very mild tinnitus in both ears. Probably not related, but as long as I can remember there's no such thing as a perfectly silent room, and I can hear a high pitch (but very quiet) noise in silence. Similar to what you'd hear out of a turning-on-CRT TV (but very quiet) So mild, part of me wonders if everyone has that but doesn't bother to mention it.
Crazy annoying: Something is up with my left ear. Certain high frequency sounds at somewhat-loud volumes make it sort of "go staticy". Best I could describe it. Gets sort of fuzzy. Been around a long time, I can remember thinking "WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?!" one time when my mom was yelling at me in a particularly high pitch voice as it kicked in when I was under in my count-on-two-hands years. Would love to know what this is called. Not a problem when talking to people or doing normal stuff day to do, but it sucks that I have to keep music quiet sometimes. The volume level necessary to cause it to occur seems to vary.

SO! Should I see an audiologist? Is this all par-the-course-for-humans?

Hey how's it going OH SHI.. I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:21:13 -0800

Wacky ear question: Sometimes when I speak out loud one or both of my ears will pOp and I can't hear anything but my own voice. What the heck is going on and how can I get it to stop? To better describe the sound (or lack thereof): it's like when you wear earplugs; outside sound is greatly reduced and muffled, and all you can really hear is the vibrations of your own voice and breathing.

It happens often enough that I get jarred when it happens because suddenly all the sounds are off balance and my voice sounds so close and LOUD. Sometimes it "sticks" and I have trouble responding to people because I just can't hear a darn thing they're saying.

Strangely, this happens to my nose sometimes too. I'll be speaking then suddenly one nostril will seemingly close up and my voice becomes very nasal and odd sounding.

What the heck is happening here? Is this some earwax/booger issue? How can I fix it? It's driving me crazy!

Poor Zoe. :(

miss lynnster — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:55:36 -0800

I know you are not a vet. But is there any way to cure a dog's ear infections without antibiotics and a trip to the vet? My poor pup has horrible allergies and has had at least five major ear infections in the last few years. She's on good food and stuff, but still gets them even though I take really good care of her. Unfortunately, I ran out of the ear medicine I had and the vet won't give me more without a full exam. Thing is, I really can't afford it... feels like every time I go to the vet I end up spending twice as much to get Zoe well as I expected and I just don't have it to spare right now. I haven't had the cash to take *myself* to the doctor in two years (mainly 'cuz I'm spending $400 a month on health insurance - sigh) but I keep finding myself needing to take my dog.

I still have plenty of the prescription ear cleaner and I've been cleaning her ear out since yesterday, but the poor thing is just *sooooo* miserable it's breaking my heart. She's trying so hard to be good but is clearly in pain.

Is there anything I can do to help her heal... or do I have to pull out my credit card? I'd rather not. I wish I had the cash, but I don't. And I know this ear problem is going to happen again within about six months too, which is frustrating. I don't want to be a bad puppy mom. Sad puppies suck. :(

stuffy ear is driving me bananas.

sucre — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:40:34 -0800

My left ear is stuffy almost every day. Allergies + Qtip use + Earplugs = ? YANAD, but you might be able to help. for a few years now, my left ear has been stuffy on and off. it is similar to the sensation of having water in your ear (without the actual water sensation, just the stuffiness). i have allergies (cats, dogs, possibly mold, dust) although i have never had allergy testing or allergy shots.

other details: the stuffiness seems more apparent in the summertime. i notice the stuffiness about 30-60 minutes after waking up, and is lasts for a stretch of the day and seems to disappear around the evening-time. i wear an earplug each night (just one, in the ear that doesn’t touch the pillow) and often switch the earplug back and forth when i switch sides while i sleep (i know, i should probably just use two earplugs). also, and this may be pretty important, i use qtips almost every day (once per day), similar to this person. i would characterize it as a qtip addition, (although i don’t hear my pulse like this person did). that said, i don’t think i have any wax build-up. i’ve tried wax-removing techniques (a storebought kit, including some oil and a squirty bulb) as well as warmed olive oil and hydrogen peroxide. i’ve taken a few different kinds of allergy pills, none of which helped. i’ve used a Neti Pot on and off, and have just recently started using it twice a day. i also have a lot of gunk in my throat, and am constantly clearing it and sometimes coughing. this may be related. i also have asthma, which i have under control (i use 100/50 Advair twice per day).

i visited the doctor about two years ago to discuss this problem, assuming it was allergy-related. she checked for wax, didn’t find any, and said that because the stuffiness was only in one ear, it couldn’t be allergies. so she gave me an antibiotic and let me go. i don’t remember this helping at all, and here i am years later with the same problem.

it's really annoying! and i know that i shouldn't be using qtips (maybe my first step will be to cut the qtip use). any suggestions, hive mind?

ear-pop edification

lockestockbarrel — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:35:50 -0800

Airplane ear-popping. Why? The cabin is pressurized, right? So why do your ears pop when you're taking off and landing?

Where are the ear-shaped microphones?

devnull — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:19:43 -0800

Ears have evolved over many many years to be perfect for us to hear with. Why have I never seen an ear shaped microphone?

How sucky is flying going to be with my bum ear?

fructose — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:07:13 -0800

Have had barotitis in one ear (basically ear drum is sucked in and there's fluid built up behind it) since a Thursday afternoon flight. Flying home tomorrow. Anyone flown with this? Does it hurt a lot/suck? I have had this before, with an ear infection to go with it, but that time it happened on my return flight, so I didn't have to go on a plane again with my ear messed up.
I have seen a doctor who offered to write me a note to see if the airline would let me take a later flight, but that isn't an option. He said it would be safe to fly, but it may be really unpleasant. Right now I don't have much pain, but I have really muffled hearing/ear ringing and it hasn't improved much in the past 2 days. I fly out early in the morning, with one long flight, and one short flight, and am nervous about how it's going to go. Note: I've been trying the pop your ears while plugging your nose thing (dr's suggestion also) with little improvement, so no use in suggesting that. The doctor said that this will probably not get completely better for at least a week. I usually have severe ear pain when I fly, but I want to be prepared (he suggested 600 mg of ibuprofen before the flight, and OTC nasal decongestant spray during).

Otoliths R Us?

buzzv — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:19:22 -0800

Can anyone help me find a source for otoliths, or the tiny stones found in the inner ear? Preferably mammalian, ideally primate or even human (I imagine that last one may be ethically way to far, no offense intended). Searches turned up this AskMe post. Many of the fish ones I find on the web are in museums. I'm just wondering if I have to start opening up my own skulls to get at them.

Do I have the ear miggly due to my wisdom teeth?

scarykarrey — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:42:11 -0800

Ever since having my wisdom teeth removed last summer, I've been experiencing persistent crackling in my right ear. Is it related? The extraction itself involved cutting three out of the four teeth out due to impaction, and during my week-long recovery period I experienced a lot of pain in my lower jaw on the right hand side, which resulted in a lot of deferred pain in the right ear and an awful lot of crackling. Since I've recovered, I've had no further jaw pain, but the crackling has not gone away.

I've experienced intermittent crackling in my ears throughout my life, which I'm assuming is normal. Usually, if it feels like they're plugged or need to pop (like when I'm on an airplane), I'll do this thing where I sort of do the process of yawning without opening my mouth, and that will clear them.

I'm having to do this several times per day now since my teeth were extracted. Has this happened to anyone else? Is it normal? I recently had my ears thoroughly checked for an entirely different reason, and nothing was wrong with them physiologically or hearing-wise.

Sound file which unblocks ears?

Riverine — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:37:21 -0800

About 4 years ago, I stumbled across a sound file which could be played from a web page which instantly opened ears/Eustachian tubes which had been blocked. The page was very simple ("I made this file which runs through sound frequencies, one for each ear, play"). I can't find this page or file today. Does anyone remember this or know of anything like this on the web? Thanks.

Help with sinus ear pressure

rbf1138 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:51:20 -0800

I have ear sinus pressure, muffled hearing, and general discomfort in one of my ears. Help me find some relief until my doctor's appointment. About 2 weeks ago, sound in my left ear started to sound muffled. I'd experienced this i nthe past once or twice before, and had gone to the ENT and just had some wax removed (from overuse of Q-tips). I figured this was the case now, and so I went to my campus health services, where the doctor told me my ears looked clean, it was likely a sinus issue, and some Sudafed would clear it up.

Yesterday it had been about 2 weeks since this started -- and after taking Sudafed -- it had not gone away. For whatever reason, I felt like it had gotten slightly worse, and tried some earwax drops to see if it did anything. Well, all it seemed to do was create even more pressure in my ear, and even more trouble hearing anything. Since yesterday, my ear has felt full with liquid, completely muffled, and incredibly uncomfortable.

When I burp or yawn, it opens up a bit for a few seconds. I called and scheduled an appointment with an ENT on Monday, but this is making me mental, and was wondering a. is there anything I can safely try to relieve the pressure until Monday, and b. what procedure(s) is the doctor likely to try?

Thanks.

Help me once again block the din of humanity

DecemberBoy — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:13:09 -0800

My second pair of Shure SE210 in-ear headphones have just broken in the same way for the second time. Can anyone recommend some in-ear headphones that don't suck? Not plain earbuds, but in-ear, of the type that you shove into your ear canal and thus block all noise around you. I've heard good things about the Ultimate Ears Fi 3 model. My priorities are noise-blocking (not noise-canceling, i.e. the cheesy non-working method of supposedly inverting ambient noise picked up with a microphone) over sound quality, although I'd like some with decent sound quality. Alternatively, does anyone know how to fix the Shures? It's an apparently well-known problem where the cables break internally and one or both of the channels die completely.

Ear infection: please help!

high0nfire — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:28:53 -0800

For an outer ear infection, how do I get the medication drops safely past the pus to the infected ear canal? So 3 days ago I started to feel a tinge of pain between my ear and jaw hinge. I did the wait-and-see for a day and it got worse pretty fast. I have old vicodin that still works that I was taking for the pain (when I needed to sleep and focus on work, ear pain is terribly distracting) So I go to the doctor, he looks in my ear canal and says "yes it looks enflamed" and prescribed me the Neomycin/Polymixin/Hydrocortisone drops. The first couple applications were pretty easy, I could feel them drip down the canal, all was good. After two applications, I thought I could feel some blockage in the ear canal. here is where my stupidity begins.

I get the bright idea to flush my ear out with warm water to try and flush the pus/wax/whatever out so the medicine can coat the entire canal. Well i sort of went crazy. Probably 20 minutes of flushing ensued, with no payoff wax-boulder tumbling out. After I gave up, I used a hair dryer on low to dry my ear off, didn't use a q-tip or anything.

My wife gets home, looks in my ear and says "there's no wax/pus blockage, but your ear canal looks about 1/3 the width of the other one". So I go to bed and in the middle of the night I wake up (probably 4-5 hours after the flushing) and my ear canal is totally blocked. It's swollen shut and sounds like I have one of those -30db earplugs in my ear. Also the pain is way worse, so now I have to take a 2 year old vicodin to function, which does the trick fine but once it wears off i'm in pain city again. The problem I then discovered was that I can't get the drops to go down my ear-canal. I'll sit there with my head tilted for like 5 minutes, then straighten up and out they come.

So i go back to the doctor today (different doc, thanks HMOs) and tell him the story about the flushing and what not. I don't tell him about the vicodin cuz I know it's illegal cuz the prescription is expired and I know not telling him was a mistake. So he takes the ear-looker-inner instrument and plunges it (much like a jilted lover would a dagger into their betrayer's heart) right through my swollen-shut canal (OUCH!) and says "yeah it's infected... you might also have a middle ear infection too but I can't see through the outer canal so lets put you on 10 days of amoxicillin just to be safe".

An hour later (the vicodin was worn off) my ear hurt SO friggin much, i'm not sure how much of it was from the infection or the breaking of my ear-canal-hymen by the good doctor. My wife tried to apply the drops but she said the ear canal was very tight and spackled with yellow pus. So the medicine just sits on the mouth of the canal and doesn't go down. It might have gone down a LITTLE, but after 15 minutes of wiggling my ear , pulling the lobe around trying to let the medicine work it's way down, sitting up still put drops of the medicine onto my shirt collar. The second doctor was positive that my wife could drip the medicine into the canal and work it right down. Maybe the pus really formed after he shoved the instrument down the canal?

Anyhow, maybe most of this was uneccessary to write down. My ultimate question is: I'm on the amoxicillin AND the drops. The drops are blocked by the swollen canal and yellow-pus. How can I get the medicine down in there? They say don't put anything in your ear (and i think flushing with warm water made things worse, maybe i just did it too much) so what do I do?

If a medical professional could give some advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I assume I have to move the pus out of the way, right? I can't think of any other way. What I sort of think you will say is "you have to move the pus out of the way, so let your ear get wet in the shower and apply the medicine immediately"

Ear infections really suck, thank you in advance for your advice.

In retrospect, they probably would have prescribed me pain medication...

Professional ear piercing in Columbus, Ohio?

olinerd — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:25:07 -0800

Ear piercing in Columbus, Ohio. My mother and her best friend are in their mid fifties and have both decided they need ear piercings (my mom's first, her friend's second). Being home to OSU the area is rife with piercing and tattoo parlors, but I don't think that's so much what they're going for. The mall experience isn't what they want, either. Are there places to go with professionals that cater less to the extensively body-modded crowd than the places near campus? Do spas do this or anything?

(No offense met to any body-modded individuals out there. Some of my best friends... etc etc. I just have a conservative mother.)

Cartilage piercing: should I or shouldn't I?

MaddyRex — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:28:44 -0800

Do you have good info on (ear) cartilage piercing & care in NYC? So, I got my my upper ear (the cartilage part) pierced several years ago; after six months of awesomeness I tried to change the piercing and it ended...badly. Not horribly, just a keloid-esque infection for several months afterwards. Bye bye, piercing.

Years later, I'm back! I'd really like to get it to work this time. I have no other piercings, so I really am a newbie at the whole piercing-care thing. No piercers in my family either, except my sister, who had an abortive piercing misadventure when she was eleven or so.

Three questions:
1. I really do want to get my ear pierced again. Should I? Or am I one of those unfortunates whose body just doesn't like a shard of metal in it?

2. Recommendations for good, clean places to get cartilage pierced in New York City? Also, can I get it pierced with a ring, or do I need to start off with a stud?

3. Recommendations for piercing care so that I don't have to repeat my misadventure? In retrospect, I probably was not caring for it correctly. The mall kiosk lady gave me alcohol for cleaning and told me to turn my piercing several times a day. I've since been told that this was terrible advice.

Never talk to the angry without earplugs

StrikeTheViol — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:58:05 -0800

EarPressureFilter: I had an argument with someone a couple hours ago, and they yelled in my left ear for a few seconds. My ear isn't ringing. but it feels pressurized, like I'm underwater, on and off. I've taken a full dose of magnesium-based antacid...anything else I can do? Will a doctor be able to help, or do I just need to move somewhere with a vow of silence for a month?

Tell loud headphone users on mass transit to turn it down?

shivohum — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:49:30 -0800

Have you ever been riding on mass transit next to someone whose headphones are so loud you can hear them several feet away? If so, do you ask them to turn it down?

Ears the problem...

Oriole Adams — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:11:25 -0800

Ear filter: Is there an over the counter medication that is similar to the prescription version of Allegra D? (Long story inside.) I've posted previously about my chronic sinus problems. In the past few months, however, I've noticed a "full" feeling in my left ear, and whenever I slept on that side my ear felt especially "warm." I also occasionally heard very small popping sounds (along the lines of small Rice Krispies pops) in that ear. During my most recent visit ( a week ago) to my rheumatologist (who is also my primary care physician) I mentioned the problem, and she peeked inside. She said the eardrum was dull (it's supposed to be shiny) and she said that that was a symptom of fluid behind the eardrum. She also said that based on my symptoms she didn't think I had an inner ear infection and gave me some samples of prescription strength Allegra D. After taking the first couple, the fullness feeling was gone, but I still hear that "popping" sound now and then. Two weeks have passed since I used up the last Allegra pill, and I'm starting to feel that ear fullness again.

What would cause fluid behind the eardrum? Should I call and ask for a full month's Rx of Allegra D? Or is there a similar over-the-counter decongestant that would work as well? Could this ear fluid be connected to my constant nasal congestion? (For what it's worth, my previous rheumatologist, who passed away a few years ago, used a tuning fork on top of my head to discern that I did have some hearing loss. I'd had many severe ear infections as a child, but he seemed to think that the hearing loss was more likely due to the small stroke I'd had as a result of anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome.)

So what's the hive mind verdict? Should I press my doctor for further sinus/ear tests (maybe an MRI or something)? Or will a steady dose of decongestants clear up this ear thing?

What is the frequency, Kenneth, and how do I best receive it?

Toekneesan — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:08:11 -0800

Looking for a recommendation on an in-the-ear FM receiver like this one with rather mixed reviews. Something for just one ear and sporty like activities.

DIY Hardwood Ear Gauge Jewelry?

franklen — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:56:23 -0800

How does one go about making their own ear gauge plug jewelry from hardwoods? I'd like to wear an ear gauge plug size 00 made from hardwoods native to my region of upstate new york (think sugar maple, ash, etc), but can't find them for sale anywhere, not even online, all I can find are tropical hardwoods. So I thought maybe I could make my own. Any advice, tips, resources, tools needed, techniques, links, etc. ? Thanks.

healthy ears

parallax7d — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:32:23 -0800

Are there any supplements or foods that are healthy for ears? Not the outer flappy cartilage part, the inner workings part.

Treatment for a child's ear infection?

mamaraks — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:37:56 -0800

My first-grader has pain in his right ear. It was keeping him up last night but the pain went away after a dosage of Tylenol. For the past week he's had a cold but the ear pain began just last night. Does anyone have advice for how to proceed with this thing I suspect is an ear infection? Our clinic is closed until Monday, and that is also the earliest I could get him to his chiropractor (he sees one since he painfully overextended his back on a waterslide last summer--but I hear chiropractors can help with ear infections too).