Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ears

Why do ear plugs hurt so much?

that girl — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:05:04 -0800

I experience excruciating pain when putting in and removing foam ear plugs. Why? I never really liked ear plugs, but I find them useful in noisy hotels and on noisy airplanes. However, gradually over time, my ears have become resistant to the nice foam ear plugs. I am pretty sure I have about the softest ones available, and once they are in and fully expanded they don't really hurt.

But putting them in is like stabbing, and taking them out is even worse. I had my (not-ENT-MD) father look at them and he saw nothing particularly unusual, only perhaps a little redness.

Any suggestions as to why this might be happening or what I can do to mitigate it? Seeing a doctor is possible, but this is one of those issues where it is more of a hassle occasionally than a constant problem, so I am disinclined from trying to find a reasonable ENT I can communicate effectively with in semi-rural Japan. If I did go I'd like to have some ideas of what it might be beforehand so I can look things up and have some ideas of the appropriate vocabulary.

What's going on behind my ears?

MattMangels — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:07:10 -0800

What's going on behind my ears? (Slightly disgusting) I've had this problem with my ears for a while now. Basically, the area behind my ears is often cracked and raw and sore, and usually gunk builds up like a scab. I've been told it's because I don't dry behind my ears well enough after I shower, but this doesn't seem to solve the problem. Any ideas?

Why do my ear piercings continue to get irritated after 10 years?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:42:44 -0800

Almost ten years after I've worn earrings, my piercings continue to regularly swell and discharge pus. What's wrong with my ears, how can I fix it, and will I ever wear earrings again? The (gross) backstory:

Each of my earlobes is pierced twice. Both were done with a gun rather than a needle (bad, I know); the first ones about 20 years ago and the second ones about 12 years ago. I used to use hydrogen peroxide to clean my piercings and earrings (I think that's also no longer recommended).

I no longer have any of the earrings I used to wear, but they were all fairly inexpensive, and were probably made of a variety of metals that are usually used for cheap earrings.

About 10 years ago, my piercings suddenly started getting really irritated, no matter how often I changed/cleaned them. I gave up on wearing earrings for a while.

At one point, after I hadn't worn earrings for almost a year, I tried putting in my original piercing earrings (some fake gold ones with extra-pointy posts); my earlobes were red and swollen within 15 minutes, and it took several days to recover. I haven't attempted to wear earrings since.

A year or so later, I discovered one day that my earlobe was swollen and itchy. I pressed on it from behind and discharged pus through one of the piercing holes -- like popping a zit. It relieved the pressure and pain. In the years since, my piercings have intermittently become irritated in this way, and I can usually "pop" whichever one is irritated and discharge white pus (although sometimes a hole can be irritated but doesn't want to "pop"). Blood never comes out of the holes.

All four holes are susceptible, although it seems that my right side is irritated more often (however, the top hole on the right side is irritated right now, so maybe I'm biased). I estimate that at least one hole becomes irritated every two to four weeks, although I admit I've never kept track. The irritation usually lasts a couple of days.

Obviously, since this has been happening for many years, it has gone on as I've had many different hairstyles, used different hair products, slept on different pillowcases, lived in different apartments, and even lived on different continents. I don't have any medical conditions or allergies that I know of.

My questions:

What the hell would make really old piercings randomly, but regularly, irritated? Is there anything I can do to prevent the irritation? I'd really like to wear earrings again, and I'm willing to wear metals that are better for sensitive ears (stainless steel?), but I'm reluctant to experiment because of the cost of earrings and the pain that's involved.

(Anonymous because I really don't want my coworkers to know about my gross ears...)

Should I get my ears pierced?

brainmouse — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:49:39 -0800

I’m considering getting my ears pierced. Just regular old lobe piercings. Help me decide if I should, then help answer all the probably simple questions about the process, because I seriously know nothing. Before you bring it up – I’m planning on going to a real piercing place, not Claire’s. I got my ears pierced when I was in elementary school. Once they healed, I took the earrings out and basically never wore any again, so the holes closed up. I could feel the hole through my ear still for a long time, but it’s been gone for maybe 15 years. There are still little marks on the front of my ears where you can see that they were pierced.

I’m considering doing it again. I’m just undecided. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I will always be undecided if I keep on this route… so I just thought I’d ask for opinions. My pros are: I think earrings look pretty on people, and I think they would look pretty on me. Also, most adult women wear earrings, and it's often assumed that I do to. People occasionally think it's weird that I don't. These people sometimes include me. My cons are: I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, even when I like it, so I’m a little worried I won’t actually wear earrings either, and they'll close again. Also, I can't help but thinking I shouldn’t be literally mutilating my body for beauty (note: definitely not judging people who have even many piercings; I mostly think they look great and have never had that feeling about other people, just myself). I’m just not sure how reasonable that is – especially given I’ve already done it once, and you can still see the holes.

Once you answer that (or not, whatever), can you help me with answers to the following questions about the process?:

1. Do I bring my own jewelry in or get some at the piercing place? I don’t especially like studs, and don’t plan on wearing them after the healing part of the process is over. How small can they be and still be ok? What should they be made of? (assume gold isn’t an option)

2. Will it hurt? How much? For how long? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the pain at the time of the piercing or later?

3. I really really really don’t want them to get infected. If they do, I plan on taking out the piercings immediately and permanently and not trying again. What are the odds that it will? What can I do to keep it from happening? Where do I buy the cleaning supplies?

4. How much should I expect this to cost?

5. Will I need to make an appointment or is this the sort of thing you can walk in for?

6. Long-term, how often, roughly, do I need to wear earrings to keep the holes open? How do I keep them as small as possible while keeping them open?

7. Can anybody recommend a good piercing place in downtown Oakland or downtown Berkeley (or, I guess somewhere BART-able in San Francisco would work too)?

8. Is there anything else I should know?

Thank you!

Why Can't I Use an Ear Pick?

musofire — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:49:08 -0800

Why shouldn't I use Q-tips? Or an ear pick? I've read that doctors don't like you to stick anything in your ear "smaller than your elbow." Which is fine, except that the wax itches, and contributes to my loss of hearing.

When I go to an ear doctor, he scrapes out my ear with an ear pick. Why can't I do that, assuming I'm careful and don't push it in too far.

And why shouldn't I use a Q-tip, considering that Q-tips seem obviously made for pushing into your ear?

WOOOSHHHHHHHHHHH

zazerr — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:55:44 -0800

Wind proof headphones for running and biking? I've tried many a "sports" headphone, but they all seem to increase the sound of the wind loudly wooshing past my ears. If I put my hands, or even just a finger, directly in front of my ears (around my temples), the sound goes away. Does anyone make quality head/earphones that do this?

For normal use, I love in-ear sealed type earphones, but they won't work because all I'll hear is the sound of my feet hitting the ground and the cord hitting me. Plus they're expensive.

I bet over-the-head, big-ear-pad headphones would work OK, but I suspect they'd make my ears very hot and sweaty.

Or do I just have oddly shaped ears?

No one likes hearing loss, but loud music is the norm

filthy light thief — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:13:27 -0800

How should I go about forming a group / coalition / movement for venues to lower the volume to levels that won't leave your ears ringing? More thoughts, ideas, and concepts inside. I don't think I should have to wear earplugs of any sort to save my hearing at a concert. I understand that some venues have limited speaker locations, requiring the area near the speakers to be a lot louder than the far edges of the area, but most venues seem to amp up the volume well beyond what is necessary. If I buy ear plugs, it means only my hearing is being protected, and I want everyone to have a pleasant experience. I'm not looking to make a rock concert into background music, just to avoid having ringing in my ears the next day (or days).

I'm looking for input and ideas, from people who have started or been a part of some movement or group, and anything for my specific goal. I'm not looking to become a full-time advocate and devote my life to this, but I'd like to spread awareness to audiences, musicians, technicians, promoters, etc. Online petitions are silly, but a website could be a start. I imagine talking to people who run and set up venues, getting some decibel meters, and figuring out the limits for given crowds (small room with a sparse crowd means lower levels than if that room is packed and everyone is talking). I don't know much about acoustics and noise monitoring, but I know a college professor who does environmental noise monitoring and mitigation, so I imagine I'll be talking with him in the future.

I started thinking of this after going to a small club where the second DJ of the night increased the volume during his set to the point where my ears were ringing after a minute, while the prior DJ's music was just really loud. I know some people wear it as a badge of honor, but hearing loss lasts longer than the concert.

Are headphones, in principle, bad for your ears

dicetumbler — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:56:13 -0800

Are headphones and earphones inherently worse for your ears? In other words, is there a difference between listening to something live or through speakers, and listening to something through headphones or earphones at the same volume, in terms of damage done to your ears? I've noticed that after listening to music on headphones for a while, my ears will occasionally hurt. I have noise-canceling headphones that do a passable job.

I'm wondering if the very fact that my ears are covered, or that the source of the sound is closer to my eardrums, is worse for my ears.

Or does it have more to do with the fact that people who listen to music on headphones will listen to it longer? In other words, is it the prolonged usage that poses a risk?

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.

Diplacusis Binauralis

tehloki — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:54:17 -0800

I've suddenly begun to experience a rather disturbing auditory phenomenon. Sounds as heard by my right ear are pitched lower than the same sound as heard by my left ear. This gives people's voices and music (especially music) a very frightening and eerie chorus effect that's becoming more and more disconcerting. I've done some googling and the term "Diplacusis Binauralis" seems to be the name of the condition, but I don't know what has caused it or what it means in terms of my health. Has anyone had any experience with this condition? What causes it? Does it go away? I've been hearing strangely for about 6 hours now, and I don't look forward to this being permanent.

How to count piercings.

thirteenkiller — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:13:06 -0800

When counting piercings, should a woman's pierced ears (one hole in each ear, pierced at the same time and always used as a pair) be counted as one or two piercings?

Tinnitus After Antibiotics

amyms — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:09:49 -0800

I'm recovering from a bout of pneumonia for which I was prescribed a 5-day course of Azithromycin. I'm feeling much better, but I'm bothered by tinnitus. Googling has revealed that my antibiotic may have cause this. If so, will it go away eventually and/or is there anything specific I can do to help it go away? I really don't want to - and can't afford to - pay for another doctor visit if this is something that will go away on its own. What I'm hearing/feeling can best be described like the sensation that occurs when holding a seashell to one's ear (e.g. I can hear my own pulse making a "swooshing" sound) and I feel like I'm hearing other sounds as if from underwater. If I'm having a conversation, I feel like the other person is miles away. I feel really disconnected from my auditory environment.

Any words of wisdom or advice (or reassurance) from others who have experienced this would be greatly appreciated.

What have they done to my ears, ma?

TochterAusElysium — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:15:12 -0800

Why does my dog have a scar on each ear? Our dog, Mina, is about a year and a half old; she was a rescue, from a home that may not have been very good. She has these marks on her ears, one on each, in about the same place on each ear. It almost looks as if someone tried to pierce her ears (surely not!) or had some kind of device holding them. I can't imagine what that might be, though. The woman who was fostering her before we adopted her didn't know either. I'm really curious about what might have been done to her that would cause marks like these.

She isn't at all nervous about letting us touch or hold her ears, and doesn't shy away at all or show any signs of having been abused there. Is this possibly some precursor to ear docking? She does resemble a doberman (no relation, though) so I've speculated that her previous owners may have started an ear-docking process. But her tail is fine, so it's really a mystery. Any ideas?

Low-Riders and My Sanity - Am Losing My MIND!

watercarrier — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:40:22 -0800

Would you go crazy if you were living in the boonies and every couple of minutes some dude comes careening around your corner on an ATV or motorcycle revving up slowly and maliciously? Just wondering if it's only me that's reacting like hot coals are being poured down my brain neurons. What would you do? What are my options? I live in the wild-wild-wild east and there's no *law* that anyone will be upholding soon. They're kids with wheels and noise and they've found that it's better than drugs. I've got music - loud to drown it out - got ear plugs - what else am I missing here? Is there anything I can do to deter these freaks?

Make plastic look new?

ooklala — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:21:23 -0800

How can I clean the plastic of a cellphone that has become matte again without ruining it? On my phone the place where your ear goes, and the keys are now shiny from ear oil and fingerprint oil/sweat. I personally make sure that my hands are not greasy from other things when I touch the phone and have had it for only a few months. What can I do to stop this shininess problem?
Also, does my obsession of never ever having hands that are the least bit greasy (from things like french fries, etc) touch my phone actually doing anything? Will the grease just "wash out" or does it harm the plastic? If the oil does not do it, what does?

LA LA LA la laou laue lai LA LA LA

Corduroy — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:11:28 -0800

Whenever I yawn while listening to music, the music becomes not only distant, but out of tune. Why is that? My mother says it happens to her as well.

How do I get my ears normal?

aussicht — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:16:31 -0800

How do I best get my ears more normal(ish) after stretching to 00g? I am thinking of taking out my plugs and trying to get my ears roughly back to their natural shape. I stretched to 00g. I don't want to do anything too drastic, and do realize that stretching is more or less permanent. I was wondering if there is a better or worse method for restoring such as sizing down slowly over time, just taking them out immediately, etc?

Thanks!
todd

Do ear infections in an adult require a trip to a doctor?

tastybrains — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:24:22 -0800

Has anyone had experience with ear infections going away on their own or with home treatment? Or do they always require a trip to the doctor and some antibiotics? I know you're not a doctor or not my doctor. I'm just trying to decide if I have to try & get into my doctor's today (which will require going to their walk-in clinic, which will require sitting in a waiting room for 2.5+ hours) or if there is anything I can do at home (rest, Tylenol, decongestants, etc) that might encourage it to go away on its own.

I don't really feel sick overall, which usually happens when I get an ear infection. Basically my ear canal started hurting and sort of almost itching in a painful way yesterday and has gotten worse overnight. It doesn't feel like a usual ear infection - it seems more focused in the outer canal than a deep-inside ache. I also don't feel congested which always happens when I get an ear infection.

Could this be related to getting the flu shot yesterday?

If I wait it out until Monday to see if I feel better, what can I do in the meantime to help it? Otherwise, if you think I should just suck it up and go to the doctor, I can accept that. I just tend to be a hypochondriac so I have trouble deciding when it's actually necessary.

Throat and ears hurt, but I'm not otherwise sick. ?

penciltopper — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:50:14 -0800

Sore throat/neck. Popped ears won't unpop. Not otherwise sick. What's wrong? That spot just below the jawbone, behind the Adam's apple, where the doctor feels for swollen glands?
That is sore, but not swollen.
It feels like there's a tight ring around my esophagus, just above the adams apple. Hurts to swallow.
My ears are wierd, either popped or clogged, and pinch-nose-and-blow isn't clearing them.

I've had symptoms like this before, as parts of a really bad cold or flu, but I'm not otherwise sick at the moment. My sinuses are otherwise clear, etc.

I've always had trouble with my ears popping on planes, etc. Maybe I just have narrow Eustachian tubes.

I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's) this year, and am taking levothyroxine for it.

In my imagination, something is inflamed/swelling inside my neck, and that's pinching the ends of my Eustachian tubes closed.

Is that even possible? I can't seem to find a good picture of where the tubes terminate at the non-ear end.

I have a doctor's appointment, but my current HMO doctor (soon to be changed) tends to diagnose everything as allergies (don't have any) or just say "It's probably nothing; it'll go away or you'll get used to it"

Educate me, please, smart-type people!

Experiences with pulsatile tinnitus?

arianell — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:16:26 -0800

Pounding sound in my left ear: how worried should I be? Forgive me in advance if this is kind of long, and I know you're probably not a doctor.

About an hour ago, I started hearing a strange, muffled knocking/thumping noise. At first it sounded like someone pounding on a wall in another room. My brother and boyfriend can't hear it, though, which led me to realize that it's actually coming from inside my head. It's totally irregular, sounds sort of like a heartbeat but happens at random intervals (approximately every 10-20 seconds I'll hear a series of thumps). If my boyfriend puts his head up to my left ear, he can hear a faint clicking sound, so it seems like a kind of objective tinnitus. When I googled "pounding in ear", I came up with several articles on pulsatile tinnitus, and the symptoms seem consistent.

Other information: I'm not on any medication, but I took Benadryl this morning for my allergies. Also, I was born with no hearing in my right ear, which is probably totally irrelevant, but it makes the noise in my left ear even more distracting.

I'm going to the doctor as soon as I can schedule an appointment, but does anyone have any experience with this? Care to allay my fears, or scare me into seeking emergency medical help? Thanks.

It's just so ear-rational!

DenOfSizer — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:21:39 -0800

Why do babies pull their ears when they are tired? I mean, scientifically? What about it specifically is soothing to them? Or is it even soothing? And what makes them stop? Are there examples of people who still pull their ears when sleepy as adults?

Sore ears

Civa — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:08:46 -0800

You know when you think something that happens to you is normal and then you find out it's not??? I've given up asking my circle of friends about this as they all seem to think I've lost the plot. After I have peppermints or peppermint chewing gum...I can't drink water as it makes excrutiating pain happen in my ears. Not the outer pinna, obviously but inside... Anyone else have this happen??? More imporatantly anyone know why this happens?

Ears! Help!

aeighty — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:26:02 -0800

Why are my ears itchy all the time? :( I've talked to my family doc and a hearing specialist but they haven't found anything besides a bit of scarring that I've caused through the overuse of q-tips. I don't have excessive amounts of earwax or anything. I take frequent showers. This problem wouldn't bother me that much (mainly because scratching the inside of the ear canal is quite pleasurable) but for the fact that I'm slowly but surely losing my hearing. It's nothing major (and maybe simply age related (but I'm in my mid 20s!)). I've noticed though that I've been saying "pardon" and "I couldn't quite hear you" a lot lately.

Help me fix my itchy ears mefi, I don't want to go deaf by the time I'm 30!

Is the way I use headphones bad for my ears?

rocco — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 20:02:27 -0800

I edit video at home. It can be a fairly noisy environment as I live in a busy part of L.A. so I often use headphones while I work. Nothing odd about that; however... I often put earplugs into my ears to cut out the noise and THEN put headphones over my ears. The reason I do this is that when I'm working, there are often long periods when I don't listen to any sound, but there's still distracting noise.

This means that I must turn the volume up on my system to hear what's coming out of the headphones.

My question is: Does the fact that the volume is turned right up damage my ears, dispite the fact that I'm using earplugs? Or - to my ears - is it the same as simply having the headphones play at a normal level?

What percentage of people can wiggle their ears?

misteraitch — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:38:14 -0800

Ear wiggling/waggling: what percentage of people can visibly move their ears by voluntary exertion of their auricular muscles? I am especially interested in the results of medical / biological surveys on this question, if there have been any. I have read that 'Spanish men are twice as likely to wiggle their ears (20 percent) as are women,' but don't know the source or trustworthiness of this statistic, or if the Spanish are exceptional in this regard. I am an unilateral waggler (left side only), so would also be interested to know the relative commonness of single-ear & double-ear waggling. Apparently, people who can raise one eyebrow and wiggle an ear tend to do so on the same side of their faces: have any other such correlations been determined? I understand that ear-waggling is an ability that can be learned, and that in theory everyone is capable of it, I just was curious to know how prevalent it is in the untrained population at large.