Category: Health and Wellness
Hi all, my right ear has been clogged for about three days now. I don't have any pain in the ear or anything like that. Are there methods that I can use to unclog my ear without sighted help?
Yeah, clean out yoru earwax with a cutip or an ear cleaning solituon. i've never needed sighted help to do that. You get a droper with the ear cleaning solution--which you can get over teh counter at a drug store--and you simply squeeze some into yoru ear and wait till it fizzes out then you rince the surrounding area by dabbing it with a warm washcloth and you shoudl be fine. You need to do this several times though.
Uh, no. Not a bright idea to go poking things like that into ones ear. You could end up with some of that cotton jammed in there, leading to even worse problems. Get eardrops and perhaps sinus medication instead.
I also tip my ear into the stream of the running water when in the shower.
I have had the misfortune of having my ears cleaned with one of the water machines the medical people use. But it is worth the trouble afterwards if it must be done.
I bought a clairiton tablit while at school today and have taken that. I also have some here at home. How long should i wait before taking another one if I still have to take it?
it would be good to know whether your ears are "clogged" because of wax buildup externally or if you have allergies or a cold or sinus infection causing internal issues.
As far as for Clariton, you'd need to check the package or online for dosage. Some medications are once daily while others are every 4 or six hours.
It really depends on the kind of clariton you bought. the above poster is right.
I would also make sure of what is causing your ear to act up.
I have tried leo's suggestion. It feels strange, but it works.
I have tried the ear cleaning kits you can get from any drugstore, and their great except they turn ear wax into a semi liquid which is kind of messy.
Cleaning out the ears with a dropper of hydrogen pyrroxide works well too.
Bob (what'd you say?)
My doc told me not to use peroxide because it dries out the inside of your ears too much.
If you're going to clean your own ears using a cuetip or some such, just be very gentle. Don't be too fast, and don't dig, whatever you do.
But yes. I agree with those who say it's best to figure out why your ear is acting up. If it's a clog and you just need your ears cleaned out, then taking a pill isn't really going to help much.
I have been using eardrops for a few days now, and they don't seem to be helping. I also tried the water idea, no luck there either.
See your doc.
I have thought about purcheasing an ear cleaning kit. If i do purchease one, how would i use it?
Go. To. The. Doctor.
be careful with what your doing, you can make things worse. I use a neti pot and if you blow to hard, it will force water in to your center ear and clog you up. If you blow your nose to hard, this too can blow your ear drum, or feel like it any hows, and change the pressure in your center ear. Try to just lay or hold a warm cloth over your ear. Not to hot, you don't want to burn yourself. But if you lay with your clogged ear down on the hot cloth, this could help some. I have been having some sinus issues and blew my nose to hard causing it to pop really loud then feel blocked for a few days. I learned threw google to look slightly down and not blow as hard. I have an earagasion thing I have used in the past. However it is spelt, parden all my horible spelling you all....
But you always end up leaving with water still left in your ears and this can cause an ear infection. To help get all the water out, use a small bit of rubbing halcahol. putting a couple of drops of this stuff in your ear after your finished will mix up with the water, help flush it out and evaporate what might be left in your ear, helping to keep you from getting an ear infection.
Are you having a stuffed or runny nose?
Are you coughing a lot lately?
There are such things as alergies do to plants and other things this time of the year.
Can you pop your ears by swollowing or however you do it?
I was not able to do this when I clogged my ear up by mistake. I just let it go away and took care not to blow to hard while blowig my nose.
Are you having any pain?
Are you having any discharge at all?
When you stick your finger just inside your ear, do you feel wax build up?
I also get ear issues when my wisdom teeth are trying to come in. But this is more of just a ear ache like issue.
When i was little, i tried to clean my ear with the ball end of a strait pin, I did some miner damidge to my right ear and find I have a slight hearing lost in that ear, not enough to notice except on acation while using headphones. I also use my left ear to talk on the phone and this might have some to do with it. Using my right ear sounds a bit muffled. So be careful so you don't cause more of an issue.
also, if you know it is due to just wax build up, using a few drops of slightly warmed oliv oil will help loosen the wax up so if will flush out easier. You have to do this about 20 to 30 minutes before flushing. You can test the heat o the oil on you wrist like a baby bottles. Don't poor anything to hot in your ear or you can cause horible damidge.
You don't want to use any kind of a Q tip or anything, this mainly just pushes the wax in to your ear and compacting it in. It can cause problems over time.
Maybe there's wax way down in there and the doctor needs to unclog it. Don't use too much of those drops especially if they are not helping...
to battle star queen. I've taking Claritin since I was a kid you take it once a day for 10 days. I know the pills are tiny but that's how it is. If allergies are the problem zertec works much better however it makes you a little drowsy. I've also delt with the same problem with the ears. infact my left ear is clogged right now and has been since a fue days before the new year. before people start telling me to go to the doc I went last summer when I had this problem I will tell you what they told me lol. clean your ears out after you shower. just take a peace of thin paper and clean them. don't go digging for stuff. never use q tips since they push the wax ferther in there. idk why the hell they were invented. I have a ear cleaning kit it basically comes with some ear drops then a little rubber pump. the way it works is that u squeeze the pump before putting it in to your ear, when its in your ear, realease and it sucks the stuff out. to me its useless since I still have the same problem. if it doesn't go away after a while you can go to your primary care doc and tell them to give you a refurl to a E.N.T witch are the ear nose and throwght doctor. as long as you don't have pain I doubt you have an infection its either inflammation or ear wax. and I have tried hydrigogen paroxide and the other solutions minchained on here. for me the paroxide works the best. if you do go to the e.n.t. or some times the primary care doc does it too they basically squirt water up your ear then suck it out. not painfull but unconfertable as you can imagine.
Corrections welcome as always.
Disclaimer:
I'm assuming the OP does not wish to, or is not able to, go to a doctor. My experience leads me to suggest that you go to some sort of medical establishment.
If you are in school, a college typically has a health center on campus.
For other educational institutions, high school, elementary, etc, you should have a nurse on staff.
Any of these folks should be able to assist with a professional removal.
From what I have heard, ear cleaning is no big deal to them; it comes up quite often.
(If you are having an issue finding someone locally, you can contact me off forum, and I'll see if I can assist. This kind of thing can be truly nasty, especially for those using hearing as much as some of us.)
If none of these apply, below are my own steps.
I take no responsibility for anything occurring from or relating to following any part, parts, or the entirety of the below instructions.
That being said, this has worked for me many times (upwards of ten in recent memory).
Apologies for the simplistic instructions; I don't want to leave out something that might be obvious to someone and unrealized by someone else.
Required:
towel
small glass
syringe or ear suction device
hydrogen peroxide
running water
stirrer, spoon or coffee stirrer, etc
soft disposable cloth, tissue, toilet paper square, etc
Steps:
1. Take a syringe or suction dropper and clean very carefully with hot water.
2. Fill a small glass with one good jet of lukewarm water, about half a second from your faucet on full.
3. Then, take your hydrogen peroxide, and add one good splash into the glass. I make sure there is a measurable difference from before and after adding the peroxide.
4. Swirl or stir the mixture together. I'd recommend a coffee swizzle stick or something you can toss when finished. You can also use a spoon, if you can wash it later, and aren't squeamish.
5. Take the syringe or dropper, and fill it with the mixture.
6. Place the towel on a flat surface on which you can rest your head.
7. Place your head sideways, near the center of the towel, clogged ear facing the ceiling.
8. Add a few drops from the syringe into your clogged ear. You want to make sure that the mixture actually enters the ear canal, and doesn't just end up sitting in the outer ear. (Rotate the head back slightly for this.)
Keep in mind that peroxide can bleach clothing, hair, etc, so it might be wise to place the syringe back in the glass for safe keeping.
9. You should hear a fizzing, popping sound within about thirty seconds.
This will continue for some time; you will probably feel a significant amount of itching or tickling. This is standard. (Think of it as a customized fireworks show just for you.)
Leave your head fully tilted, clogged ear facing up, until all fizzing and popping has ceased. This may be upwards of three minutes.
This is quite important; if you stop the process half way through, you might find yourself worse off, as the water/peroxide mixture has added itself to the blockage. (Hindsight sucks.)
10. Place a tissue gently against the clogged ear, tilt the head towards the clogged ear, and use the tissue to catch the discharge.
You want to leave your head tilted like this for at least 1 full minute, to make sure everything drains properly.
11. Gently wipe the outer ear with the tissue. You aren't trying to go deep with this, just a very light surface brush to get rid of extra drops.
12. Repeat steps 7 through 11 until your issue has fixed itself, or until you have completed this task more than three times, which ever comes first.
If you have repeated this task more than three times, chances are likely that only a medical ear-blockage process is going to assist you.
Ok, but then the question here is why does it get clogged up if you clean it? Or have doctors actually checked your hearing/ They shouldn't be clogged that long.
I don't understand why it is so dangerous to use q-tips, or why people are so opposed to doing it plus some peroxide. I've done that my whole life and never had a problem. If you stick it in your ear slowly and move it around in a circular motion without pushing too hard it will get cleaned out. Don't use over a couple drops of the peroxide because there is no need for more than that. But if you decide that isn't for you, and if it isn't working then I'd do what the others are saying and go to a doctor so it doesn't get worse.
because of the stuff it has, it can stick to your ear instead of removing the wax. I've used them all my life and I've apparently had no problem till I had to get my ears unclogged last year and the doc said not to use the
Just thought i'd post a quick update. Over the past few days, i've noticed that my ear is seriously clogged when i get up in the morning. However, after I've been awake for about an hour or so, I can hear better in that ear, but it is still clogged to a point.
I don't get why people are so opposed to using q-tips, either. I've used them all my life, and never had any problems. however, if I started to, I sure as hell wouldn't attempt unclogging my ears independently.
Agreed.
After using some eardrops that were designed to remove earwax, my ear has become unclogged. How can i keep it that way?
Use them about once a month.
You could have wax in your ear that is so hard, nothing will work to get it out. All these kits and stuff could be drying it out more. An ENT doctor can get this out with an instrument. The last thing you want to do is damage your ear.
And do not, under any circumstances, try ear candling. It's extremely dangerous quackery.
I have another update on my ear situation. My right ear stayed clear for about a day or so, woke up yesterday morning to find that it had clogged again. I think what happened was I must have fallen asleep with that ear facing down. Should I continue using the eardrops?
I don't know, I honestly think they shouldn't be clogging up that quickly... have you talked with your doctor about this? If you keep your ears clean, and by that I don't mean free from wax as that's impossible, they shouldn't be clogging up, though.
I'm in the process of trying to find a new doctor, because the one i had no longer takes my insurance.
That is a tough situation facing a lot of Americans, especially the privately employed. Has been with us for years. So you have my sympathies.
Mine too. Been in the same boat.
Yeah, that is really hard. that really sucks so sorry you're going through that.
If it gets really bad though, try seeing about going to a walk-in clinic in your area.
wow interesting topic and sounds like to much wax built up and if not seen to you can get hearing loss and the reason people say it isn't good to use the qtips and such is because it can do more damage to the ears and cause hearing loss.
Ok, this might sound gross but there could be something in your ear other than wax. I had a friend who kind of had this problem one time. He went to the doc and they pulled out a big bug... I guess in crawled in and died but all the crap he was doing to try to unclog it made it worst. They really had to dig that sucker out!
Oh wow yeah that is yuck but I believe it can be possible as I had a fly fly in my ear once though luckily it didn't stay in, smiles.