Do you clean your ears?

[Carlman]

I cleaned mine using a combination of showering, the bulb, and ear cleaning solution.. I had that oceanic thing happening until I hopped with my head cocked.. then the water came right out.. So, try hopping with your head bent to the side with the ear that's messed up.. might work for you.

I also used a 'Netti Pot' for some sinus clearing.. weird stuff.. but it was time to try some of these things.

-C

[richidoo]

OK boys, enough fun on this topic.  Thanks to everyone for the info and laughs.

[richidoo]

Additional facts learned since last post:

Using too hot water for flushing can cause dizziness. This happened to me using about 100F water, but I did not know why at the time. Stick to lukewarm water.

Earwax is mostly cholesterol. It can be dissolved in numerous ways.

Many ENTs recommend putting a few drops of olive oil (extra virgin of course..) into the ear, which is a solvent to solid cholesterol and literally dissolves it into liquid. The main monosaturated fatty acid in olive oil is oleic acid. This is the main fatty acid emitted by sebaceous glands in the skin. Olive oil is skin oil with some extra anti-oxidant goodies thrown in.  So there is little risk to using good OO in ear. Rinse with lukewarm water, or a little glycerin soapy water.

Hydrogen peroxide is also recommended by ENTs to liquify it by oxidation, conversion to water and CO2. H2O2 is not as safe and natural to the body's ecology as EVOO, so I'm less excited by that method. It will oxidize any organic molecule, even living tissue. External skin has dead skin on top, so no damage is done. Internal use for H2O2 is very bad. 5 minutes per day for 5 days per month should keep them very clean, according to some internet ENT.    ymmv  This might be part of the foaming solution from CVS.

I have not tried either of these yet, but figured it was valuable info to pass along.

I am unlocking for continued polite and responsible discussion about this important topic. Please reserve earwax humor for the joke thread. Thank you!!
Rich

[Carlman]

Before you do any ear cleaning, you may also want to have your ear canals inspected by someone knowledgeable about ears. (ENT, family Dr., Osteopath, etc.)  

I learned I have exceptionally dry ear canals and low wax.  So, there wasn't much there to begin with.. My ENT's recommendation was to use a drop of baby oil (or OO) in the ear every day to keep them moist... sort of the opposite of cleaning and such.

-C

[shep]

arrrg! I thought you locked and threw away the key Rich 

[richidoo]

I found the key! 

[tmazz]

Before you do any ear cleaning, you may also want to have your ear canals inspected by someone knowledgeable about ears. (ENT, family Dr., Osteopath, etc.)  

I learned I have exceptionally dry ear canals and low wax.  So, there wasn't much there to begin with.. My ENT's recommendation was to use a drop of baby oil (or OO) in the ear every day to keep them moist... sort of the opposite of cleaning and such.

On another home remedy note, I've had good success with using a netti pot.  It doesn't really cure anything but makes it a little easier to breathe sometimes.

-C

I have been seeing an ENT on a regular basis for many years (allergies and such) and he has always commented on how clean a wax free my ears were. But when I read this thread I thought, what the heck, let me give it a try.  The difference in the level of detail I could hear from my system (and dam near anything else) was nothing short of astounding. It's kind of like it is with a better power card, I don't really understand why it sounds better, but I certainly know that it does. While other people's results may vary, for $6 you just can't afford not to try it. The difference was bigger than I have ever heard from a cable upgrade, and we all know what we can pay for one of those.....

That said, like anything else, I'm sure that overdoing it could possibly cause problems. I'm due for a visit to my ENT at the beginning of the summer. I plan to get this thoughts on the benefit and possible negative side effects of ear cleaning and will get back to you guys with his thoughts. The last thing I would want to do is cause damage to my hearing while in the process of trying to improve it (or while doing anything else for that matter.) I am fanatical about using ear protection whenever using any kind of loud power tool (electric saws, gas powered lawn equipment etc.) – All the equipment upgrades in the world won't help you if your hearing goes bad.

Tom

[tmazz]

Carl,

You know I would think that using the Netti Pot would help your hearing a bit as well. I don't know about anybody else, but as soon as I start getting a cold or an allergy attack the nasal congestion causes pressure in my ears, which causes my HF hearing to go to hell. While using the Netti Pot may not improve your hearing per se, it sounds like it could increase the amount of time that your hearing is functioning at 100%. (Although I do almost look forward to getting a cold and clogging my ears once in a while. I use the opportunity to revisit some old records that contain great music, but dreadfully recorded. With my ears clogged I can enjoy the music without getting a headache from the lousy sound. I guess this is the audiophile equivalent of getting lemons and making lemonade.)

[Carlman]

I do use a NP.. and it helps sort of... just not a lot.  And it's temporary.

When your sinuses are inflamed there is a negative impact on hearing but I'm not completely sure why.
The ear is almost entirely surrounded by bone in your skull, it's like a big full range speaker in there.

A possible reason you're not hearing so well during a cold is the inflammation in the sinuses closes in around the eustacian tube (between middle ear and back of throat to regulate air pressure)... and then maybe the inflammation causes pressure on the cochlear nerve, distorting the shape of the cochlea (more specifically, its parts like Space of Nuel or Tunnel of Corti),  because things sound 'pinched off' to me when I have badly blocked sinuses... no bass and smeared or distorted highs.  That would also explain the slight dizziness feeling you get because the vestibular nerve is right next to it which tells your brain where your head is and which way it's moving.  This is my theory, though.. I haven't read up on it yet.

I'm looking hard into inflammation this summer.  I have chronic inflammation in my sinuses and want to know why.  Then I don't need to know what inflammation does if I can get rid of it!

[richidoo]

Inflamation is controlled by eicosanoid hormones. These are the local hormones that cells use to talk to their neighbors, not endocrine hormones which talk to every cell of the body. 3 types of eicosanoids, A, B, and C. A and C inhibit inflamation. Type B encourages inflamation. Control the amounts of each with dietary fat. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can only become type C. Saturated fats can only become Type B. Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats should become type A, but with high insulin or high cortisol it can be diverted to type B. Prevent the diversion with low carbs, stress relief activities (water, sleep,) or using raw sesame oil.   The metabolic pathway of each of these eicosanoids is complex. But basically you keep the animal foods at moderate levels, then supplement with Carlsons fish oil for Omega 3s, and Borage Oil (GLA) for omega 6.

Drink enough water and eat enough salt to hold the water, then get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Your chronic inflammation will go away soon, from any part of the body.

[tmazz]

The ear is almost entirely surrounded by bone in your skull, it's like a big full range speaker in there.

If the ear is a full rabge speaker would that make your brain like an organic single-ended amp?

Cool!!!   

A possible reason you're not hearing so well during a cold is the inflammation in the sinuses closes in around the eustacian tube (between middle ear and back of throat to regulate air pressure)...

I have discussed this with my ENT and he said that this is exactly the case. Sinus congestion causes a blockage in the eustachian tubes which in turn cause an increase in middle ear pressure, thereby reducing the sensitivity of your hearing.  My congestion is usually cause by allergies as opposed to acute infection or inflammation so I can't speak to other than the effects of a plain old stuffy nose.

[tmazz]

Inflamation is controlled by eicosanoid hormones. These are the local hormones that cells use to talk to their neighbors, not endocrine hormones which talk to every cell of the body. 3 types of eicosanoids, A, B, and C. A and C inhibit inflamation. Type B encourages inflamation. Control the amounts of each with dietary fat. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can only become type C. Saturated fats can only become Type B. Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats should become type A, but with high insulin or high cortisol it can be diverted to type B. Prevent the diversion with low carbs, stress relief activities (water, sleep,) or using raw sesame oil.   The metabolic pathway of each of these eicosanoids is complex. But basically you keep the animal foods at moderate levels, then supplement with Carlsons fish oil for Omega 3s, and Borage Oil (GLA) for omega 6.

Drink enough water and eat enough salt to hold the water, then get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Your chronic inflammation will go away soon, from any part of the body.

Rich, you never cease to amaze me. You are just a never ending fountain of knowledge. No matter what topic comes up you pull out  full detailed explanation of it. Have you ever thought about going to a Jeopardy tryout. 

[richidoo]

20 year veteran Oprah's book club     j/k