The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Science & Nature => Topic started by: Toaster on September 09, 2009, 11:30:48 pm
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I usually talk on the phone with my left hand and my left ear. I was on the phone just now. I had it in my left ear as usual. I had to walk away to check on some information for the person to whom I was talking. When I came back, I was approaching the phone from the other side. So I picked it up with my right hand, and put it to my right ear. And you guys, it was two to three times as loud. I switched it back and forth a few times, because repeated results are the backbone of the scientific method, and every time I could hear much better in my right ear than in my left. Is this something I should see a doctor about? I had those hearing tests back in school, just like everyone else (you know, the one where you put on the headphones and tell them when you hear a beep), and they always said I was normal.
What gives?
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I usually talk on the phone with my left hand and my left ear. I was on the phone just now. I had it in my left ear as usual. I had to walk away to check on some information for the person to whom I was talking. When I came back, I was approaching the phone from the other side. So I picked it up with my right hand, and put it to my right ear. And you guys, it was two to three times as loud. I switched it back and forth a few times, because repeated results are the backbone of the scientific method, and every time I could hear much better in my right ear than in my left. Is this something I should see a doctor about? I had those hearing tests back in school, just like everyone else (you know, the one where you put on the headphones and tell them when you hear a beep), and they always said I was normal.
What gives?
It could just be a wax blockage. In which case your doc can flush your ears. I have a wax problem and need to get mine flushed every year or so. My left ear is always worse and it sometimes affects my hearing. It's really annoying.
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You need a doctor to clean the wax from your ears?
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You need a doctor to clean the wax from your ears?
Think of it like the difference between brushing your teeth, and going to the dentist for a teeth cleaning.
Check out this video of prominent YouTuber and environmentalist Hank Green getting his ear flushed. I guess some people might think this is gross, just a heads up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNPoDsxAXBw
Also, my dad had severe problems with wax when he was a child.
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You need a doctor to clean the wax from your ears?
Well, a nurse, but yeah. I produce way too much wax. Q-tips just make things worse. I try to use one of those bulb syringes and some of the wax-softening drops but like every other year things get out of hand and a trip to the doctor's office is needed.
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Well, a nurse, but yeah. I produce way too much wax. Q-tips just make things worse. I try to use one of those bulb syringes and some of the wax-softening drops but like every other year things get out of hand and a trip to the doctor's office is needed.
That's an interesting bio cycle to have. "its an odd year, ill have to get my ears scrubbed in September"
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As an adult, my scalp and ears are always dry and get irritated easily. However, when I was a kid I had to get my ears irrigated too. That is crazy.
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I have extremely waxy ears (runs in the family) and I've tried everything, but a few months ago I finally had to resort to having a nurse clean them out (after it got so bad I was nearly deaf). When the nurse came in the room she went over to a cabinet and pulled out a GIANT stainless steel syringe that was seriously about 18" long. She filled it up with warmish water, gave me a bowl to hold under my ear, put the tip inside my ear canal and then really wailed on it. I mean she seriously used a lot of force to shoot that water in there - more force than I would think was healthy or safe, but she's the nurse I guess.
What happened next I count among the greatest experiences in my life up to this point. I felt a gushing sensation as this torrent of water came pouring out of my ears, and then a *pop* as the giant wax ball came sliding out. The relief I felt was absolutely amazing, since the wax had not only been blocking my hearing but also causing a horrible case of tinnitus. I thanked all the deities I could think of that the ringing went away, since I don't know if my sanity would have survived a lifetime of that awful sound.
When the nurse looked in the bowl at all of the detritus that came tumbling out of my ear she actually recoiled in disgust. I'm oddly proud of that moment - I actually grossed out a nurse (and a seasoned one at that) who has seen god-knows-what kind of horrors in her 30-odd years as a health-care worker.
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I'm oddly proud of that moment - I actually grossed out a nurse (and a seasoned one at that) who has seen god-knows-what kind of horrors in her 30-odd years as a health-care worker.
This once happened to me, but replace "nurse" with "sex shop clerk".
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So how much volume are
When the nurse looked in the bowl at all of the detritus that came tumbling out of my ear she actually recoiled in disgust.
So how much volume are we actually talking about. I'm still finding it hard to believe this is a problem that requires professional assistance.
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I have access to shit loads of syringes, can I just shoot some warm water into my ear?
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I would say one smallish marble-sized chunk out of each ear, plus a whole buffet of tiny pebbles (of earwax, not stone). Also some brown sludge oozed out after about a minute that had to be mopped up.
I seriously bought 3 different brands of earwax softener (all with the same basic active ingredient which I believe is some kind of peroxide), a traditional "bulb" irrigater, and a fancy "patent-pending" tri-flow syringe style earwax flusher (safety release tip included). My Girlfriend at the time stood there for about 20 min., twice a day for two weeks refilling the devices and shooting a stream of water in my ear, all in vain.
I believe the main problem was I wasn't comfortable using the kind of force that is really required. The nurse's method was actually very painful at first, and I'm pretty sure she emptied about half a liter of water into my ear in about 3 and a half seconds. And hey, even without insurance it only cost me $32 (at a private practice). I spent at least that on all the crap I bought at CVS.
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ear candling?
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candling doesn't work for shit
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So how much volume are
So how much volume are we actually talking about. I'm still finding it hard to believe this is a problem that requires professional assistance.
It happens all the time at our clinic. Dudes who work outside in the cold and stuff seem to build up a lot of earwax. Our nurses and techs are always siphoning out some dude's head by way of his earhole. It's pretty disgusting.
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I have access to shit loads of syringes, can I just shoot some warm water into my ear?
This is what my doctor said to do. Although if it's gone as far as the stories in these other posts, maybe not.
Anyway, get your ear wax looked at before you go to a stupid ear doctor who's going to do that whole test with the beeps and all. It is a much bigger production than when they did it in school and it's not clear what the point is. As far as I could tell, if they had found that there was something wrong with my ears, it's not like they could have done a damn thing about it anyway.
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this is basically all you need:
(http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/productImages/1/4/66611110030214-large-Craftsman-26946-3-8-Inch-Reversible-Variable-Speed-Electric-Drill.jpg)
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My doctor used a scraping-type device rather than the irrigation thing. The chunk he took out was bigger than a plain M&M, smaller than a peanut M&M. As others have stated, it was disconcerting and a bit painful, but then I was like "Holy shit, I can HEAR!"
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I must say, that's a lot of wax.
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As far as I could tell, if they had found that there was something wrong with my ears, it's not like they could have done a damn thing about it anyway.
At least you'd know its 'cos your deaf, not because of the cockroach living in your ear canal.
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I too have had the ear-gook-high-pressure clean out, and it was awesome. I had no idea such a large amount of gunk could be in there. I had mine done the same time as my sister, back in knuckle head times. She had lost a wad of cotton in her ear (our mom used to make us put small wads of cotton in our ears to prevent ear aches - what the hell is that about?), and the doc blasted it out. Then I got a turn, and it felt pretty fantastic. I'd like to have it done again, but it isn't the sort of thing I imagine a doctor doing unless I presented a problem more significant than "my ears have wax in them."
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Smells, you can usually pair it up with another visit. When talking to the nurse before the doctor comes in I'll just be "oh, and the phone sounds quieter on my left side. I think I have a wax build-up" and they'll check my ear and do a flush at the end of the appointment.
But yeah, scheduling a whole visit and making the copay just for that does seem kind of silly.
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I spray the water nozzle from the shower in my ear. That's pretty rad.
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I went to the doctor the first time this hearing loss happened to me because my grandfather had serious hearing loss in the ear I had all blocked up. But since then, I've learned the rubber bulb syringe that comes in ear cleaning kits can be as good as the doctor's cleaning.
You got to get the water as hot as you can, lean over so gravity is at da max, jam that syringe deep as a mfer, and then shoot that shit with unmitigated force. You got to shoot that shit hard, I ain't kidding about this.
When I think of the size and look of the wax that came out on that doctor visit, it makes me pretty queasy. It was pretty disgusting.
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I'm going to have Pedro look into this.
Wait, does it work on selective hearing loss?
Also: anyone else tried Sinus Rinses? They're like an enema for your face.
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Wait, does it work on selective hearing loss?
You mean, like, in the children? No, but this does.
"Liz, can you come help pick up these Barbies?"
[silence]
"Liz, you want some ice cream?"
"YEAH!"
"Oh good, you can hear me. Get over here and pick up these Barbies."
Six years old, and still hasn't figured out that when Dad says "You want some ice cream?", nine times out of ten he doesn't actually have any ice cream.
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Also: anyone else tried Sinus Rinses? They're like an enema for your face.
I do this twice a day in allergy season, and a couple times a week otherwise. It too has high entertainment value for the "holy cow, that was in my head?" factor. At first. After a while it ceases to be as interesting because there isn't time for colorful stuff to build up. I seem to get sick less often, and my allergies are much better. I was growing a huge polyp in my sinuses, and the doctor suggested this as a something to try before more extreme steps. Worked like a charm - polyp went away. Wait 'til polite company isn't around because the sounds you make are pretty horrendous.
I believe linnea is also a fan. Of the irrigation - not the noises.
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Also - I got good news/bad news on the ear front myself last week. There is no hideous isopod crouching in there, so that's good; there is no wax either, so the hearing loss I'm experiencing appears to have no immediate remedy. On to the next specialist this week.
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My ears are ringing again this morning, but fortunately I know it is Bruce's fault, no isopods involved.
I have another problem that I think might be due to ear wax, and I have been trying to rinse my ear out by squirting warm water with a little eye dropper. I gather from *****_god's description that I am wasting my time with this wimpy procedure.
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I do this twice a day in allergy season, and a couple times a week otherwise. It too has high entertainment value for the "holy cow, that was in my head?" factor. At first. After a while it ceases to be as interesting because there isn't time for colorful stuff to build up. I seem to get sick less often, and my allergies are much better. I was growing a huge polyp in my sinuses, and the doctor suggested this as a something to try before more extreme steps. Worked like a charm - polyp went away. Wait 'til polite company isn't around because the sounds you make are pretty horrendous.
I believe linnea is also a fan. Of the irrigation - not the noises.
Oh shit yes. Nasal irrigation is awesome. Just don't do it like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA
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Oh shit yes. Nasal irrigation is awesome. Just don't do it like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA
Noooooo that is a really good bottle of bourbon! Seeing a neti pot just makes me think of that Six Feet Under episode when Ruth finds the on George has been using.
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Hah, I got about 1:30 in and was going - uh, that's pretty much how it goes...
I was going to call BS if he appeared to succeed with the third rinse. Apparently though, he actually was doing it.
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Noooooo that is a really good bottle of bourbon! Seeing a neti pot just makes me think of that Six Feet Under episode when Ruth finds the on George has been using.
Yeah, before that I had never heard of the dang things. And then I never heard of them again, until now.
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Yeah, before that I had never heard of the dang things. And then I never heard of them again, until now.
Don't believe Drew. He hates the Neti pots. They are really magical. I use mine all the time. Best thing ever to help soothe your sinuses. It will even help a sore throat, especially if you gargle with warm salt water after the Neti pot rinse.
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eh, i had a fairly nasty sinus clog a few months ago and the neti pot didn't do anything for me. well, anything positive. the water ran in my nose and back out the other side, freaking me out entirely in the process, without helping the sinus situation. i felt like a schmuck for spending money that went straight in the trash can the next day.
yes, i rinsed three times. on three occasions that evening. maybe i was asking too much, but i don't often have sinus problems, and wanted something to fix the kind i get.
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You gotta keep it up for a while. Your nose didn't get wrecked in a day, and it takes at least as long to set things right.
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I use the one that sprays up your nose like a fire hose. It's...unpleasant...but perhaps works better for those of us with stubborn sinuses?
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some mornings i wish farley's lung brush was a real thing.
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some mornings i wish farley's lung brush was a real thing.
How about Victoria Jackson's "Fingers B Gone"?
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not as much as the nealon/jackson love toilet