How can I get my ears unplugged (and stay that way?)?
I woke up two mornings ago with my ears plugged up. I thought it was earwax, so I tried to clean them out and (I thought) only made things worse. Now my hearing is reduced by about half. It doesn’t hurt, I just can’t hear very well. One ear keeps going in and out, like it wants to clear up but can’t. What is going on and what can I do? I’ve tried commercial ear wax remover and I’ve tried hot showers.
Hi! I’m an Audiologist.
It is still possible that there’s wax in there — the kits from the drug store don’t always work, especially if the wax has been in there for a while and is dried out, or if it’s in very deep. Since you say the hearing is WORSE after trying to remove it, it almost sounds as though the wax may have been pushed in deeper, or the solution in the kit started to soften it, so it expanded and is plugging you up more. The side that fluctuates suggests that the wax is sometimes being displaced (probably by jaw movements) which causes a gap to open up, allowing sound through.
There could be a swimmer’s ear infection (otitis externa) if the fluid in the ear canal has not drained fully and is allowing bacteria or fungus to grow. It is also possible that there is fluid or infection behind the ear drum, but that typically wouldn’t worsen from the use of a wax removal kit. Still, the best way to know for sure is to see the specialist. Not only can they see what’s going on, but these types of problems are very routine. So you will get an examination, diagnosis and treatment, and have the problem taken care of fairly quickly (depending on the cause). If you keep trying to deal with it in your own, you’ll drag the process out longer, and will probably wind up at the specialist’s office anyway.
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