Ears Were Full of Wax — Now Microsuctioned — Still Feels a Little Blocked

[Paulmanlike]

Hey,

So I just had a microsuction and got lots and lots of wax out that actually would cause my hearing to become muffled and as the day went on my ears would 'pop' with a yawn that cleared it.

Anyway, this morning both my ears were blocked - I would say my hearing went from 100% to 60%.

The suction process was uncomfortable but manageable, and they said there was lots and lots of it and they could finally see my ear drum after it was removed.

Although I'm glad my hearing has returned and I'm not hearing all my head noise, I still feel as if my right ear feels a little blocked and still got the ssshhhhh noise (I have had tinnitus in the left ear for years that I am accustomed to).

They checked my ears, they were very professional and after the microsuction they said they got it all out.

I'm just wondering now, especially with the yawning and hiccups, I may have a bit of ETD. I did have a cold a few weeks back and then a couple weeks ago blocked nose with no other apparent cold symptoms.

Any advice? Obviously if it continues I will go to my GP.

Thanks in advance if you can reply to this!!

 

[Paulmanlike]

Just if anyone is reading or following this - I got it checked out at the hospital today. My right ear had become inflamed due to the trauma of microsuction. They said it can happen sometimes and should settle within a couple days - got an anti-inflammatory ear spray and took a couple of Ibuprofen.

My head noise became apparently perceived louder however I'm not too worried, it is what it is. It has in the past gone high and low (with my usual tinnitus in left ear) so I'm hoping it's just a spike of the trauma of getting loads of wax out.

P.S. I would not normally do microsuction or irrigation however there were serious amounts down there causing deafness that was highly uncomfortable and it needed to be done. Olive oil was not enough.

 

[Cape crusader]

Micro suction should be outlawed. I had the procedure done 2 months ago and lost 60% of high frequency hearing in both ears with no change to date. Bad fullness in both ears as well. DONT GET YOUR EARS CLEANED WITH MICROSUCTION.

 

[Hissy missy]

Many people on here warn against micro suction for wax removal and I agree 100%.

This is a dangerous procedure for hearing - ask for a manual wax removal only.

 

[Paulmanlike]

Micro suction should be outlawed. I had the procedure done 2 months ago and lost 60% of high frequency hearing in both ears with no change to date. Bad fullness in both ears as well. DONT GET YOUR EARS CLEANED WITH MICROSUCTION.

Too late I've had them done now. I was informed & it is usually accepted that microsuction is the safest method to get wax out - although hardly any medical procedures are risk free.

Anyway, my left ear feels fine after microsuction but my right ear, like you, hearing feels muffled. I went to the walk in centre the next day and the doctor said my ear canal was inflamed, got some ear spray and told it would heal in the next few days.also, it's just a case of managing the pain.

That was last week and although the pain is barely present anymore, I still have some muffled hearing. I put this down too that it is still inflamed and needs another week or so to settle down. The canal obviously got inflamed due to the amount of wax in there and the trauma of getting it out. May I ask what your doctor has said about why you've lost it or what your own thoughts are?

If i rub my fingers together I can't hear it now in my affected ear but can on my left.

ANYBODY else have an experiences or information for me?

I also had head noise (that's different to my existing tinnitus in my non deaf ear) that appears to be a bit better after a week although still very noticeable.

 

[Paulmanlike]

Can anybody offer any insight or thoughts into my comments??

8 days after microsuction and still got ear fullness, slightly dull hearing & ear escaping from my head that was there already (was hoping that was just from wax) that is slightly louder. It is improving, the pain is almost non-existent now at least.

 

[Agrajag364]

Can anybody offer any insight or thoughts into my comments??

8 days after microsuction and still got ear fullness, slightly dull hearing & ear escaping from my head that was there already (was hoping that was just from wax) that is slightly louder. It is improving, the pain is almost non-existent now at least.

Did your ear fullness go away?

 

[Cape crusader]

@Paulmanlike
Same happened to me after microsuction. One year later no change. Loud tinnitus and 60% high frequency hearing loss. ENTs that perform microsuction should be jailed.

 

[Gman]

It's unsafe. There's research to back it up.

https://justaudiologystuff.com/if-you-offer-micro-suction-ear-wax-removal-you-need-to-read-this/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00405-012-2090-8

"Average noise levels during normal suction in a distance of 1 cm in front of the eardrum ranged between 97 and 103.5 dB(A) (broadband noise). Peak noise levels reached 118 dB(A). During partial obstruction of the sucker by cerumen or dermal flakes, peak noise levels reached 146 dB(A)."

It's fair to say that in general ENTs are quite clueless about tinnitus and related ear issues and are unaware how dangerous this procedure is. Ignorant people shouldn't be playing with people's lives.

Also the ones I had the misfortune of seeing couldn't have cared less anyway.

 

[Carl1981]

Can anybody offer any insight or thoughts into my comments??

8 days after microsuction and still got ear fullness, slightly dull hearing & ear escaping from my head that was there already (was hoping that was just from wax) that is slightly louder. It is improving, the pain is almost non-existent now at least.

Hi @Paulmanlike . I had microsuction yesterday. One ear, the one that was very blocked feels like new. The other however where the wax put up a bit of a fight now has a really full feeling and noticable tinnitus.

You mention the spray and ibuprofen where yours felt similar afterwards...did that ever resolve the situation in that ear?

 

[Paulmanlike]

Hi @Paulmanlike . I had microsuction yesterday. One ear, the one that was very blocked feels like new. The other however where the wax put up a bit of a fight now has a really full feeling and noticable tinnitus.

You mention the spray and ibuprofen where yours felt similar afterwards...did that ever resolve the situation in that ear?

Hi Carl

Microsuction has lead to trauma in between the outer ear and ear drum (don't be scared when I say this) because it's very easy to do. It's very sensitive. When I say trauma, I mean it causes irritation similar to that of swimmers ear or the medical name Otitis Externa. It heals without treatment, but spray can make healing faster and ibuprofen just keeps the pain at bay.

Mine healed and hearing returned to normal.

If it was done by a professional they would have made a decision that it was reasonably safe to suction (the wax appeared soft enough). It is quite safe (but not risk free).

The concern with the microsuctioning is if the wax gets caught, it can make a loud noise very close to your ear and give you an acoustic trauma. Its uncommon however and usually it is considered relatively safe (but not risk free).

If you didn't hear a loud noise above the suctioning volume, give it 2 weeks maximum and I would expect it to improve for you.