DH and plugged ear problem

[suzfromWi]

Need some thoughts here. DH has an ear problem that causes him to have vertigo. It gets worse if her lays on that side at night, so he doesnt. Lately though his ear has been plugging up off and on. He went to the doctor and they tried, but couldnt get any wax out. They told him to do drops...Okay we have done the drops, nothing. WE did a drop with hydrogen peroxcide and nothing. I flushed it out with warm water...Didnt help. The poor guy...Any ideas that we havent tried? Thanks suz

[jil101ca]

I have narrow ear canals that tilt the wrong way so plugged ears is a frequent problem. Keep up with the ear wax remover. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It works better if you warm it up first.

[manygoatsnmore]

It sounds like the "plugging up" is a middle ear problem, not in the ear canal, but behind the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Decongestants may help allow the fluid to drain. The vertigo is more likely an inner ear problem.

Disclaimer: I am not an MD, nor do I play one on TV. I am an RN, but this should be considered a layperson's advice, as diagnosing is outside the scope of my practice.

[Pink_Carnation]

I agree outer ear problems shouldn't be giving him vertigo. Hot drinks like tea might help as well as chewing gum (sugar free), jerky or other chewy foods without sugar to feed bacteria might also help things drain easier.

[Audrey]

We JUST went through something similar a few weeks ago. We flushed his ear over and over with a meat injector minus the needle with warm water. It took a long time but all of a sudden a big piece of wax came out (that was not visible to the eye) followed by other gunk and small particles of wax as we continued to flush. I couldn't believe all of that was in there!

Don't know if this applies to you but this is what worked for us. It took time and patience for it to work. Hope he gets some relief soon.

[clovis]

Originally Posted by manygoatsnmore

It sounds like the "plugging up" is a middle ear problem, not in the ear canal, but behind the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Decongestants may help allow the fluid to drain. The vertigo is more likely an inner ear problem.

Disclaimer: I am not an MD, nor do I play one on TV. I am an RN, but this should be considered a layperson's advice, as diagnosing is outside the scope of my practice.

I agree. I wonder if he started drinking a half gallon of water or tea per day. Do this for a week, and see if it breaks up that mucus.

It costs you absolutely nothing to try this...yet so many that I recommend this to won't even consider this totally free and safe option.

I once had severe sinus problems. An ear-nose-throught specialist told me to start drinking more water, and guess what? It worked perfectly!!! I haven't had a sinus headache since then.

I suspect if you paid an E-N-T $150 for a simple office visit, this would be one of the things they recommend as a remedy.

Disclaimer: I am not an MD, nor do I play one on TV. I am not even a nurse.

Edited to add second disclaimer: There could be other problems, like Minear's Disease at play with your DH, but I would try the water drinking first.

[david_r]

GF used a water pic on my ears once. She got huge chunks of wax out. It was wonderful to have no ear problems for months.

[Cash]

If you own a water pic or something similar, use it to flush out the ear -- using warm water. Or one of those rubber squeeze bulbs filled with warm water. Why couldn't the doc get the wax out? That sounds a little weird.

In Asia you can go to professional ear cleaners who specialize in getting that gunk out.

Believe me, it sounds gross, but you would be amazed at the amount of stuff that can be packed back there. I used to have major problems with wax build-up, and an RN friend would clean them out with a big old syringe (minus the needle!) and warm water.

[Ohio dreamer]

Do be careful with removing large clumps of wax from ones ear. I have an ENT do it for me once (I actually had a bone infection so home remedies were not enough and I was under his care for 6 mos) and when the wax released and came out it messed up my balance for a minute. I was glad I was siting down with chair arms on either side of me or I would have fallen out of the chair. So, moral of the story, be sure that the "patient" is in a situation that if they become suddenly dizzy they don't fall and crack they head open.

I have a really bad ear. It would clog so much I couldn't hear out of it. I got the best sleep ever when this happens as when DH starts snoring I just roll over on my good ear and I can't hear a thing!

Unfortunately it was a big problem. I couldn't hear what my kids were doing when I was on the phone. And it hurt sometimes.

Things I tried that might work:
-drink lots of fluids
-neti pot (clear the sinuses and the ear might drain that way-be aware that ear wax will leave a nasty taste in your mouth! )
-decongestants

I finally had to get ear tubes put in. They don't put adults to sleep like they do kids. You get a few drops of numbing agent in, wait a few seconds and start cutting your ear drum. It's not all that pleasant. The second time they have to do it it HURTS.

But you get to hear that day, so it's worth it.

[HOTW]

Look up candling as a holistic remedy had a client try it for water on the ear and it worked for her. The Dr wanted to do MRI and then tubes and she is fine now

[SLD Farm]

When I have an ear ache or my ears fell plugged, I have found that if I put bengay from the ear down the jaw line it helps a lot.

[suzfromWi]

Thanks everyone. Were trying the antihistamine right now...Im thinking an ear, nose doctor will be next.....

[Jenn]

If the Dr had his staff flush out the ears with a water pic type thing (which most family/ internal med Dr's offices can do- don't need an ENT) and nothing came out then either the wax is solid- and a repeat flushing after ear wax softeners may do the trick- or the problem is inner or middle ear. That is nothing from the outside will help.

Middle ear congestion can be helped with antihistamines, decongestants, regularly popping your ears I mean every hour, neti pot.

If these don't work he may have Menieres or something else ENT can help with.

[woodsy]

Recently had a ear unplugged at VA clinic.
Was surprised at how much force the irrigation tool had behind it, but got it unplugged.
Used the drops first for several days before going in for the flushing, the drops soften up the wax ball.
I made the mistake of trying to remove the wax with q-tip and plugged it up completely.
The plugged ear was annoyingly itchy too.

[Cabin Fever]

I simply put warm water and salt in our Neti Pot. I pour it in one ear and watch the water come out the other ear carrying with it a bunch of wax.

Seriously, over the years I've been to the doctor two or three times with wax build up. He did as Audrey describes below, except the Doctor makes a mixture of about 50:50 warm water and peroxide.

The last time I went to the doctor to remove wax, the nurse was talking to me after he left. She told me to use Q-Tips on a regular basis. I took her advice and have never had a wax build up for 5 years and running.

Originally Posted by Audrey

We JUST went through something similar a few weeks ago. We flushed his ear over and over with a meat injector minus the needle with warm water. It took a long time but all of a sudden a big piece of wax came out (that was not visible to the eye) followed by other gunk and small particles of wax as we continued to flush. I couldn't believe all of that was in there!

Don't know if this applies to you but this is what worked for us. It took time and patience for it to work. Hope he gets some relief soon.

[Fourthistles]

Vertigo is not usually caused by wax build-up. It is more often from calcium crystals in the inner ear. Google "epley maneuver". I just went through this with my husband and it worked. It's worth a try. We also went to an ENT and the official diagnosis is benign paroxismal positional vertigo, treated by physical therapists using the epley maneuver. You can do it at home.

[ronbre]

i go in every few years and have tube put in to drain my right ear, which doesn't drain properly..it makes a huge difference when i have it done..when it closes back up it is annoying, painful and i lose nearly all my hearing in that ear..right now my tube has lasted since mid Nov of 08

[Jakk]

My daughter is Asian and Asians have dry ear wax, not wet. Her wax builds up and I have to use one of those bulbs with Debrox (can buy it at Walmart) every few months. When I was in China I bought an ear cleaner that looks like a knitting needle with a hook on the end. That usually will pull the wax out of her ears.

[Big Dave]

Do what Audrey and CF have told yall and it will be good. You will not believe the stuff that will come out. I have had this done and it felt as if my eye was going to come out.