Ears, lost the top end

[Les]

I know the answer is seek professional medical advice and I am , but my appointment is 5 weeks away so I thought I'd ask the BC collective of all knowledge worth knowing.

I'm hoping I just need them syringing but want a nurse/doc to confirm that so I'm not going down the DIY routes I've seen on't web .

I use earplugs for rehearsals but the other night It just felt like I had my hands over my ears and they felt under pressure.
At the last gig I thought the PA was lacking top end (I do the sound), when I held my nose and blew like you do on a plane to sort the pressure in your ears the top end came back, then dissappeared again when I stopped.

Anyone experienced this ? Will I die?

[ambient]

Wax

[Number6]

I am being treated for something very similar at the moment and the GP gave me a nasal steroid spray which appears to be helping. She didn't say exactly what the problem was but said it was linked to inflammation in the Ear, Nose, Throat.

Hope this helps.....definitely speak to your GP

[ambient]

Five weeks !!!

Maybe get some medical grade olive oil and try that. You don't need to see a doctor for an ear syringe, that's usually the practice nurse.

[mr zed]

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1433197285' post='2788916']
Will I die?
[/quote]

Eventually yes!

[Les]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1433198224' post='2788925']
Five weeks !!!

Maybe get some medical grade olive oil and try that. You don't need to see a doctor for an ear syringe, that's usually the practice nurse.
[/quote]

Rang my GP and they said ring the local do it all clinic, they asked a few questions then booked me in to have them syringed, but it was 5 weeks to the first appointment. Olive oil in ears twice a day for 5 days beforehand.

May start the ear drops now and see if that helps.

[pfretrock]

Five weeks? Blimey, we need a revolution.

If you don't have an infection, try Boots dual action ear drops. You should check with the pharmacist first. Ear syringing can knock you stupid, had it a few times and it's a lot easier if the wax is softened. Last time I used the boots stuff, it cleared itself. It has hydrogen peroxide (1%) and is very effective.

[ambient]

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1433252919' post='2789414']
Five weeks? Blimey, we need a revolution.

If you don't have an infection, try Boots dual action ear drops. You should check with the pharmacist first. Ear syringing can knock you stupid, had it a few times and it's a lot easier if the wax is softened. Last time I used the boots stuff, it cleared itself. It has hydrogen peroxide (1%) and is very effective.
[/quote]

That's great stuff, it fizzes the wax out.

[leroydiamond]

What kind of earplugs are you using?

[Les]

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1433253691' post='2789424']
What kind of earplugs are you using?
[/quote]

Alpine Musicsafe Pro

[Harlequin74]

OMG i am introuble. Never use ear plugs.....

But do on the motorbike which is important as it is a KTM and Sets off car alarms.

WITH THE BASS AND THE BIKE, WHAT A GREAT NEIGHBOUR EH. . ? Sorry, what did you say?

[Agwin]

Had something similar last year (about this time actually), went deaf in my left ear -. Saw my GP (a few days wait luckily), it turned out to be loads of wax so she suggested olive oil & hydrogen peroxide. She said it would get worse before it got better as the olive oil makes the wax expand a bit as it softens it – ain’t that the truth – you could yell directly into my left ear and I wouldn’t hear a thing (of course at that volume my right ear would pick it up!)
Then, after two or three syringing sessions with the nurse it got better.
Best to see some kind of medical professional before you go shoving stuff in your ear though – just to be on the safe side

[hairychris]

Having used both olive oil and peroxide-based drops (I get gunky ears quite regularly) I found that the oil ones were way gentler on the old lugoles, and worked at least as well.

FWIW I am a reluctant member of the tinnitus club so, yeah, wear earplugs like I didn't!

[Les]

I've just bought the Boots one mentioned above.

Cover me, I'm going in

[jonnythenotes]

Les...... I have had problems for years with hearing loss and seemingly random bouts of deafness.... particularly first thing in the morning. It got to the stage where I could not put my head underwater as water would get in, but not get out, become almost stagnant, and cause infection. I lost all of my high frequency hearing, could only hold the phone to my left ear, as the right one was so bad, and had to ask people to repeat almost everything they said, unless it was spoken loudly in the first place. The worst thing though was all the sounds I was hearing seemed to mix up into one jumbled drone with no definition. A busy pub, or playing in the band was awful, some times worse than others as my ability to focus in on, or filter things out vanished. I had them syringed a couple of times over the last 5 years, but each time I developed a severe infection as the force of the water actually damaged my ear drum, and only removed some of the wax, which very quickly clogged up again. Three months ago, it got so bad I became permanently deaf in my right ear, and went to my local GP. This doctor said instead of syringing again as it is so invasive, and carried out by a busy practice nurse, he made me an appointment at my local hospital for micro suction. Six weeks later I had this done under controlled conditions, by an audiologist, and registered nurse, and the difference,( which was instant,) was absolutely amazing. After 15 minutes of what I will call a minor and painless op, the problem was fixed. The amount of compacted wax that came out of both ears was incredible. The cure but was immediate, and has been a permanent fix. It is a system whereby the wax is removed by a tiny high pressure vacuum, like a drinking straw, and a small spoon to fetch bigger lumps out. When they had finished, I could hear so well, it became a bit confusing, as I got so dizzy, (which is normal,) I had to sit down while my ears, and balance system re adjusted to normality. I know I have gone on a bit, but unless you experience this wax compaction, and what it does to you, people have no conception of how it can ruin your life.... My advice Les....get back to the doctor, and get on the list for audio micro suction.... Hearing loss creeps up on you so slowly, you get used to it, it becomes normal, and you don't even realise you are dealing with it until it really becomes unbearable.... Hope this helps... And DON'T accept syringing as an option...

[Valhalalf]

I would also suggest perhaps looking into slightly more expensive, fitted ear plugs.

I got some ACS PRO17 ear plugs at the start of the year after my off the shelf ones just weren't cutting it and making it difficult to pitch doing BVs. The difference is amazing as these have special filters that maintain a flat frequency response and just make everything quieter. No more feeling like you've got your fingers in your ears.

http://acscustom.com/uk/product/acs-pro17/

It was dead easy to get fitted. I went to Boots to see the Audiologist after having my ears syringed who took molds of my inner ears and sent them to ACS. A couple of weeks later I got my custom ear plugs.

Probably one of the best equipment purchases I've ever made.

[rogerstodge]

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1433265635' post='2789589']
Les...... I have had problems for years with hearing loss and seemingly random bouts of deafness.... particularly first thing in the morning. It got to the stage where I could not put my head underwater as water would get in, but not get out, become almost stagnant, and cause infection. I lost all of my high frequency hearing, could only hold the phone to my left ear, as the right one was so bad, and had to ask people to repeat almost everything they said, unless it was spoken loudly in the first place. The worst thing though was all the sounds I was hearing seemed to mix up into one jumbled drone with no definition. A busy pub, or playing in the band was awful, some times worse than others as my ability to focus in on, or filter things out vanished. I had them syringed a couple of times over the last 5 years, but each time I developed a severe infection as the force of the water actually damaged my ear drum, and only removed some of the wax, which very quickly clogged up again. Three months ago, it got so bad I became permanently deaf in my right ear, and went to my local GP. This doctor said instead of syringing again as it is so invasive, and carried out by a busy practice nurse, he made me an appointment at my local hospital for micro suction. Six weeks later I had this done under controlled conditions, by an audiologist, and registered nurse, and the difference,( which was instant,) was absolutely amazing. After 15 minutes of what I will call a minor and painless op, the problem was fixed. The amount of compacted wax that came out of both ears was incredible. The cure but was immediate, and has been a permanent fix. It is a system whereby the wax is removed by a tiny high pressure vacuum, like a drinking straw, and a small spoon to fetch bigger lumps out. When they had finished, I could hear so well, it became a bit confusing, as I got so dizzy, (which is normal,) I had to sit down while my ears, and balance system re adjusted to normality. I know I have gone on a bit, but unless you experience this wax compaction, and what it does to you, people have no conception of how it can ruin your life.... My advice Les....get back to the doctor, and get on the list for audio micro suction.... Hearing loss creeps up on you so slowly, you get used to it, it becomes normal, and you don't even realise you are dealing with it until it really becomes unbearable.... Hope this helps... And DON'T accept syringing as an option...
[/quote]well said Johnny.

[leroydiamond]

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1433253873' post='2789425']
Alpine Musicsafe Pro
[/quote]
Get custom fitted plugs IMO. Generic plugs can be a bit hit and miss so if your genuinely interested in getting the very best ear protection for a working musician, then the custom route is the only route IMO and IME. ACS custom plugs have served me very well. Would never be without them now. They are the best investment you can make.

[Hobbayne]

If you already have wax then some earplugs can push it right down the ear canal. I should know, I went the the F1 race in Melbourne a couple of years back and did the same thing.
I spent the next two weeks as deaf as a post and needed to go to a walk in clinic in Canberra to get them irrigated. (They dont syringe them anymore)
The nurse though I had a perforated eardrum and told me I couldnt fly home.
Luckily it was all wax, a big lump the size of a 5p coin fell out at one point.

[Les]

Thank you all for the advice and the anecdotes, including the horror stories.

Banged the boots stuff in earlier and have just done it again, hubble bubble toil and trouble going on in me ears for a bit but have to say a marked improvement already.

Will crack on with it over the next few days as I think it may do the trick on it's own. Even if it does I'm still going to do the olive oil for 5 days and go for my appointment just to have a professional peer into my ears, just in case.

[blisters on my fingers]

Had tinnitus in one ear for years now... never gonna stop, permanent nerve damage.
Can't remember the 'luxury' for want of a better word, of silence, something that I will never experience again.
Play a kind of psychological game with myself, try not to get wound up and angry with the constant high pitched noise.
When you see what other people endure with constant physical, or indeed mental pain, it kind of puts things into perspective.

Last five years or so have struggled more and more to hear conversation in any social situation with a bit of background noise. Drive everybody nuts getting them to repeat everything. Or just give up and nod and smile in the right places.

Will try the Boots stuff, for less than a fiver what is there to lose? Could shift some gunk ...

Wear ear protection. Loud music is great, deafness isn't.

keep us up to date Les

[Les]

Well things have much improved this morning. Lots of rattly, scratchy, hissy sounds back in my life.

[ianrendall]

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1433308353' post='2789871']
Well things have much improved this morning. Lots of rattly, scratchy, hissy sounds back in my life.
[/quote]

Do you mean you found the tweeter attenuator? 😉

[Grangur]

I have problems with my ears from time to time. I can't use olive oil, but there are other bi-carbonate of soda drops out there.

I also use one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AcuLife-Ear-Wax-Removal-Syringe/dp/B000SOJXGA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433343665&sr=8-1&keywords=ear+syringe+kit

They're worth their weight. Good luck

[essexbasscat]

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1433265635' post='2789589']
Les...... I have had problems for years with hearing loss and seemingly random bouts of deafness.... particularly first thing in the morning. It got to the stage where I could not put my head underwater as water would get in, but not get out, become almost stagnant, and cause infection. I lost all of my high frequency hearing, could only hold the phone to my left ear, as the right one was so bad, and had to ask people to repeat almost everything they said, unless it was spoken loudly in the first place. The worst thing though was all the sounds I was hearing seemed to mix up into one jumbled drone with no definition. A busy pub, or playing in the band was awful, some times worse than others as my ability to focus in on, or filter things out vanished. I had them syringed a couple of times over the last 5 years, but each time I developed a severe infection as the force of the water actually damaged my ear drum, and only removed some of the wax, which very quickly clogged up again. Three months ago, it got so bad I became permanently deaf in my right ear, and went to my local GP. This doctor said instead of syringing again as it is so invasive, and carried out by a busy practice nurse, he made me an appointment at my local hospital for micro suction. Six weeks later I had this done under controlled conditions, by an audiologist, and registered nurse, and the difference,( which was instant,) was absolutely amazing. After 15 minutes of what I will call a minor and painless op, the problem was fixed. The amount of compacted wax that came out of both ears was incredible. The cure but was immediate, and has been a permanent fix. It is a system whereby the wax is removed by a tiny high pressure vacuum, like a drinking straw, and a small spoon to fetch bigger lumps out. When they had finished, I could hear so well, it became a bit confusing, as I got so dizzy, (which is normal,) I had to sit down while my ears, and balance system re adjusted to normality. I know I have gone on a bit, but unless you experience this wax compaction, and what it does to you, people have no conception of how it can ruin your life.... My advice Les....get back to the doctor, and get on the list for audio micro suction.... Hearing loss creeps up on you so slowly, you get used to it, it becomes normal, and you don't even realise you are dealing with it until it really becomes unbearable.... Hope this helps... And DON'T accept syringing as an option...
[/quote]

Excellent post sir, thank you for taking the time to share that