• Odigo2020@lemmy.zipEnglish
          53·
          7 months ago

          I think watching a couple audiologist videos where they dig out years of compacted q-tip cotton pressed against the eardrum might change their opinion.

          • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
            2·
            7 months ago

            That only happens to people with a very specific type of earwax.

            Source: assumed everyone saying this online was correct and bought the camera myself to look. Sparkling clean despite using Q-Tips every day for most of my life.

          • Droggelbecher@lemmy.world
            6·
            7 months ago

            Looked it up out of curiosity and apparently that cant happen, at least not permanently. Worst thing that can happen is that you form too strong an association between the object and arousal for them to be seperate.

            • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
              2·
              7 months ago

              Thanks. I wasn’t thinking permanently.

              If a vibrator is one’s daily driver, then partner intimacy occurs one day, could have an effect there.

    • DolphinMath@slrpnk.netEnglish
      6·
      7 months ago

      I’m convinced all the people who say that just have dry earwax.

      I have wet earwax, and I’m miserable if I can’t clear my ears.

      • Spaceinv8er@sh.itjust.works
        8·
        7 months ago

        I have wet as well. And you shouldn’t.

        You might be getting some, but you are pushing the majority back into your ear. It’s probably why you feel like you must keep cleaning them, because it’s never actually getting out. Eventually you’ll get a clogged ear, and if you haven’t experienced that yet, it fuckin sucks.

        Your ear will naturally push the earwax out. Think of your ear as a conveyor belt. When new skin is made it pushes the earwax down the ear canals.

        Best thing to do is wash and clean the outside of your ears well everyday. You can use a Q-tip for that. Listen to music at a reasonable level, wear ear protection at concerts, and try to give your ears a break from headphones and earphones periodically.

        If it’s really bothering you, get some hydrogen peroxide or ear wax remover and put it in your ear for like 10 minutes. Then use a hand bulb with warm water. Don’t do this all the time though.

        • david@feddit.ukEnglish
          2·
          7 months ago

          I was experiencing some slight hearing loss because of a noisy environment at work. The audiologist looked in my ears and said she was worried that I might have done compacted earwax and asked if I used Q-tips. I sometimes did. She told me to stop and to clean them out by putting olive oil in each one, holding it for a while then letting it run out into tissue paper. I can’t remember how much or for how long, but it definitely did the trick.

          I can relate to the picture, very much, even though I don’t use Q-tips any more.

          I use drummer’s ear buds now and they’re great because my hearing recovered quite a lot, the tinnitus went away entirely and I can hear what people are saying when I’m wearing them.

      • otp@sh.itjust.works
        4·
        7 months ago

        Another person with wet earwax. I found a product that’s like a little scoop that I use instead. Wash it and reuse it a few times, not one and done like Q-Tips.

        Clinere or something like that? I dunno, I’m not a shill. Just find something for cleaning ears that’s like a scoop instead of like a baseball bat…

      • shinratdr@lemmy.ca
        3·
        7 months ago

        Yeah I think it really depends on the type and consistency of your earwax. I’ve been using Q-Tips deep in my ears for my whole life, I assumed now at 32 I had impacted my hearing and had a treasure trove in there, so I bought one of those $20 WiFi ear cams with a scoop you can get from Amazon.

        So disappointed, they were sparkling clean. Turns out my ears ARE effectively self cleaning which is why I use the Q-Tips, it helps clean out what my ears have already started ejecting, because that process is wet and itchy.

      • MonkderDritte@feddit.de
        1·
        7 months ago

        There’s evidence that manually cleaning earwax stimulates production of even more earwax (plus pieces of wool). Though i guess there’s cases where the self-cleaning function of the ear isn’t as effective. Showering in your ear doesn’t help?