ear wax and ear plugs

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I wear ear plugs pretty much daily and I've noticed I haven't really had to use q tips for my ears because every time I do there isn't really anything on them. I guess the ear plugs pull the earwax out when you use them?
 
I had just the opposite experience when using ear plugs daily in 19 years of power plant work. It tended to pack gunk and wax into my ears where I would need to flush out my ears once or twice per year. I'd sometimes lose hearing in one ear due to excessive wax/dirt/ash build up.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I had just the opposite experience when using ear plugs daily in 19 years of power plant work. It tended to pack gunk and wax into my ears where I would need to flush out my ears once or twice per year. I'd sometimes lose hearing in one ear due to excessive wax/dirt/ash build up.

Same experience working a factory for 60 hours a week. I figured out I had a problem when I went swimming one day and the water would not come out of my right ear. After 24 hours with water in my ear I decided I had to have it flushed before I got an infection.
It was gross.
 
I use those green foam ones at work and they clean my ears good. After two days off there's just a little wax on them. If I use qtips after wearing the ear plugs there's nothing on them.

Keep in mind most people won't wear ear plugs correctly so if you don't push them in correctly they won't grab any wax. Most of the people I work with wear them incorrectly
 
I worked in an Occ-med clinic and dealt with a lot of guys with gunked up ears when doing hearing tests. They all wore ear plugs, some had clean ears, some had to be sent to the Dr to get cleaned out if I could not. That is one smell I don't miss, peroxide and earwax smell horrible.
Some people produce more ear wax than others, earplugs really don't make a huge difference.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I use those green foam ones at work and they clean my ears good. After two days off there's just a little wax on them. If I use qtips after wearing the ear plugs there's nothing on them.

Keep in mind most people won't wear ear plugs correctly so if you don't push them in correctly they won't grab any wax. Most of the people I work with wear them incorrectly


You mean they just shove them in which pushes the earwax into the ear vs rolling them and pulling your ear back opening the ear canal? I guess that way it's only pulling it out when you pull them out.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Also depends on the type of earwax you have, which is a inherited trait. Some types are drier and wont stick to the plug all that well.


I have E- ear wax, and so does my Dad. Our earwax sticks to ear plugs. I always thought it was our diet/environment. But yea I guess this makes sense.
 
After playing with a new bore scope at home, and checking out my ear drums (I always clean my ears with q-tips after a shower) I was grossed to see wax clumps around my ear drum. I went to walgreens and all the ear cleaning solution had the same ingredient. Put some drops in, let it sit for a while, then use water to flush it out. Painless, and very surprisingly I could hear sounds much louder when I went back outside. There was only a relatively small amount of wax on the edges of my ear drum. Now this is on my to-list along with changing my oil.....
 
I know people who have to go to an ear cleaner doctor who removes a marble of wax from their canals.
The term marble come from the loud, hard bang the wax plug makes when it hits the garbage can.
I'm thinking of going just to see if my canals are clear.
 
Originally Posted By: blupupher
....Some people produce more ear wax than others, earplugs really don't make a huge difference.


I'd agree with this. I'm definitely on the producing "more" side. The first time I lost hearing in one ear due to wax I went to see an ear specialist who charged me $125 to spend 15 seconds sucking out the wax with a vacuum device. Since then, I can spend 15-30 minutes at home with Peroxide (softener) and an ear syringe to get it out. Might take 1-3 dozen 5 second flushes. No matter how badly blocked, you can do it yourself.
 
Keep in mind that no doctor will suggest to use a Q-tip to try and clean inside your ear. The inside part of your ear is very delicate and is only 3 layers of skin cells deep. Use a face cloth and what ever wipes off is clean enough.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I had just the opposite experience when using ear plugs daily in 19 years of power plant work. It tended to pack gunk and wax into my ears where I would need to flush out my ears once or twice per year. I'd sometimes lose hearing in one ear due to excessive wax/dirt/ash build up.

Same here. Some are prone to ear wax more than others.
 
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