I clean my ears a couple times per week. Your last cleaning was a few months ago, you are overdue for a good cleaning. :-) "Can too much earwax cause ringing in ears? Earwax Buildup & Blockage. Earwax, also called cerumen, is made by the body to protect the ears. The ear wax has both lubricating and antibacterial properties. Untreated buildup can lead to hearing loss, irritation, pain in the ear, dizziness, ringing in the ears and other problems."

"What are the symptoms of earwax buildup and blockage?

Symptoms of this condition include:

• A feeling of fullness in the ear.
• Pain in the ear.
• Difficulty hearing, which may continue to worsen.
• Ringing in the ear (tinnitus).
• A feeling of itchiness in the ear.
• Discharge or odor coming from the ear.
• Dizziness."

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14428-ear-wax-buildup--blockage

I don't form much wax in my ears, proven during a visit to an MD last week. Yet, I have had instances where I, too, felt a loss of hearing and a loud 'ringing' -- much greater than the 'chirping birds' sound of my tinnitus. It diminished by itself and I could hear again.

What do you do as a home remedy? I was worried when I had the left ear "done" at the doctor's because for the first time there was a three-page form to fill out and I was worrying she would perforate my eardrum. The reason this is peculiar is that both ears closed at the same time when the day before all was fine. I have always had tinnitus and both kids say they have too. My doctor was encouraging me to use peroxide in my ears because frankly, I don't think they want to do it. I have not had covid and I have zero other symptoms so I wouldn't think that was the reason.

I have 7 pcs ear pick erawax removal kit from Amazon. Walmart has ear pick kits too for $6.98.

I have a lifelong practice of using what used to be called Q-Tips. Most sold now have cardboard or plastic sticks instead of wooden ones and they're useless for this task. I find ones with bamboo sticks work okay but they're a bit more prone to snapping so I use them cautiously. One can still find wood ones with 6 inch long sticks but I haven't purchased those, the longer stem would be of no use.

Sometimes allergies will cause fullness in the ear - with both ears affected, that’s what I’d suspect

I tend to agree with Olychick.

For a couple years I was seeing my ENT every 6 months for buildup in my left ear. Never effected my right. It's been well over a year now (knock on wood) since I've had a problem.

Q-Tips. Then put mineral oil...or baby oil on the tip. The oil helps pick up the ear wax. Clean often.

nicole, doing it right after a shower works well for me with nothing put on the swab. I'm not sure why after removing wax I'd want to put oil on the skin in the passage.

@Elmer J Fudd....the oil is soothing and moisturizers the skin. I clean the whole outside ear too. The oil is also a solvent/emulsifier....when I was a kid, doctors would ask parents to soak cotton balls in mineral oil, stuff them in a kids ear....leave them overnight to soften and break up the ear wax. Note: It wasn't MY idea to use oil... :0) Also as a diver...we use one part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water to dry up water in an ear. Cleaning ears is a must-do if diving. Seasoned divers, like myself, wiggle their ears, feels like it's on the inside when I do it... when descending to equalize pressure. No holding your nose. :0) Can't do that if ears are full of wax.

Quote: Mineral oil works by turning hard wax and dry wax into a soft liquid substance. This allows the wax to drain from the ear on its own.

The issue can be not in the outer ear but the inner ear. You can get a build up of fluid if the ear is not draining properly. For me it is salt. Too much salt in my diet can set off an episode of more tinnitus than usual, the bubble wrap sounds, muffling and so forth. Flushing your ears with warm water or peroxide, drying drops. Your doctor ought to be able to help. If I dont pay attention I end up with a bad case of vertigo in addition to the muffled hearing. The worst.

Yes Lili, I've experienced this sensation now and then for much of my life; the incidents usually last 5-10 seconds. I never know when it will come on.

I always had history trouble with wax in one ear and not the other. It would get so bad that it was hard to hear and would have ringing. Doctor removed wax and told me what to do to eliminate the problem. I have been doing his solution for over 10 years and now do not have a wax problem in that ear.

He told me once a week to apply a drop or two of baby oil in my ear after a shower. Then I lay on my side for 20 minutes to allow time for the oil to soak in the ear.

I have had wax built-up constantly in that one ear for over 50 years and would go to doctor from time to time to remove it. Now never a problem since I have been doing the baby oil.

I have had tinnitus in one ear for many, many years. However, in 2005, I started new sounds in both ears (it is as though I am in a cheap motel and the folks in the next room have news on very loud - voices mumbling).

I have been to several ENT people and they all say something along the line of, "Can't do anything, learn to live with it."

No wax, nothing else visible. It is a neurological issue that cannot be addressed in a simple manner. I wear hearing aids in both ears and those do not diminish anything. The missus does not really understand why I cannot hear her all the time (too much tinnitus going on!).

When it gets like you're describing I take a cotton ball, soak it in hydrogen peroxide, and then stuff it into my ear, while lying on my side. For a minute or two. Take it out, roll to other side, and then dry it. Do it to the alternate ear and I'm done. My physician always comments on how clean they are. You don't need all the appointment stuff and specialized cleaners, just maintain them. It's easy :)

When our kids were young our pediatrician told us/our kids, a good rule of thumb is never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear 🤷‍♀️.

I have this happen too Lily. I attribute mine to allergies, horrible sinuses. I take sudafed, use alcohol and a 50/50 water peroxide mixture.

I also notice it happens with a change in the weather. When there's a big change in the barometric pressure my head/ears/sinuses really go nuts.

A lesson I learned years ago was to not blow my nose immediately after getting out of the shower. Blowing my nose would end up sucking any water in my ear canal even deeper into my ear. Now I'll take a kleenex tissue, twist one corner into a skinny tip and gently insert it into my ear. The tip acts like a wick/sponge and removes the water from my ear canal before I blow my nose. This simple step has saved me many an earache which in the past had dominated my left ear. I too have tinnitus but there's not much that can be done to resolve that. As far as Q-tips go, I believe that even the manufacturer does not recommend sticking them deep into your ear canal.

I have another sinus tip... vgkg, I learned that when I use my nasal rinse, in order to blow my nose without stopping up my ears, bend over. It takes the pressure off and gets any remaining stuff out. You might try this next time. I'm very experienced at this sinus stuff. delicate things these holes in our heads.

FWIW:

https://consumerist.com/2017/05/08/cotton-swab-injuries-send-12500-kids-to-hospital-each-year/

Many products have use warnings. They're as much for the protection of the products' producers as for the users. Anytime someone learns something new from one of them, they should probably not use the product at all.

I use q-tip like products. If I don't my ears itch like crazy. I even take them on vacation in a baggy. I've never had ear wax issues. I suppose some people are just more prone to it. I also didn't know until recently that Japanese people apparently have more dry wax and other nationalities have the wet kind. I have both but not an overabundance of either. I'm half Japanese.

I use q-tips too. I would never use them on a child, but a careful adult cleaning their own ears should be fine. I use them after I shower and like Kathsgarden my ears feel itchy if I don't.

Only 2 things are regularly stuck into my ears - earbuds and foam earplugs.

I do sometimes use a cotton swab to remove water from inside my ears, not twirling it around, just gently inserting it a little ways in, with my head tilted to one side to help the water come out.

When my ears get itchy, I rub them from the outside, pushing the ear canal closed.

My mom had problems with earwax, affecting her hearing, and had to have it removed regularly by her ENT Dr. - he's the one who recommended the Debrox for maintenance - and it really worked well too.

As I mentioned before, I've been using cotton swabs with bamboo sticks - I buy them from Amazon. I find the plastic and cardboard sticks more commonly found to be of no use, too flimsy to exert any pressure with.

What products or sources are other "Q-Tip" users finding to be a reasonable substitute for a wooden stick?

I’m not a big fan of Dr. Oz, but one day i was watching his show and they had someone using a turkebaster with warm water to clean their ears. Bought myself a cheap plastic one from Walmart and take it and a plastic cup into the shower! Fill the baster with warm water and GENTLY spray water into ear, maybe 2 or 3 times. Haven’t had to have Dr. office clean out my ears since! Been doing this for at least 5 years now!

Elmer, I stocked up. 😆 I couldnt find a reasonable substitite either. Then one day I found a vendor selling the old fashioned wood q-tips a few years ago on Amazon, and after buying one box to make sure they were good I bought another 15 boxes. I may be dead before I run out. 😆

Elmer, I use Equate brand from Wal-mart. They don't bend like the plastic ones.

haha patrice, I've done that with a few items myself, some being consumable and breakable items of limited life that were expensive. And I too now find that my "snatch up what's left" conduct, dating back 10 years or so for one particular thing, has left me with an oversupply that I won't get through. But I didn't do that for wooden stick cotton swabs.

Thanks kathsgrdn. Are the stems of that product rigid? Made of plastic? I don't normally shop at Walmart but I maybe should give them a try.

I never use Qtips but found some in the house. I put mineral oil on the end and gently twisted it in my ears. They came out totally pristine white with no wax and now my 'good' ear is clogged up worse than before. I say good ear because the left one is the one that gets wax buildup. I've never had problems with the now totally clogged right ear. Since both ears clogged almost at the same time I don't think wax is the problem. It's like pressure-related like going up a mountain.>>>>

Edited to add. I think it's a eustachian tube problem. I never have wax buildup in the right ear which has the worse blockage now. And since it's come on quickly in both ears, I think it has to be that. I have no allergies, no colds, or any sickness so it's a dilemma. I do have TMJ and when I move my jaw it crackles on the right side.

Elmer, they are cardboard? Very rigid. I also realized the last ones I bought were Qtip brand and are hard cardboard sticks.

So sorry you're going through this, lily. Are you able to get to a Dr. to have it checked out?

Thanks kthsgrdn.