Ear Wax and Apnea

[purple]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

[49er]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

Due to narrow ear canals, have faced this problem long before sleep apnea ever was an issue. Haven't noticed pap therapy making things worse except perhaps when I recently had a cold. Then my ears seemed to slightly hurt but it quickly went away once I recovered.

49er

[chunkyfrog]

Purple, have you been to an ENT?
Afterwards, you may wonder why you waited so long.
A PCP is not an ear doctor.

[TyroneShoes]

Also, blowing the wax out with water is a second-rate solution.

I travel some distance to my ENT because he has an Ecleris machine that actually sucks the wax out.

Water in your ears is not a death sentence, but it is also something you never want. If you have wax buildup, little tide pools can form where nasty stuff can grow and even puncture your eardrum.

Of course if all of the wax is blown out with water, it is probably not likely that this would happen, but those do-it-yourself Elephant Ear washers are a $30 trip to potential trouble, and they would be a distant third choice.

I had wax issues every 3-4 months, bacterial infections, fungal infections (from too much bacterial medicine), and to top it off, a punctured eardrum from the bacterial infection, all of which took many weeks to get over, with temp significant hearing loss. Not fun. I had $500 in non-generics and copays to boot.

But now I shower with $3 moldable earplugs that you can roll into a ball, and hold my fingers over them when washing my hair. All problems have since gone completely away. If a stray drop or two gets in there, 20 secs with a hairdryer on low fixes that.

We do not need to wash out our ears. That is what the wax is there for, to gently push debris out, sort of like a glacier moves. But if there is water involved, then the wax never dries out and loses its ability to flake off and shed naturally, and you end up with a gooey, sticky, disgusting mess, and you can't hear.

But if you need wax removed, having a ENT with a machine that gently sucks it out is not only safer and quicker (and a lot less messy), its a lot more comfortable.

[msla]

I know I need to see the PA at the ENT office when the Wax traps in my hearing aids gets plugged with wax. They use a forceps and there is no discomfort. One time the nurse in the PC office tried to wash it out. I was crawling the ceiling in agony.

[Paralel]

Ear wax has nothing to do with sleep apnea, period, full stop, end of story. The outer ear is completely sealed off, water tight, from the middle and inner ear. There is absolutely no natural physical communication between the outer ear and any part of the body involving sleep apnea.



As you can see above, the eardrum, also known as the tympanic membrane, completely seals the outer ear off from everything else. The outer ear is essentially a blind pouch.

[chunkyfrog]

I think it is time for a visit to an ENT. Get a referral, if necessary,
but having the PCP handle a complex problem like yours is akin to
letting a Boy Scout perform an appendectomy.

[mgaggie]

There is no way, when hell freezes over will I ever let anyone syringe my ears. The most god awful pain I've ever experienced in my life. Not only did it perforate my ear drum I also got an ear infection which knocked me flat for two weeks and after that two weeks I was taken to an ENT and he removed pus and blood. It took nearly a month and a half for my hearing to get back to what is normal for me. I have been unfortunate to have many infections and ear drums bursts when I was a child which has now resulted in extensive scarring.

I will now only let an ENT remove ear wax with their little hook thingys (yes that is a technical term )

If your ear drum is perforated you can experience the unfortunate occurrence of being able to taste ear-drops, and let me tell you they taste nasty. I have also had my left ear drum perforated by my cpap machine, when the fools set it to a high pressure (17).

I do not think my ear problems and ear wax are caused by apnea, as I've had these problems WAY before I ever developed apnea

[Wulfman...]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

The subject of ear wax increasing has come up occasionally on the forum over the years.
I also had a nurse tell me that I had "strange" ear canals, too.

I try to keep mine clear, otherwise it will build up.


Den

.

[49er]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

The subject of ear wax increasing has come up occasionally on the forum over the years.
I also had a nurse tell me that I had "strange" ear canals, too.

I try to keep mine clear, otherwise it will build up.


Den

.

Hi Den,

How do you do it? I tried using Debrox and made things worse.

49er

[purple]

I meant was, just as sleep apnea is often related to the physical shape of our heads, some of us might also have some strange shapes in other areas related to Ears Nose Throat, which might relate to pain or unusual things. And for the record, a the Eustachian tube is connected to my airways. Strange things might happen. Ear Wax not being driven by Sleep Apnea, but rather, a closed ear canal (Ear Wax or whatever) combined with other things, might cause pain, popping in ears, and so on. Thanks to others for pointing out I was imprecise in stating my original thoughts. Just as well, wanted to stimulate others to tell of their experiences. Seems no one has ear issues or strangeness related to apnea, but some of us have Ear related issues.

[Wulfman...]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

The subject of ear wax increasing has come up occasionally on the forum over the years.
I also had a nurse tell me that I had "strange" ear canals, too.

I try to keep mine clear, otherwise it will build up.


Den

.

Hi Den,

How do you do it? I tried using Debrox and made things worse.

49er

About twice a week, after a hot shower, I use a (hot/wet) Q-Tip and gently swab out each ear canal. If there's been too much buildup and doesn't come out easily, I'll use an "ear bulb" and squirt some warm water in there or use Debrox or ERO (those last options don't happen often, but once in a great while).


Den

.

[49er]

A few days ago I went to see my PCP, who decided I had Ear Wax blocking my ear canal. On trying to wash it out, She says the shape of the inside ear canal is not straight in. No more boring stories about me.

Since Eustachian tube blockages might be causing the pain I have, I wondered how others are faring on this issue, since Sleep Apnea treatment puts pressure in unusual ways.

The subject of ear wax increasing has come up occasionally on the forum over the years.
I also had a nurse tell me that I had "strange" ear canals, too.

I try to keep mine clear, otherwise it will build up.


Den

.

Hi Den,

How do you do it? I tried using Debrox and made things worse.

49er

About twice a week, after a hot shower, I use a (hot/wet) Q-Tip and gently swab out each ear canal. If there's been too much buildup and doesn't come out easily, I'll use an "ear bulb" and squirt some warm water in there or use Debrox or ERO (those last options don't happen often, but once in a great while).


Den

.

Thanks Den. I thought using a a Q-tip was not advised as the thought was it pushes the wax further into the ear?

[Wulfman...]

I meant was, just as sleep apnea is often related to the physical shape of our heads, some of us might also have some strange shapes in other areas related to Ears Nose Throat, which might relate to pain or unusual things. And for the record, a the Eustachian tube is connected to my airways. Strange things might happen. Ear Wax not being driven by Sleep Apnea, but rather, a closed ear canal (Ear Wax or whatever) combined with other things, might cause pain, popping in ears, and so on. Thanks to others for pointing out I was imprecise in stating my original thoughts. Just as well, wanted to stimulate others to tell of their experiences. Seems no one has ear issues or strangeness related to apnea, but some of us have Ear related issues.

From those other discussions on the forum and from my own experience, the general consensus was that the amount of ear wax had increased with the use of this therapy. I don't actually recall posting in those other discussions, but I remember reading some of them.
I just never thought (previously) that MY ear wax was anybody else's business......


Den

.

[Wulfman...]

Thanks Den. I thought using a a Q-tip was not advised as the thought was it pushes the wax further into the ear?

It's not. But, I used the word "gently" in my post and am very careful when I do so. So far, no problems. That's why I do it once or twice a week......to try to remove it before it builds up and solidifies.


Den

.