Yay, 3rd ear inflammation coming up in 3 months!

[RobC]

Seriously, no clue what I'm doing wrong. Maybe that damn Dove cream (s)cum soap bar gets stuck? It's always my right ear.

My ear mildly hurts, it sounds a bit clogged. Definitely have a 5-10 kHz 12 dB/O LPF effect. If I press it, I hear that hiss already, which means things are already swelling.

It usually hurts like hell, ear swells up, the ear canal completely tightens up, and opening my jaw becomes a struggle, too.

No dental problems, it usually happens after washing my ears out. But only the right side.

I'm gonna try a vinegar and alcohol mixture treatment. Hopefully it kills off possible bacteria and prevents this shit. I'll try drinking some chamomille too.

If anyone knows something about the possible cause, let me know. I don't know wgy this is suddenly happening so frequently, and only on one ear.

Using in-ear monitors, having properly clean ears is a must. (No, I never use Q-tips.)

[PhillipOrdonez]

How do you wash them?

[MrFigg]

How do you wash them?

Quickly.

[PhillipOrdonez]

I really suggest you visit a specialist instead of putting alcohol in your ears

MrFigg: not too quickly I hope

[Bes]

this sounds awful, i have never liked using qtips or sticking anything in my ears. maybe stop using in-ear monitors for a while? good luck rob

[motuscott]

Alcohol sounds bad. I have used hydrogen peroxide and lived, but I know nothing.
Ears are too precious for interweb advice.

[PhillipOrdonez]

ENT time, baby

[Pepin]

You might want to look into TMJ, since you mention jaw involvement. It can cause a lot of ear symptoms (pain, feeling of pressure/fullness, and even tinnitus).
But first, see a doctor.

[Benedict]

Beer in the ear is probably not wise. (it rhymes)
Hydrogen peroxide can have purpose but again with care.

Soap and warm water can be fine. Or just warm water. BUT I have found that if I have a cold or underlying issue, washing in any way tend to create a problem. This means that if it keeps happening, it probably is time to a) stop doing that thing and b) go see a specialist.

As for ears needing washing, really it should not be needed seeing ears are constantly 'turning themselves inside out" moving the kin outwards constantly so unless there is something wrong, dead dinosaurs etc should drop out in a while.

[phobic]

As others have said, you need to see a Dr / specialist but it sounds to me like you've got a perforated ear drum in your right ear. If that's the case then you definitely do not want to start putting alcohol or vinegar anywhere near it. You will probably need a course of antibiotics to fight the infection and time (a few months) for it to heal. If it is infected and it's left unattended then it can potentially get worse, so please see a specialist asap.

[RobC]

How do you wash them?

Soap, warm water. I do my best, not to finger my ear holes too much, cause that can push water in; but I'm kind of paranoid about soap getting stuck, too. Maybe Dove's soap doesn't cause problems in the ear though.

I also submerged my head in water, so water got in my ear deeply.

[RobC]

I really suggest you visit a specialist instead of putting alcohol in your ears

MrFigg: not too quickly I hope

It was weekend, and I already did the treatment with a teaspoon of 70% alcohol, and another of 20% vinegar.
It does actually come from doctors, otherwise I wouldn't do it.
It cleaned it fairly well, and I managed to grab those bacteria by the balls! So my ear cured in a day.
Still a bit clogged though.

[RobC]

this sounds awful, i have never liked using qtips or sticking anything in my ears. maybe stop using in-ear monitors for a while? good luck rob

It's probably the swimmer's ear kind of thing. And yes, it was awful, and the treatment got really painful later, so I took a painkiller, too. It may sound crazy, and doctors do warn, that it might sting (vinegar + alcohol), especially if the ear is injured from a beginning infection - but it cured in 1 day instead of 10 days deafness and torture.

It's not the IEM's fault, but yeah, during such issues, IEMs and earbuds are out of the question. That said, I already was able to use earbuds yesterday night.

[RobC]

Alcohol sounds bad. I have used hydrogen peroxide and lived, but I know nothing.
Ears are too precious for interweb advice.

I learned it from doctor. Also, 20% vinegar and 70% alcohol (talking about concentration - ratio is 1:1) went in there. Of course, the skin peeled off next day, where it touched my ear, but it all cured. (Inside the ear, it can take this mixture, since it's... pretty protected in there, and acidy to begin with.)

[RobC]

You might want to look into TMJ, since you mention jaw involvement. It can cause a lot of ear symptoms (pain, feeling of pressure/fullness, and even tinnitus).
But first, see a doctor.

I will look it up, since I do have a whole orchestra of ringing booming, chirping, etc.
Luckily, it goes away with the tiniest sound, so it doesn't affect audio work at all.
That said, my tinnituses might be the result of nerve damage, or similar. Had it since forever. I was born blue, so that might have something to do with it.

[RobC]

Beer in the ear is probably not wise. (it rhymes)
Hydrogen peroxide can have purpose but again with care.

Soap and warm water can be fine. Or just warm water. BUT I have found that if I have a cold or underlying issue, washing in any way tend to create a problem. This means that if it keeps happening, it probably is time to a) stop doing that thing and b) go see a specialist.

As for ears needing washing, really it should not be needed seeing ears are constantly 'turning themselves inside out" moving the kin outwards constantly so unless there is something wrong, dead dinosaurs etc should drop out in a while.

Oh, I know beer is an oral medicine.

For me, water seems to get stuck. I also don't hear the upper octave properly, so maybe wax dried onto my eardrum. The vinegar and alcohol combination can't help that. That said, it could be that doctors don't exactly mean the clean alcohol (from pharmacy), but it's what I have. Close enough... x D
I'll probably get paraffin oil to loosen things up.

I probably won't let water fill my ear up. Should it still come back, then yes, time to visit a doctor.

Ah yes, I do wonder if maybe I have some things in my ear. I'm sober from using Qtips since ~ 5 years. But from the time before that, maybe some cotton is bedded in there.

[RobC]

As others have said, you need to see a Dr / specialist but it sounds to me like you've got a perforated ear drum in your right ear. If that's the case then you definitely do not want to start putting alcohol or vinegar anywhere near it. You will probably need a course of antibiotics to fight the infection and time (a few months) for it to heal. If it is infected and it's left unattended then it can potentially get worse, so please see a specialist asap.

I tried blowing through my sinuses, but my eardrums seem fine. Supposedly, if it's perforated, then air can pass through, which luckily isn't the case.
I managed to stop the beginning infection.
Luckily, this just seems like a swimmer's ear infection.
My hearing got better. Actually, even the ~10 kHz region is clearing up now.

But man, a month ago, it was pure hell. I always had to take 3 painkillers daily, and had a lot of chamomille.
I should have gotten antibiotics... It would have cured way faster.

Btw, this time, a bicycle ride and wind blowing in my ear didn't do any favors either. After I did the cleaning with the vinegar and alcohol mixture, 10 minutes later, it stung pretty badly, so I even had to take a painkiller (wich also is good against inflammation). But the next day, it was mostly cured. And on sunday, it was perfectly fine.
If I wouldn't have done the treatment, this sure would have ruined this month, too, keeping me in bed.