The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
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Notes -
My wireless in-ears got clogged with wax, disturbing the stereo balance, and after trying to clean it out with a q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol, I decided it was a shame to let it go to waste and then cleaned my ear canals out with it.
In hindsight, this was a pretty bad decision, my ears ache, and I think I might have caused local irritation or even a mild infection. I didn't expect that to happen, I've done it before with no real issue, but..
Fuck me, if putting q-tips in there is bad for me, why does it feel so right? At least without the alcohol..
Once you syringe your ears, you never go back. Q tips don’t get out the deep level wax.
Why do I want to get out the deep level wax? If I need a syringe to remove something that healthy bodies develop normally, I tend to assume that I shouldn't remove it.
Short Version: YES CHAD
Long Version: Your body has a natural process for managing the wax, and it is present for a reason, the absence of it has risks and the removal process has risks (even with liquid irrigation), for this reason it isn't recommended to due it anymore than necessary.........but it is a popular request.
For a few reasons (run of the mill buildup, a foreign body, leftover debris from an infection, shitty anatomy like narrow canals ) you can get buildup that can feel uncomfortable, be painful, create pressure on other structures.....or most commonly cause reduction in ability to hear (very common in the elderly).
It also tends to just FEEL good in the way that a lot of self care does. Ultimately you aren't supposed to do it very often.
Protip: if you are worried about wax build up impacting your hearing an easy way to check is to rub your fingers together close to each ear. If the sound level is different something is likely going down (if it's the same it could still be wax build up but the issue is more commonly expressed heavier on one side than the other).
Also human if you read this come on bruh. Terrible idea.
The main thing for me is that one of my ear canals has a tendency to have the ear wax slightly come loose, loose enough that I can hear crackling when I walk or chew, but not so loose that I can get it out either through hopping or my pinkie finger, which usually just packs it in harder, only to come loose later as I walk. I either have to use a Q-tip or just tolerate the crackling sound (which isn't actually all that bad, since I'm not walking or chewing most of the time).
The rule of thumb is dont put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear (aka don't put shit in your ear). Officially you should talk to your doctor about this, unofficially depending on what's going on and your anatomy (including the earwax type) you might have luck with using something like Debrox, which is available over the counter in the U.S.
If you have a history of ear infections or anything else like that then have caution.
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