Once in a while, everyone wakes up and notices they cannot hear out of one of their ears, and whilst it can be concerning at first, it often quickly becomes evident that it is blocked up by earwax.
An excessive build-up of earwax is not uncommon, and most people will have a day when they feel a little clogged up.
Usually, this can be fixed in just a few minutes thanks to microsuction, and in quite a few cases, the earwax might even get rid of itself.
The ear consists of a sophisticated system of bodily functions designed to push earwax outside of the ear. Every time you yawn, chew or swallow, that causes the muscles near the eustachian tubes to move, opening the tubes themselves and pushing earwax down the ear canal.
Eventually, ear wax usually drops out, often without you even noticing!
Whilst you should try to avoid submerging your ear in water to avoid infections such as swimmer’s ear, small amounts of water will typically be absorbed or evaporated via body heat.
If you have no pain, very little discomfort and your ear has only recently become blocked, do not panic; your ear is already working to unblock itself, and you should feel some relief within a day or two.
However, not all blockages are equal, and there are some cases where your ear will not be able to unblock itself, requiring syringing, microsuction or even medication to fix.
The most common indication that you need to book a microsuction appointment is time.
If your ear has been clogged for at least a week with no improvement whatsoever, you may have impacted earwax or a more substantial blockage.
Other signs include:
- Persistent ringing
- Pain
- Dizziness
- Regular ear infections
- Issues relating to a recent ear injury
