Advice please

[WTBmrBlonde]

Hi, in a nutshell I'm 38 and my ears have usually been fine, occasional infection but nothing major and no major trauma recently. Woke up about 3 weeks ago with ringing in left ear and uncomfortable feeling so presumed was an infection. Went to docs and they said it was just ear wax build up and to use olive oil spray/drops for a couple of weeks and to book an appointment to have them syringed. I've been doing that but with no improvement to the tinnitus, in fact it's gotten worse to the point where it woke me up last night at half 4 like something was squealing in my ear and I struggled to get back to sleep!

Went back to the docs today and explained what was happening and that I was concerned that the syringing could possibly make the tinnitus worse. He said I had to have them syringed as they are still blocked and that he would also prescribe me a nasal spray (Nasofan) to use for the next 6 weeks to help in case there was something wrong in my middle ear. He also asked me to see if I could make them pop by holding my nose and blowing, I couldn't in the surgery but I found I could afterwards.

Now, I've got the syringing appointment booked for tomorrow but I'm concerned that other people have had issues with their tinnitus being worse afterwards so I'm unsure what I should do.

If anyone has had a similar situation and can possibly offer any advise I'd greatly appreciate it. Like everyone who has this awful affliction I feel so down at the moment

Cheers,

Dan.

[NicBTA Partner]

Hello and welcome to the British Tinnitus Association forum.

Do feel free to ask any questions, I hope that you find this a helpful and supportive place to help you manage your tinnitus.

We have some resources that you might like to check out in addition to our home here:

tinnitus.org.uk

/ear-wax

takeontinnitus.co.uk

Helpline 0800 018 0527 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) (outside the UK you can call [phone])

Warmest wishes

Nic (BTA Communications Manager and Forum Administrator)

[agrajag36]

I went through this dilemma myself a few weeks ago. Sadly it looks like all wax removal methods run some risk of worsening tinnitus, small in theory. I delayed wax removal whilst finding an ENT to do this and considering the best method and got an outer ear infection whilst doing this which can also cause tinnitus so even the waiting option has risks

Syringing-rather than irrigation- is the riskiest. As for the others I've been told that with regard to the specific risk of worsening tinnitus, I've variously been told that gentle irrigation, micro-suctionimg or manual removal are the least likely to worsen tinnitus-different opinions from different people.

I had manual removal (with tools) and the tinnitus improved a bit..mostly in that I got my hearing back and it's getting partly masked by sounds. I'm 4 weeks post removal now. I was hoping it would go altogether-though one practitioner told me I still had a bit wax on the drum

It seems more usual for people who got tinnitus due to ear wax impaction to have it resolve within a few days or weeks of the removal though.

I recommend you pay for an ENT to remove the wax privately if you can. Otherwise avoid syringing which as I understand it is more risky than water irrigation and is rarely done now