[silence_of_stone]

some people's ears just produce more wax than other peoples ears. I am one of these unlucky souls who has to go to the doctor every couple of years to have mine cleaned.
1st noticed I couldnt hear when I was in Cancun once. I was swimming in the ocean a lot, and came out of the water just about completely deaf in one ear and muffled in the other. I was freaking out and needless to say it ruined the rest of my vacation. The water had caused the wax to expand, and cut off the rest of my ear canal.
I went to the Dr (ENT - Ear, Nose, Throat)and he came out with this thing that squirted warm water into my ears. Gross as it sounds, huge chuncks of that crap came out and suddenly it the world sounded like I was working in a cymbal-smith shop.
I walked out into a parking deck and the sudden surround-sound was freaky and almost made me dizzy and giddy. God only knows how long I had been walking around with only about 20 - 40% of my hearing.
I almost got rid of a perfect set of monitors because I kept thinking there was something wrong with the right one.
My mixes improved IMMEDIATLY. I also found that I could mix at lower levels and thereby get a better sound.
You speak the truth. Our ears are very very important to us as musicians and engineers. We need to take great care of them.
- don't use q-tips or cotton swabs. They push that crap farther down in the ear and it gets compacted, can cause trouble with the ear-drum.
- when taking a shower, let the water squirt into your ear gently...not enough to go all the way in, but just to flush out any ickiness in there.
- some doctors recommend putting a drop of mineral oil in the ear every so often to help the stuff come out. I personally don;t like to do this, but I hear it helps.
The $5 ear cleaners that come with the little bulb and the peroxide solution work ok, but if you are noticing hearing loss, and muffled sounds they may not work so well. If you have insurance, or access to a doctor, I recommend going to see a professional specialist. They have the tools to safely remove all of the buildup, and in removing it all, can prevent it from happening again on a large scale.
Sorry to ramble, but this was a really big deal with me a few years ago and even now.
Take care of your ears!
Dr Kev [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]