[byuu]

I lost hearing in my left ear for the same reason. Ear kept blocking up more and more frequently until it stayed permanently shut. Tried the store peroxide kits, they didn't work at all for me. It's such an unnerving experience because you really fear it's something permanent.

Finally got it cleaned out by a doctor, and just wow. It really is as if you have bionic hearing. Everything sounded enhanced, and had a lot of extra treble. Very much like you've turned up the volume by 50% or so. Things like the garage door opening became too loud to bear, and I had to cover my ears for it.

For a few days, I had wondered if this was how we were supposed to hear, and that my hearing was just impaired for a long time. But it quickly fades back to what you're used to as your ear builds up a normal, healthy amount of wax again. Still, for those brief few days, it's quite the experience.

[masklinn]

> But it quickly fades back to what you're used to as your ear builds up a normal, healthy amount of wax again.

No, it fades back because your brain re-adapts. It's somewhat similar to day/night vision, during blockage the ear/brain complex cranks up sensibility to try and hear things, once the ear's clean it dials back sensibility because there's no need for it.

There's no such thing as "heatlhy amount of wax" because it's not supposed to build up (let alone build up so much it block out the ear canal or presses against the eardrum, which is how it lowers hearing). Normally, earwax is secreted in the outer third of the ear and slowly travels outwards before flaking out.

(I say that being a frequent sufferer of accumulating and impacted earwax, earwax buildup is one of the banes of my existence)

[outworlder]

Yeah, me too.

Once my ear got clogged,as happened with the original poster. However, the auditory impairment was nowhere that much. It seems that, as long as there is a path to the outside, you can hear almost as well.

Once it happened, I now have to go to the doctor 2 - 4 times per year to get it cleaned. If I don't let it build up that much, then the cleaning is easy. And, as the doctor is a specialist, he will not use the syringe, unless as a last resort.