Earwax Buildup

I was going to blog about my car's terrible fate, but it seems insensitive in light of the tragedy in Japan. Why should I be sad about losing a car when others lost everything? So, instead, I'm going to blog about earwax. Yes, earwax.

I remember saying "do you have an earwax buildup?" when I was a teenager. My friends and I just thought it was a funny thing to say when someone couldn't hear something. I never knew that earwax could actually build up to the point where it affected your hearing. But it can, and it did.

For about two weeks, I've been feeling increased pressure in my right ear, and if I was lying in bed on my left side (I am a side sleeper), I couldn't hear anything. I had this problem once before, but it cleared up on its own. I kept thinking it would do that this time, but it didn't. It got worse.

By the beginning of this week, it had spread to both ears, and was still getting worse. I had the TV turned up to 34, and I didn't hear the door when my husband came into the apartment. My mom thought it might be allergy-related, so when I went to see her on Sunday, she sent me home with Zyrtec. When I finally went to bed at 1:00 am (spring break!), all the Zyrtec accomplished was knocking me out for twelve hours.

Last night I went to Bible Study, and had barely gotten in the door before I was asking friends to repeat themselves. I nodded my way through most of the conversation, imitating what my grandfather does. There was a cat outside, apparently, that my friends kept saying was yowling. When I admitted that I couldn't hear the cat at all, my friends told me to go to the doctor. This sentiment was later echoed by my husband when he realized how loud the TV had been turned up.

I went to the walk-in clinic today, lacking the energy to make an actual appointment. After sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, I finally saw a doctor, who looked in my ears and proclaimed them "all the way blocked" and in need of being "washed out." I had no idea this was something one could actually have done at a doctor's office.

Only one nurse in the place was willing to take on the task, since even among medical professionals, earwax is considered pretty darn gross. And it was pretty gross, to see the water and peroxide she pumped in with a heavy duty syringe type shooter (I do not know the proper terminology) come out BROWN. And it took several times, but finally she pulled out what-- I kid you not-- looked like a small animal.

And that's when I was struck by how LOUD everything seemed. On the drive home, I could hear not only the engine running, but the wind blowing, and then I came into my apartment and heard a clock ticking. I can't remember the last time the clock was audible. My earwax had to have been building up for some time. When I turn my head, I can hear my hair move. This is a very weird feeling.

In conclusion, kids: clean your ears on a regular basis, with chemicals if necessary. Earwax buildups are not a joke.