strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff

But Little Jackie Paper didn't bring me sealing wax. He might have brought me the excess ear wax that I've had to deal with lately. (eeeuuuuwww) Don't worry, this time there won't be any pictures to gross everyone out. (whew!)

Recently, the hearing in my right ear had become significantly worse. My hearing aid helped but it still sounded to me like the canal was plugged up. Carolyn volunteered to help and, with the aid of several Q-tips was able to get a lot of wax out. But it still felt and sounded plugged. I remembered my mother using Hydrogen Peroxide to loosen ear wax so we tried that. When Carolyn dropped a couple of drops in, with all the snaps and pops, it sure sounded like it was working. And we were able to get more wax out. It felt like I was hearing better, too. Still, I thought it might be a good time to get an updated hearing test.

At the hearing exam I was ushered into the sound booth after we figured out what to do with Matilda, my walker (you know... "walking Matilda, walking Matilda, you'll come a walking Matilda with me...). Melissa, the tech, sounding almost apologetic said she'd have to make sure I didn't have any wax in my ears. "Oooooh," she said, "problem. Let's check the other side. Yep, same problem. Let me get my tools." The last was said with a little bit of glee, like she doesn't get a chance to use her tools much.

Melissa returned with a small packet of tools, the main one being a pick with a 4 inch handle and a 3 inch probe ending in a sharp circular blade. It looked like she could go all the way into the brain if necessary. But unfortunately, the wax was mightier than the probe. Melissa apologized immensely then went about setting up another appointment for me with the Head and Neck specialists in the hospital office building. And about 24 hours later I was again sitting in a medical recliner with a nurse this time looking down my ear canals. A few quick looks, a couple of probing stabs and questioned looks. I filled her in on what Carolyn and I had done so far. The nurse looked like she'd seen a ghost (and not the one taped onto the door in time for Halloween.) "Just a minute," she said and walked out hurriedly.

Soon the nurse returned with a nice-looking young man in tow. "This is Dr. Kwa," she said and explained that we were lucky he was around. Without further ado, he had me lie on the examining table and brought a machine close to my head. He pushed the machine against my ear and I began hearing loud sounds. As near as I could tell the nurse was dripping mineral oil into myear, the Dr. scraped the oil into the wax, then he would vacuum the loose wax and oil up and out of my ear. In less time than it takes to explain it, Dr. Kwa had cleared my ears of all accumulated earwax.

On my way out I was handed a single sheet of paper describing what one should do with accumulated ear wax. In part it reads

. . .if you have a problem and you know that there is no hole in your eardrum, you ca put two or three drops of Mineral Oil or a commercial preparation called Debrox in your ear at bedtime. Repeaet for 2 or 3 days and the wax will usually come out on its own.

NEVER attempt to remove earwax yourself. NEVER put Q-tips, hairpins, matches, or any other objects in your ears. This could damage the ear or push the wax further in and cause an infection. NEVER put water in your ears on purpose.. . .

Now I have very clear ear canals and I'm still waiting for a hearing test.