Ear suddenly feels clogged

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, I had this exact issue two weeks ago. No other cold symptoms or fever, but my ear had a "full" and clogged-up feeling. I went to urgent care because I thought it might be an infection. It turned out to be wax buildup; they flushed it out with water - a slightly uncomfortable procedure, but which fixed the problem pretty much immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I had this exact issue two weeks ago. No other cold symptoms or fever, but my ear had a "full" and clogged-up feeling. I went to urgent care because I thought it might be an infection. It turned out to be wax buildup; they flushed it out with water - a slightly uncomfortable procedure, but which fixed the problem pretty much immediately.

OP here - yup! I just went to Minute Clinic, and they could not see my ear drum due to wax (gross). They had no time in the schedule to flush it out, so now I’m at urgent care. Had the wax buildup caused you any pain, before they flushed it out?

[Anonymous]

So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

NP. Once it gets that impacted, it's really probably best to be done by a professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

I want to rule out infection. I can’t do that myself, I need a health care practitioner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I had this exact issue two weeks ago. No other cold symptoms or fever, but my ear had a "full" and clogged-up feeling. I went to urgent care because I thought it might be an infection. It turned out to be wax buildup; they flushed it out with water - a slightly uncomfortable procedure, but which fixed the problem pretty much immediately.

OP here - yup! I just went to Minute Clinic, and they could not see my ear drum due to wax (gross). They had no time in the schedule to flush it out, so now I’m at urgent care. Had the wax buildup caused you any pain, before they flushed it out?

Yes, it was painful and uncomfortable. Not all the time… the discomfort came and went. But it was enough where I was thinking it was infected.

[Anonymous]

OP here. They irrigated my ear. Such a relief! I can hear again! And the doc was able to see my eardrum afterward and rule out infection.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They irrigated my ear. Such a relief! I can hear again! And the doc was able to see my eardrum afterward and rule out infection.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

Well lookie there! It wasn't Covid after all! Imagine that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They irrigated my ear. Such a relief! I can hear again! And the doc was able to see my eardrum afterward and rule out infection.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

Well lookie there! It wasn't Covid after all! Imagine that.

It could have been COVID. Turns out it was not. Which is good. People still get COVID everyday. For some people, the first symptom is clogged ears.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, I had this exact issue two weeks ago. No other cold symptoms or fever, but my ear had a "full" and clogged-up feeling. I went to urgent care because I thought it might be an infection. It turned out to be wax buildup; they flushed it out with water - a slightly uncomfortable procedure, but which fixed the problem pretty much immediately.

OP here - yup! I just went to Minute Clinic, and they could not see my ear drum due to wax (gross). They had no time in the schedule to flush it out, so now I’m at urgent care. Had the wax buildup caused you any pain, before they flushed it out?

No time in the schedule? I'd never go back to that Minute Clinic. It's a very quick procedure. And if they don't want to be bothered to find the irrigator, they can just use a curette to remove the wax by hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They irrigated my ear. Such a relief! I can hear again! And the doc was able to see my eardrum afterward and rule out infection.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

Well lookie there! It wasn't Covid after all! Imagine that.

It could have been COVID. Turns out it was not. Which is good. People still get COVID everyday. For some people, the first symptom is clogged ears.

Lol. Maybe covid caused the wax. Or better yet, maybe it's a symptom of long covid from a past infection!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

NP. Once it gets that impacted, it's really probably best to be done by a professional.

"That impacted"?

Oh honey, are you the sort of person that goes to the ER for a hangnail, too?

Don't get me wrong, when I was in college I would pop over to student health to have them do this for me, but it would literally be a 10 minute diversion. Once I had a bathroom if my own it became much easier and faster to just buy a large bulb syringe at CVS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

NP. Once it gets that impacted, it's really probably best to be done by a professional.

"That impacted"?

Oh honey, are you the sort of person that goes to the ER for a hangnail, too?

Don't get me wrong, when I was in college I would pop over to student health to have them do this for me, but it would literally be a 10 minute diversion. Once I had a bathroom if my own it became much easier and faster to just buy a large bulb syringe at CVS.

Don't be a dick. When I worked in the ER, we removed impacted ear wax all the time. If it's really impacted, it takes way more than a large bulb syringe. Perfectly appropriate to go to urgent care to have this addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. They irrigated my ear. Such a relief! I can hear again! And the doc was able to see my eardrum afterward and rule out infection.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

Well lookie there! It wasn't Covid after all! Imagine that.

It could have been COVID. Turns out it was not. Which is good. People still get COVID everyday. For some people, the first symptom is clogged ears.

Lol. Maybe covid caused the wax. Or better yet, maybe it's a symptom of long covid from a past infection!

What on Earth about the comment you responded to was funny or absurd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So your post has gotten to 6 pages with multiple posters telling you how you can flush wax at home for practically free, and you are going to 2 clinics for it? Why bother posting?

NP. Once it gets that impacted, it's really probably best to be done by a professional.

"That impacted"?

Oh honey, are you the sort of person that goes to the ER for a hangnail, too?

Don't get me wrong, when I was in college I would pop over to student health to have them do this for me, but it would literally be a 10 minute diversion. Once I had a bathroom if my own it became much easier and faster to just buy a large bulb syringe at CVS.

As one of several PPs who posted that they had “full ears” and now have hearing loss, you’re a real judgmental a**hole.