TheoBurke
614 posts
Mar 31, 2014
1:33 PM
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For reasons as yet unknown, I have lost most of the hearing in my right ear. I cannot play harmonica. This sucks. I suspect it's a build up of ear wax that'll get cleaned out, but Jesus, having it be physically uncomfortable to play the harp is a different kind of agony.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.coM
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jnorem
137 posts
Mar 31, 2014
1:46 PM
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I feel for you. When I had my lower wisdom teeth removed the dentist cut into a nerve, rendering my lower lip down to my chin completely numb. It was impossible to play the harmonica; I couldn't tell where I was on the thing. The numbness eventually went away, but I was in despair for a few months or so.
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Call me J
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bluemoose
967 posts
Mar 31, 2014
1:46 PM
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be VERY careful cleaning ears. Either your self or medical people. Too many tales of ruptured eardrums, etc.
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HawkeyeKane
2448 posts
Mar 31, 2014
1:48 PM
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I haven't lost hearing yet per se, but I'm kinda having similar difficulties of late, Ted. Came down with a nasty cough and cold two weeks ago, and I'm still on the mend from it. Last few days, I've had what feels like some kind of fluid buildup behind my right eardrum. I'll feel it bubble periodically when blowing my nose or blowing harp. Quite uncomfortable and it makes things sound out of pitch. Makes me wanna write a song titled "Bitch Outta Pitch Blues"
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
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Rubes
829 posts
Mar 31, 2014
2:13 PM
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Hey Theo..I surf a lot and as such often get the wax build up your possibly experiencing(not surf wax but general ocean-borne crud,not too far from the city). You can soften it up with some medications and then gently wash it out with a syringe filled with warm water! Sounds like fun huh!! :~}
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Last Edited by Rubes on Mar 31, 2014 2:14 PM
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NiteCrawler .
285 posts
Mar 31, 2014
3:16 PM
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Hey Ted,I had a situation with my ear around a year and a half ago.I tried over the counter ear wash,ear wicking etc. and finally went to an ear specialist and they washed it out with great results,funky wax,spackle dust,paint grind,etc because thats obviously what I do for a living.Anyway I told the young female intern that I had been playing electric music since 74 and she got worried with herself and insisted a hearing test at a later date.Anyway long story short she was surprized to find out after the testing that I had the hearing of an 8 yr old boy as she stated but did say it would be good for me to come in on a yearly cleaning($$ grabbing)basis.I actually for yrs always in the spring and fall would get clogged ears and an old timer told me that it was from the barometric pressure change in those seasons.Who knows I,m sure you will be just fine just take care of it sooner than later.BTW another reason why I can,t wear ear plugs when playing.
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TheoBurke
615 posts
Mar 31, 2014
3:33 PM
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I tried OTC remedies and such a few times for a couple of days, as directed, with marginal results, so I am seeing a medical professional tonight after work. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to deal with this and I'm sorry anyone has to.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.coM
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jbone
1576 posts
Mar 31, 2014
4:02 PM
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Good luck Theo. I began with a doc a few years ago and ended up at a e-e-n-t who diagnosed a ruptured drum. Which did heal. Since then I am much more careful but I also regularly use otc wax softener and rinsing. It works pretty well.
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nacoran
7668 posts
Mar 31, 2014
5:16 PM
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Bluemoose, yeah, I'm a statistic. I was using a q-tip to clean my ear when someone in the household asked me to hand them something. I left q-tip in my ear and handed them whatever it was, and reached back, but I misjudged the distance and smacked the end of the q-tip instead of gently grasping it. I ended up with a partially perforated eardrum. Fortunately, the damage wasn't permanent, but man did it hurt, and the drops I had to in my ear were a pain.
Theo, good luck. I have to take allergy medicine pretty much every day or I get stuffed up and my ears start popping and making everything sound weird. I guess that's more inner ear.
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TheoBurke
616 posts
Mar 31, 2014
8:40 PM
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Well, I followed BigAl's lead and went to the doctor after work; they were very nice and flushed out the ear but good. It was a double yuck to see what was dredged out of the channel. Anyway, my hearing is back to normal, such as it is, and all I can say is that I love the blues and I love being able to hear what I feel.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.coM
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STME58
716 posts
Mar 31, 2014
8:47 PM
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That is good news. I have enjoyed the videos you have posted and I would hate to see them stop. Stay healthy!
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Slimharp
299 posts
Mar 31, 2014
9:04 PM
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Theo, for future reference. About every 4 months I do the OTC treatment - drops, let it sit and bubble for a few minutes, then flush with that bulb deal. One thing I wasnt doing and wasnt getting any results was when you do the flush thing with warm water, pull on the bottom of the ear lobe down and back then flush. That opens up the canal into the inner part of the ear. If I wait too long I have to do it sever times. I have heard that louder music will make wax build up faster. anyway doing it on a semi-regular basis will save you some bucks.
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slackwater
42 posts
Mar 31, 2014
10:39 PM
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My ears have copped a caning over the years. I've got tinnitus. It ain't going away either. It's a constant ringing, at about 10.4K to 10.6K Ohms from memory- I first got it checked out ten or so years ago when I was still in my forties. I never took ear protection seriously until I started to have trouble, i.e. the ringing wouldn't go away like it used to...too late, damage done!
Take care of your ears people!
It's a bitch but you get used to it.
Last Edited by slackwater on Mar 31, 2014 10:40 PM
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Gnarly
975 posts
Apr 01, 2014
2:37 AM
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Good news, glad you are back to normal.
If you come to Spring Harp Fest, stop by the Suzuki booth and say hello!
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MP
3147 posts
Apr 01, 2014
11:32 AM
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Great News Theo!
I lost my hearing in both ears for two weeks due to ear wax and infection. A couple of 6 hr plane flights exacerbated the problem. It was absolutely terrifying for me. I was deaf as can be.
I kept a pen and pad to communicate with.
take care of your ears people.
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Buzadero
1182 posts
Apr 01, 2014
2:13 PM
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I've been exposing my ears to abuse for decades.
As a kid, I listened to music at far too excessive a volume.
I began working as a hardhat diver when I was 17. My first jobs were when I was in high-school working for a neighbor that had a commercial diving and marine construction company. When you're the youngster they stick you with the crap tasks. My first jobs were doing wharf repairs going up and down and up and down pilings, just stretching the shit out of my tympanic membrane and eustachians. Oh, the abuse.
Later, the US Navy didn't let me go lightly. Live firing, ordinance detonations, diving and more diving. Of course, there was still a steady undercurrent of loud music to go along with it all along.
When I headed down to the warm Gulf of Mexico and began oilfield diving, the first diving rig I owned was a "bandmask". Sort of a hybrid between a hard helmet and a neoprene hood. Perfectly acceptable for diving out of a bell or deep from the surface, unlike a helmet the hood allowed the water to get to your ears. So, you had the nice semi-tropical water, combined with diving deep. In the 80's, it's what you did. When I began to dive in saturation, I used a helmet, but was now living at depth and working sometimes down to 700 feet. More loud music stacked on top of it. Can't forget those years of Navy Reserve. Didn't matter if I was a working diver, the requalify was hard up and down, aircraft decompression, and more simulated war noises. Love that loud music.
I got a little older. Not old enough to turn the tunes down. Hell no. That would mean I was too old. I got a little older and left the Gulf to start working internationally. Different oceans, different lakes, different funky little organisms in the water....and the ears. Get up to the Arctic, run down to Brazil, take a job in the Great Lakes.
I've beat my ears up. Diving, cold, rotary-wing aircraft without earplugs, fixed and rotary without pressurization. On and on. Oh, and I like music.
I've ruptured my left ear twice and my right ear once. I've had surgery to shave or grind down the exostosis bone growths on both sides. I've sucked earwax using bulbs, water-piks, candles and my finger.
I've had ear infections that crippled me. I've had a dozen Master Chiefs offer up their own personal "ear beer" home remedies, proven over many years of tweaking (I do have some ratios of different substances that work really well, by the way). I've had inner ear issues that caused me to not be able to stand up without spinning wildly out of my head. And, I've been down before where what I tooted on a harp didn't sound like anything but featureless noise that scared the hell out of me. Note: This happens with perfectly good ears quite a bit also.
Times where my ears were in such bad shape that I couldn't hear anything but what sounded like I had my head under a pillow, or only one ear was working at all.
Yup. If you can, listen to what I tell you. Take care of your ears.
Oh, and I believe it was the 20th century philosopher Ronnie Van Zant who uttered the iconic, "turn it up"......
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~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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Shaganappi
106 posts
Apr 02, 2014
5:58 AM
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Maybe it is time to become the Beethoven of the harp?
Anyway for my 2 cents, I have narrow ear passages and wax production to the extent that I used to lose hearing big time often. Is very frustrating basically living "under water".
I now take long hot showers (to the head) avoiding any water to my ears until the wax melts to oil and then swab them immediately after - always. Eventually it gets better for me. Sometimes the wax melts and re-hardens badly but not often if I am viligent. Good luck on your hearing Theo. Hope it is a simple fix.
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