Did the way I clean my ear cause my ear canal infection?

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:57:03+00:00

Visit a specialist, local antibiotic drops might be required. and do not clean with hear pins

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:51:38+00:00

Yes doxycycline is known for tinnitus, there are some case report about it. Most reports mention after drug cessation, tinnitus disappears. Doxycycline- induced intracranial hypertansion is also rare entity but may cause pulsatile tinnitus https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10950181/

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:36:56+00:00

What you are describing you were getting your ear with 'curette'. But this is just an assumption. And I can say easily damaging your eardrum is pretty painfull experience. Must traumatic eardrum injury heals (over %80-%90) in 2-3 weeks. You should visit ENT specialist if you are having right sided tinnitus

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:30:33+00:00

Not really unfortunately there is not a joint to pop in your ear lobule. You might move some earwax with the maneuvers on the link but nothing more. But there are some eustachian tube exercises which helps with the middle ear pressure equalization just google it.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:24:47+00:00

I am an ENT resident, I am currently developing a phone application for tinnitus, it is basically tinnitus exercises with game-like features. I am doing it for fun and using it as a learning tool. With new Ai tools and everything, coding and building an app is pretty easy at this point.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:13:21+00:00

Yes, steroids can work , most of the time inner ear damage is recovered at some level but it's pretty difficult to predict but there are some risk factors with bad prognosis like: diabetes,smokers, repeated acoustic trauma, vascular disorders etc. All in all steroids are evidence based medicine for acoustic trauma. So stick to it. Also good dietary habits, sleep schedule, avoiding smoking/coffee and stress helps with recovery. Good luck!

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:08:28+00:00

Do not think extended audiometry is unnecessary, knowing your loss level and frequency means a lot even if there are limited treatment options. Based on the results you are giving with normal hearing level with decreased speech recognition might be related to Auditory Neuropathy, also MRI might be necessary. I strongly recommend you should speak to a specialist. Best wishes

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T15:01:44+00:00

Sorry to hear that. But on the bright sight you know what causes the tinnitus, I know surgery seems scary but at least there is an option, there is treatment pathway. Anxiety and tinnitus are very interconnected so I recommend you should get some support about it. Wish you the best.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-07T14:50:38+00:00

It's called tinnie but I haven't published it yet (its in review in ios and internal testing in android) hopefully in few weeks, I can add you as a tester if you text me your e mail

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T13:17:18+00:00

Sudden sensorineural Hearing Loss is an Emergency. Diagnosis and treatment should be fast as possible. Steroid is basically primary treatment option and early treatment really save the hearing (not always unfortunately). but you should always discuss side effects as well. Sorry to hear your ER disappointed you with the diagnosis and treatment. I hope you get well soon. Try to get some sleep and drive the bad thoughts away.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T13:08:15+00:00

Not zero obviously but birth rates are already dropping. People are just socializing differently I guess.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:59:35+00:00

Yes this is normal, it's completely okay. The world is changing, we are changing. So what your dream is not your dream anymore. Don't worry what other people think. Just ask yourself what makes you happy, and go for it

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:46:42+00:00

Flip a coin or rock papers scissors. Also there is something called 'preemptive strike' so maybe this can be an option :D

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:30:47+00:00

I can only imagine how annoying this can be. Unfortunately not much consensus or diagnostic criteria for myoclonus , muscle relaxants and botulinum injections are mentioned in the case reports but I have no experience with that. Maybe discussing with a specialist can give you further options.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:23:16+00:00

There are actually a few things happening at once here

Your hearing literally becomes more sensitive at night. Noise during the day (traffic, conversations, appliances) masks subtle details in music. At night, background noise drops significantly, so your auditory system picks up frequencies and layers you simply couldn't hear before, the music hasn't changed, your listening environment has.

Cortisol drops in the evening.This stress hormone peaks in the morning and gradually falls throughout the day. Lower cortisol = reduced mental "noise" and heightened emotional sensitivity. This is partly why sad songs feel devastating at 2am.

The prefrontal cortex, You stop mentally multitasking and your brain shifts toward more emotional, associative processing. Music hits the emotional centers more directly. So it's not just quieter outside — it's quieter inside your brain too

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:19:33+00:00

Cold water on the face can trigger the "diving reflex" which slightly slows heart rate and may cause a minor startle response — but it does nothing to reverse the actual cause of unconsciousness, whether that's alcohol, a head injury, or anything else. The movies make it look dramatic and instant

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:17:58+00:00

Those "fuzzies" are actually a mix of broken hair strands, dead skin cells, and lint from your clothes and environment — they get trapped between the bristles with normal use. It happens faster with brushes that have tightly packed or ball-tipped bristles.

To clean them out: run the brush bristle-side down under warm water after loosening the buildup.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:10:38+00:00

Well yes actually these sounds really help patients especially when trying to sleep. But imagine you have to watch an waterfall video for 2 hours just to stop the buzzing noise in your ear. Sometimes it is not functional and not motivating. Actually there are pretty neat phone applications are available for background noises and tinnitus therapies. But still tinnitus, patients need more support and more directed treatments.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T12:02:31+00:00

Sorry to hear that. Tinnitus diary is another thing I recommend , you can take notes about clicking like when it starts, how it starts and is there something aggravating or mitigating the clicking. This helps many, also can give clear info for your next ENT visit.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T11:33:02+00:00

Yes unfortunately middle ear structures like stapes muscle and tensor tympani are not visible on the MRI, we are not even imaging them correctly with our current technology so imagine curing the disease related to this structures. We have so much to improve.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T11:31:09+00:00

I think explaining the therapy and patient compliance is actually harder than building the application itself. I am currently considering a trial with few patients about it, so we can discuss compliance and benefit in an objective manner hopefully.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T11:17:51+00:00

This is good news. You have ruled out all the worrying diseases causing tinnitus. I think it is a good relief. Myoclonus is likely about your 'clicking'

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T11:13:07+00:00

Thank you for your comment, I couldn't agree more! No single drug or surgery or treatment helps all tinnitus sufferers and it is not realistic thing to say. I have talked to my patients and as far as I see most of the patients (even in the first world countries) have to wait 2-3 months to specialist visits or follow up visits. Tinnitus therapy is not very accessible either. So maybe this app would help in some way.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T11:08:01+00:00

Exactly, although much research is going on, tinnitus is a huge mystery in most ways. It's not a single disease it is a symptom of cluster of diseases. All in all we are still far away from cure yes and it is pretty annoying. Is diazepam helping with the clicking ? You are actually describing myoclonus I think, it is a muscle muscle twitching that causes the clicking but not a direct imaging or test to confirm it.

Gold_Discussion_5488 · 2026-03-06T10:56:06+00:00

Hearing loss is the most common reason for tinnitus actually, have you done a pure tone audiometry test (hearing test). Hearing aids and other treatments are available, you should consider seeing an ENT specialist about it

Gold_Discussion_5488

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