I know there have been one or two previous threads on this but I wanted to add my experience and thoughts on what is a critically important subject, following recent events and in the hope I might save other people from a fate that befell me.
Nothing you do with your system/room is worth much if you’re ears aren’t in best condition - I’m only talking wax, here. The thing about wax build-up is it tends to be slow and we often don’t notice how much our hearing drops off as a result. I spent months trying to work out why one channel sounded less detailed in the higher frequencies than the other. I’ve had a history of wax that needs removing every 3/4 years so I should have known better, but the thumb-and-finger test (I rub finger and thumb together next to each ear to hear if one is duller than other) revealed such a small difference that I thought it had to be gear-related. Eventually, the highs dropped off so badly I knew it had to be wax and nipped in to see the nurse at my surgery. She confirmed one clear ear and one blocked.
Now here’s some advice. I seriously recommend avoiding irrigation (by electronic pump) or manual syringing. (Though I’d be surprised if anyone still practises syringing). I’d had irrigation three or four times in the past by very careful nurses, with no ill effects. Last one, however, went at my ears with too much aggression and I ended up with awful pain, vertigo and tinnitus a day later. Four years later the tinnitus is permanent, though it varies in intensity, vertigo is awful if I have a cold and I get earache if I crank the volume. Instead, get micro suction - which I had for first time, yesterday. Unlike irrigation, it’s an exact science - consultant can see what he’s doing by camera - and so should be entirely safe. It took about 3 minutes. It’s now clear there’s nothing wrong with my left channel at all and a lesson to me just how much the sound is affected by even what one otherwise perceives as only a small amount of hearing degradation. I’m now listening to what sounds like an entirely different system.
So, if you have any inkling you might be suffering from excess wax, I recommend get it looked at. Even if you don’t, it’s worth asking the doc to take a quick look next time you’re in the surgery. In a nutshell:
Ask your doc’/practise nurse to check your ears - in UK it’s free and takes about 60 seconds.
If there’s wax that needs removing, get it micro-sucked out, after 10 days of ear drops. (Weeks of using ear drops to remove it is painfully slow, increasingly uncomfortable and not guaranteed to work). If your GP practise doesn’t do it, find someone who does.
Then enjoy everything your system is delivering.
In a previous thread I read about people buying cameras and attempting clearances themselves, sometimes, apparently, in the name of saving the cost of (private) treatment. IMO this utter folly. The ear is an incredibly delicate, finely tuned instrument, very easily damaged. Once damaged, it’s unlikely to ever return to normal. As one poster said, the only thing you should ever get near it is your elbow. Think of it, instead, like this: How many hundreds and thousands do you spend on your gear? In the scheme of that, what is £130? (That’s what my suction cost).
Hope this is of use to y’all.
p.s. Mr Halibut - I was sorry to read about your experience. Anything which interferes with our greatest passion is a matter of some considerable upset. All we can do is adapt and make the absolute best of it.
