Hey folks, I was just wondering if anyone here gets their ears cleaned out at the ear doctor, and has it helped at all. I've stopped using Q-tips to clean my ears as I heard it was unsafe. I had one kind of awful ear cleaning as a kid and have been a little leery of them since then, but if it can help MM (or at least doesn't hurt) I would give it another try. ~Balanga
balanga, I don't see that there would be any benefit concerning your Meniere's symptoms by having an ear cleaning. Meniere's affects the inner ear. The inner ear is deep within the brain and is surrounded by the hardest bone in the human body.
If you're ears are really plugged with impacted wax, having them cleaned might improve your hearing somewhat but as Cheryl said, it's not going to do anything for your Meniere's symptoms.
I had wax removed from one ear just yesterday, but it was only in preparation for balance testing tomorrow. The first question I was asked by the nurse was whether I use Q-tips. The wax removal was minor and just tickled a little bit. They used a microscope with a camera and tiny little tools to suction, grab or scoop it out while I watched on a TV screen. It was done at a well-equipped ENT clinic where the nurse clearly knew what she was doing. I was told the ear is generally good at getting rid of its wax if left untouched, and you're right about Q-tips being a big no-no. If you are getting significant wax buildup that is bothersome, it may be worth talking about with your doctor for how to manage it.