Drops seem safer to me. I've had good success with Debrox, but there are a varie...

modeless · on Oct 17, 2020

The drops have not been shown to be any more effective than plain water. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD...

I dislike flushing my ear with a syringe or squeeze bulb as it is uncomfortably loud and it seems possible to damage the eardrum with overpressure. It is also difficult to tell if it is working or how long you should continue doing it to ensure a clean ear, especially if the ear is not completely blocked.

The endoscope is faster, easier, more comfortable, and lets you see exactly how clean your ear is so there's no guesswork.

maroonblazer · on Oct 17, 2020

I'd not seen that Cochrane study, that's interesting, thanks for sharing.

Sticking something pointy in your ear seems to carry its own risks. How do you ensure you don't puncture your eardrum?

modeless · on Oct 19, 2020

Same way you don't cut yourself when using a knife, by watching and being careful. The endoscope makes it possible to see.

beaugunderson · on Oct 17, 2020

I've sworn off Debrox after damaging my ear recently. The instructions say to leave it in for "several minutes"; I waited ~10. My hearing was impacted for several days afterward. In the one ear I got high-pitched feedback when watching TV, it sounded like someone was running sound through a guitar distortion pedal. It went back to normal after ~5 days but I was very scared that it would be a permanent effect.