Act Now or Wait?!?!!!!

[ManUp]

Ok, My left ear has been partially blocked for maybe a week now. This morning I woke up, and for the most part it was fine. I went to work, and the gym and came home took a shower. After I took a shower the ear was partially blocked again. I took a Cotton swab to clean out my ear and it when I took it out it was bloody  . What should I do?

I'm definitely going to the doctors, i'm just debating on whether it can wait a day or two or if it's an emergency. It doesn't hurt, only slightly when I was using the ear swab. So I think it could wait, but I'm not sure.

Should I go to the emergency room or can I wait to set an appointment?

[Steve Weinman]

Ok, My left ear has been partially blocked for maybe a week now. This morning I woke up, and for the most part it was fine. I went to work, and the gym and came home took a shower. After I took a shower the ear was partially blocked again. I took a Cotton swab to clean out my ear and it when I took it out it was bloody  . What should I do?

I'm definitely going to the doctors, i'm just debating on whether it can wait a day or two or if it's an emergency. It doesn't hurt, only slightly when I was using the ear swab. So I think it could wait, but I'm not sure.

Should I go to the emergency room or can I wait to set an appointment?

I'm not medical expert, so no real advice here but best wishes for getting that taken care of as easily as possible.  Good luck, ManUp!

-sw

[dark_lord]

Ok, My left ear has been partially blocked for maybe a week now. This morning I woke up, and for the most part it was fine. I went to work, and the gym and came home took a shower. After I took a shower the ear was partially blocked again. I took a Cotton swab to clean out my ear and it when I took it out it was bloody  . What should I do?

I'm definitely going to the doctors, i'm just debating on whether it can wait a day or two or if it's an emergency. It doesn't hurt, only slightly when I was using the ear swab. So I think it could wait, but I'm not sure.

Should I go to the emergency room or can I wait to set an appointment?

one thing u shouldnt do is ask advice on a sports blog, lol.

i say go to the ER to be on the safe side.

[ReadyFor17]

You probably have an ear infection. I had one a couple years ago and everything sounded like I was underwater. Antibiotics for ten days should clear it out.

[Schupac]

I wouldn't go the ER as that's insanely expensive and you will probably wait a long time.  There is possibly an urgent care nearby that I would go to tonight.  It's usually affordable and for something urgent, but not life-threatening like this, you'll be seen much faster than the ER.  Blood coming from inside your ears is not good and you don't want to risk any long term healing damage.

[ThreadCrasher]

Don't worry about it bro.  I bleed from my ears all the time.  No big deal.

[Mencius]

It's quite odd that you'd have blood in your ear when you used a swab, unless you jabbed the heck out of it  

If you've got health insurance, many of them have on call nurses as part of your insurance that you can call for just such a question.  At least they could advise as to whether to go to ER or wait til Monday.

Other than that, I'm entirely unqualified to advise, but sure hope you feel better soon.

One more thing... If you call on Monday and tell them there's blood in your ear, they probably won't have you make an appointment.  I bet they tell you to come right in.

[indeedproceed]

Don't worry about it bro.  I bleed from my ears all the time.  No big deal.

lol

When you tug on your teeth do they just come out too?

[ManUp]

In response to all.

Thanx SW.

Yeah, DarkLord I know, but I figured it's probably someone here has probably had before. The ear isn't gushing blood I wouldn't have even known if it wasn't for the swab. So I'm not too scared just nervous.

I think ReadFor17 is right, I think it's an ear infection. The symptoms I found online seem to agree.

Schupac read my mind. I don't want to pay for an ER and the long wait. I work in a hospital I know how needlessly long it gets. Plus the bill has a lot to do with it. Unfortunately there isn't an urgent care center around my way.

I think I'm going to wait till tomorrow morning and ask a nurse once I get to work. There's a Tp coming to all of you.

[ThreadCrasher]

It's probably an earwig.  Those little guys get into your ears at night and lay eggs.

[ThreadCrasher]

Don't worry about it bro.  I bleed from my ears all the time.  No big deal.

lol

When you tug on your teeth do they just come out too?

Actually, the ones on the left side tend to come out if I eat something hard, so I tend to chew on the right side of my mouth.  Problem solved.

[indeedproceed]

Don't worry about it bro.  I bleed from my ears all the time.  No big deal.

lol

When you tug on your teeth do they just come out too?

Actually, the ones on the left side tend to come out if I eat something hard, so I tend to chew on the right side of my mouth.  Problem solved.

You know who I feel sorry for? Those schmucks out there that go to doctors. Here we are just a couple of regular joe's, no formal training, and we can solve our problems via simple discourse. Doctors? I say they are charlatans, quacks!

[Andy Jick]

i bet Lebron James knows the answer to this problem...

[Dybdal]

Im quite sure your suffering from an ear infection' from the symptoms your discribing.

One question though, how far in do you use ear swabs? as the lack of hearing can be caused by pushing ear wax onto the ear drum (and continuesly doing this can damage things in the ear canal making it bleed)

[ThreadCrasher]

Im quite sure your suffering from an ear infection' from the symptoms your discribing.

One question though, how far in do you use ear swabs? as the lack of hearing can be caused by pushing ear wax onto the ear drum (and continuesly doing this can damage things in the ear canal making it bleed)

This is a good point.  It ends up that your not supposed to clean you ears with both ends of the cotton swab at the same time...its one end and then the other.

I found that out the hard way...