I mentioned that I was having some problems with my hearing, and the doc said it just looked like some wax buildup against the eardrum. So yesterday when I was at the pharmacy, I got an earwax cleaning kit.
The idea is that you put some drops in your ear, and it helps dissoolve the wax, then you wash it out with an earbulb syringe-y thing and warm water.
So last night, I did that. It seemed to clear up the crackly noise that I was hearing.
This morning, my ear felt plugged. I took the ear-bulb-thingy into the shower and used the warm water to wash it out. Better, but still not perfect.
As the morning progressed, my ear started to itch. So being as I have numerous tools at my desk for just such an occasion, I inserted a thing into my ear to scratch it.
And something came out with it.
At first, I thought it was a lump of earwax that had broken loose. On closer inspection, it was a bit of cotton from a q-tip.
A piece of cotton that had apparently been in my ear for months. Since I was in Iowa.
Look, I said it was gross. You chose to ignore the warnings.
So now I can hear out of my left ear again. And it's weird.