BLSamuel Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 bumpity bumpity bumpity - some good cleaning tips in this thread from our good friend Professor Thump .... (yes, I'm calling him our good friend, the dude who keeps telling us to stick it in our ear... make that very good friend) It happened again today.... the guitar riff kicks in on Lynyrd Skynyrds "Sweet Home Alabama" and there's a raspy sound in my right ear. Hadn't noticed it before then it's amazing how these things just crop up..... Took of the ear gel and cleaned it, 2 or 3 times with the little cleaning tool (amazingly I still have that little bugger). Tried cleaning the nozzle - I think I did get a wee little bit of dried lotion (perpetually itchy ears, especially the right one - my doctor's best advice, other than uh, not scratching it is to apply a little Cortaid...). Still couldn't get rid of the raspiness. Cleaned up the clear ear gels (added bonus from attending the latest Pilgrimage) with a nice alcohol swap and put the original black set on. Raspiness gone. Was able to clean more (very small amount) of white flaky stuff out of the nozzle. I'll have to try Professor Thumps suggestion for soaking the gels in some nice hot water .. or was that hot soapy water? I had forgotten that suggestion. So don't panic if things start sounding kind of raspy or otherwise harsh. Maybe you're ear gels just need a good cleaning. Every now and then something gets in there and is hard to get out and it takes only a very tiny amount to gunk up the sound. And now on to a little Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 3. If you can not clean the airway thoroughly then you may want to soak the eartips in hot water. This will loosen wax. You can then flush the airway with a syringe or even squeeze the eartip like a toothpaste tube to get the ear cheese out. MMMMMmmmm.... Hadn't thought of the hot water (don't think that's in the manual) or squeezing out like toothpaste. Alright folks, that's ear cheese - quit lickin' your chops. The things I've cleaned out so far are very small I still haven't tried hot water. Professor Thump: Any problem with using hot water and a bit of grease cutting dish soap for the gels? Followed by a hot water rinse of course. I'd think a little grease cutting dish soap should really clean things up good. Works wonders for cleaning up one's glasses. Naturally, I'm only wanting to soak / clean the ear gels in this manner with the goal to keep things clean so they don't get down in the nozzle. Sorry ear cheese lovers. I'm mostly finding tiny flakes of what I presume to be anti itch lotion as I have an issue with itchy ears. Trust me folks, you want to keep your gels clean as just a small dried flake of anit itch lotion will really foul up the sound ... and it's not real easy to get it out of the nozzle if it's gotten past the gels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Your correct Ben... You do want to keep the acoustic channel clean of debris. If you don't you will compromise your headphone assembly. As far as a grease cutting soap you should be fine using this soap. Hydrogen Peroxide will also loosen any wax if you soak it for a few minutes. You can also get the ear wax cleaning kits and use that cleaner on the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 I've been using alcohol swabs on the tips. I've had more trouble I think with dried anti itch cream than ear wax though it could be either or a combination of the two. It may be hard to believe but I've not yet clogged one of the tips. My problem has been more with tiny whitish flakes of what I'm presuming to be anti itch lotion. Very early on one of these got past the gels into the nozzle. One may have made it last week but I think it was in the gel. Actually changed gels and all was fine - then later found the small bit of foreign substance in the previous gel even though had carefully cleaned from both ends and wiped down the outside with the alcohol swab.. Apparently missed it the first time around or is easier to see and and scrape out after it's dried a bit. A really tiny flake creates an annoying raspiness to the sound for lack of a better term. I think it's time to thogoughly clean all our gels with some hot soapy dishwater or maybe the hydrogen peroxide. I think I'll try the hot soapy dishwater first. My daughter says she cleans the ones she uses but she's likely to forget as I'm I. I must've forgotten Friday evening as I cleaned out a small bit of goop this morning. And I'm not so sure the anti itch cream doesn't kind of stick to the inside of the tips - maybe leaving a bit of residue when I clean them out and I've gotten a bit in the gels - never clogged them but a noticeable amount. That residue then flakes off when it dries? It may be time to go to the ENT for the itchy ears, primarily my right ear. I went 2 weeks once without using my Custom 2 and it didn't make a difference. I've always had itchy ears but usually it comes and goes. I suspect now I pay more attention with sticking the Custom 2 in most weekdays. Would hydrogen peroxide be better to wipe off the outside of the gels than alcohol? I'm sure any alcolhol that hasn't evaporated isn't helpin the itchy ears any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Ben, I am by far NO doctor and only a professor by name but several things you may want to think about. 1. Usually your ears will start to adapt to usage of IEM's. Your feet grow tougher skin, your ears should too. Maybe avoid the ear cream for a while to get calluses going. Then you won't need to use the Anti-I cream. 2. Maybe the cream itself is causing all the clogging. I could be wrong. I know some people who grow more wax than others so your problem may be strictly from your ears. 3. When the heck are you gonna be able to buy ear tips. Oh that's our job. Soon I hope... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Comments in Professor Thumps comments.... Ben, I am by far NO doctor and only a professor by name but several things you may want to think about. 1. Usually your ears will start to adapt to usage of IEM's. Your feet grow tougher skin, your ears should too. Maybe avoid the ear cream for a while to get calluses going. Then you won't need to use the Anti-I cream. I think my ears have pretty well adapted. Not sure about having callouses in the ear canal but pretty much used to the Custom 2. Still not sure I get quite as good a seal as I should but it may take days for the anti-itch cream to dry out and go away. I'd still love to try an extra large single flange should you ever make any. I may try to avoid the anti itch cream - it helps some but not long term. Will power is probably the only way to get my ears, mostly my right ear to stop itching. At least that seems to be the best hope as nothing the doctors have had me try has really seemed to work. I've went a full 2 weeks without using my Custom 2 in the past so maybe it's time to give up the anti itch cream. The Custom 2 don't seem to make the itching worse except when I've used a lot of the anti itch cream right before sticking it in. 2. Maybe the cream itself is causing all the clogging. I could be wrong. I know some people who grow more wax than others so your problem may be strictly from your ears. I think the anti itch cream is the biggest problem. Not too much clogging - just once or twice when got a glob in there instead of evenly spread around the ear canal. Most of my problem has been really tiny white flakes that I think are from the anti itch cream. My latest thoughts are that if it gets in the gel nozzle it dries and flakes off but just doesn't come out very well with the tool. I'm also beginning to wonder if a bit sometimes coats the tip and when it dries out it flakes off and works it's way to the nozzle. I'd think the alcohol would clean it off. Or it could be that when the anti itch cream dires in the ear canal it flakes off and occasionally works its way to the nozzle or gets in front of the nozzle. That may be the most likely culprit of the tiny white flakes. I've also found white residue on the gels when I take them out of the case and am pretty sure wiped them down with alcohol the night before. I'm beginning to think the anti itch lotion sticks to the gels and then cuases problems when it dries out. Time for a good hot sudsy soaking or the tips to relaly clean out / off any residue. 3. When the heck are you gonna be able to buy ear tips. Oh that's our job. Soon I hope... It would be nice if there were replacements available but I have plenty and they're all in good shape though I'm thinking a nice hot sudsy bath to really soak off any collected goop is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowplough Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 I accidentally discovered an alternative answer to the question about getting replacement ear tips. I changed my mind about what gel size I intended to use after a few weeks of use and I was unable to change gel sizes in the registration data. I therefore unregistered my C3s and then re registered them with the correct gel size. A few days later a small pack of the new gel size arived. Quite simple really. Don't you just love automation. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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