A mum left virtually deaf for six years after using cotton buds to clean her ears can finally hear properly again after undergoing grim wax removal treatment.
Skye van Rensburg first damaged her hearing after accidentally perforating her left ear drum while cleaning her ears with a cotton bud.
Years later, she suffered another ear mishap after using a cotton bud in her right ear – leaving her with almost no hearing at all.
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The mum, 21, said she had become so used to the silence that she did not realise how bad her hearing had become until she underwent microsuction treatment six days ago.
A video she shared of the wax removal procedure has since racked up 583,000 views and more than 54,000 likes on social media.
Skye, from Winsford, Cheshire, told What’s The Jam: “It first happened at my home and I realised I had hearing loss pretty much instantly.
“I was cleaning my ears in the shower with a cotton bud and went too far.
“The pain came within two minutes and was severe.
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“I pushed the cotton bud in too far and perforated my ear drum.”
Skye added: “Symptoms were extreme ear ache and tinnitus that sounded like metal gates crashing.
“The pain travelled down the side of my face and neck resulting in four phone calls to 111.”
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After seeking medical help the following day, she was told she had perforated her ear drum and needed excess wax removing by a specialist.
But Skye was too frightened to go through with the procedure.
She said: “I didn’t go because I thought it would really hurt after the perforation.
“At the time I didn’t know perforations healed themselves.
“I was terrified I had completely lost hearing in my left ear.”
Over time, she adapted to the hearing loss – but it soon began affecting daily life.
Skye said: “I have a toddler and I was struggling to hear her cry at night from the other room.
“So I bought a camera.
“I also struggled hearing knocks at my door and my balance was really off.
“I would constantly hear the crashing metal gates sound from the tinnitus.
“I felt really vulnerable.”
She later damaged her right ear while using another cotton bud.
Skye said: “Luckily, this time I didn’t perforate it.
“I just pushed wax up against my ear drum resulting in muffled hearing.
“So I had no hearing at all in my left ear and minimal hearing in my right ear.”
The mum eventually visited an audiologist who carried out microsuction treatment to remove the built-up wax.
Skye said: “He told me my perforation had completely healed.
“And once the procedure was finished 100% of my hearing came back.
“I was mind blown.
“I didn’t realise how deaf I was.
“Now I can hear absolutely everything like I should.”
She is now warning others not to use cotton buds in their ears.
Skye said: “Everybody uses cotton buds in their ears and don’t realise the damage they’re doing.
“You think you’re cleaning your ears but you’re just pushing the wax in and compacting the ear canal.
“Just throw the cotton buds away – it’s not worth it.
“I didn’t realise how loud the world was until I had my ears cleaned and I can function properly now.”
Viewers shared similar experiences online.
One person said: “I did that with a Q-Tip last year, I got lucky my hearing came back.
“Never used one again.”
Another added: “Now I’m scared to use cotton ear buds.”
Someone else said: “I got a double ear infection in both ears because of cotton buds.
“I warn everyone about them.
“Don’t put ANYTHING in your ears.”
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