Getting ears checked

In real life, not so much. Perhaps it's due to having had otitis as a child and some unpleasant procedures to clear it up.

An ear check happened by every school physical back inthe1960es.

Here in the United States when I attended elementary school in the late 1960's to mid 1970's, every year you were called down to the school nurse for a height, weight, ear and eye check. The ear check involved having to wear large Auraldome headphones (looked exactly like these https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T1/images/I/81g4L1902fL._AC_SL1500_.jpg) that were very heavy and totally isolating. I actually enjoyed that part of the check as I found sitting there in your underwear wearing those heavy tight fitting headphones to be rather exciting.

I actually enjoyed that part of the check as I found sitting there in your underwear wearing those heavy tight fitting headphones to be rather exciting.

I always liked that too. Something about the deafening silence and pressure of the headphones was relaxing.

Now I have tinnitus and probably wouldn't enjoy it due to the incessant ringing in my ears, but I liked it as a kid.

I definitely like it as part of a whole physical exam - also nose, throat, and eyes being checked. And the hearing check with the headphones was always part of the physicals they did at my school.

I actually enjoyed that part of the check as I found sitting there in your underwear wearing those heavy tight fitting headphones to be rather exciting.

@Aardvark I remember something very similar looking as a kid here in the UK when I first had a hearing test at age 6 in the late 80's. I actually remember quite liking the feeling of them too for some reason.

The first time I wore them, the doctor giving me the test made it fun by rather than having a clicker for me to press or saying anything when I heard the sound, he actually gave me a wooden stick and said 'tap on the table three times with this.' I got so enthusiastic about it that I put dents in the table! I was in clothes for the whole of that exam though because it wasn't part of a full physical; I think I got scheduled for it because of my persistent complaints of earache + infections. But kid-me sitting in my underpants for a hearing test makes a nice flashback fantasy...I never though of imagining that one before!

Do you mean hearing checked or ears physically checked? I already know I'm dam near deaf but having my ears checked for what might be in there and then cleaned out is a bit heaven for me.

As a kid I hated the ear exam, which always followed a rectal temperature and preceded the throat check. Next always came a penicillin shot in my little bottom. As an adult, my PCPs usually look but it's no big deal one way or the other. Finally, as a physician I always checked the ears as part of a routine exam. You'd be surprised how many adults have a problem, usually with wax buildup. I also always checked in people with chronic cough. The auricular branch of the vagus nerve innervates the area and via Arnold's reflex can cause a nasty cough in people with some irritation in the external auditory canal. One of my most amazing simple fixes was when a pastor presented with a terrible cough. I looked in his ear and saw a hair up against his tympanic membrane. I removed the hair and the cough instantly ceased. That was FUN!

I was in clothes for the whole of that exam though because it wasn't part of a full physical;

It was only once or twice in underwear as I recall due my scheduled evaluation happening in mid-winter and we kids would be wearing boots/heavy shoes and heavy clothes to school most days. Made getting an accurate weight and waist measurement a problem. These days I do not see kids all bundled up for school like we were in the 60's and 70's. Most take a bus these days or their parents drive them. It seems like no one walks in the cold any longer and if we get even an inch of snow they call a snow day.

Me, no. But probably for good reason.

I have Meniere's disease, which means I see a neurotologist (fancy ENT) a few times a year, more if I'm having an attack. What's funny is that he looks in my ears "because he's supposed to". There's nothing to see relevant to my condition there.

I also have had many intra-tympanic steroid injections. Now before you freak out just relax. It was completely painless. They put a drop of something on your eardrum to numb it. Sometimes you may experience vertigo if the fluid is below body temperature. (My doc's medical assistant has VERY warm hands so she warms it up for me because she's cool like that.) If I'm getting a series of shots I don't need the drops again because he just goes in through the hole he made the first time.

You can't swim for a few weeks after, and if you perform a Valsalva maneuver while it's healing you'll hear the air whistling out the hole. It's pretty trippy.

Yes, it reminds me how my bff used to gently clean my ears during sleepovers. A sweet memory.

Not having them checked but when I had an ear ache my favorite cousin who was about 12 years older was the only one who could help me. She would get her father to drive all the way from where she lived 15 miles away to fix it for me. I think she also got me to take my first step.

Perhaps it's odd but I've always enjoyed the sensation of having ear wax removed. They call that instrument a "cerumen spoon" -- Much better than using a Bic pen cap!

I must say that I enjoy all aspects of the exam including having my eyes and ears checked.

I usually hate the ear exam. I feel like the doctors are forceful and just shoves it in there.

I like it for sure, but it’s just a little part of the bigger exam for me. I watch/listen to a lot of ASMR and ear cleanings/exams are some of my favorite roleplay to watch! So I guess in real life the ear exam reminds me a little of ASMR. 😂

It's ok by me, but if it's outside of a routine exam it's because I can't figure out if I'm stocking fluid or the TMJ's bad, or they're infected and that's not as fun. If it's routine, usually I get some remark about "you're waxy in there", primary's very matter of fact about "a waxy ear is a healthy ear, but let's get some of this old wax that's gotten stuck out". Once it's cleaned out, it's amazing how much better one hears.

To me it's an exam associated with childhood, I don't think it ever happened to me as an adult.

The ear check involved having to wear large Auraldome headphones (looked exactly like these...

I see my link from four months ago was changed on Amazon. Working links now:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81g4L1902fL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/817raSdJjdL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Yeah, I do.

I'd love to undergo a traditional Chinese / Asian ear cleaning session.