Korean Job Discussion Forums

[canuk2]

Well since arriving seven months ago I have had several visits with the doctor for common colds. This includes a couple bouts of plugged ears. Now I have only encountered this problem once before in 30 years before coming to Korea!
The last four months seems to have been everytime I turn around.

The doctor speaks english, is a ear, nose and throat specialist, and seems to know what he is doing. But he insists everytime I come with plugged ears that the best solution is to incise (cut) the ear to allow for the fuild to drain. I know this because He has already done it to my fiancee without a proper explanation before doing it. I insist that medicine will work, just takes a little longer. but the silly thing is I have been going back weekly for almost two full months and I feel fine. He just says not cleared up yet more medicine!

But the point to beginning this thread is how many others have encountered more ear problems here than they have had before. Of five foriegn teachers all of us are having ear problems. This is not a pleasant thing to have or teach with when you are at 50% hearing capacity?

So what are the horror stories for hearing prolems and anyone have suggestions or ideas?

[The Lemon]

Not quite a hearing problem, but ear-related: A few years ago I was teaching a class in Seoul when it seemed like the room started spinning. I had to sit down. It got worse through the class. It was a dizzyness that would be equivalent to about 7 beer. Not unpleasant, just *weird*. And I had a hard time standing up. Very very similar to being drunk.

I stumbled home that night, and when I woke up the next morning, it was still there, but even worse. I made it to the local ENT doctor (happened to be close by my apartment & my roommate walked me there), and he made me take a balance test - I collapsed on the floor. He gave me a "you're baked!" kind of look, and informed me:
"Your condition is very...delicious..."
"Delicate?" I asked.
"Ah.. yes... yes... delicate... go home, back to bed, no TV, soft music... one week."

Viral labyrithitis, apparently. Basically, the inner ear catches a cold and your balance gets toasted.

My boss wasn't thrilled, but I had a note from the doctor. Nothing I could do about it... I was a lot better after a week, but even a month later I still had to hold the railing when going up stairs.

[ed]

I'm currently off work due to a serious ear problem.
the doctors I saw immediately diagnosed it as otitis media which is fluid build up behind my right ear drum.
I am in pain and fluid keeps leaking from my ear and I have lost hearing and balance.
this morning the doctor gave me a needle of antibiotics and I have to go back every morning for same.

if it does not improve by saturday then I will probably have a small tube inserted in my eardrum.

this is a first for me and never happened in 31 years in Canada.

[schwa]

Canuk 2 --

Been there exactly, about a year ago. Likewise ENT doctor wanted to puncture my eardrums, sounds medieval but I checked with a doctor friend in Canada who confirmed its standard practice for stubborn cases. Long story short, I said no way. It took 2 rounds of antibiotics & about 6 weeks to clear up.

The story has an upside. Because I couldnt tell how loud I was speaking in class, I inadvertently upped my volume substantially. Students & coteachers complimented the change & its been a benefit to my teaching style since.

[denz]

same happened to me (without the severity that some of you experienced though) after a glut of flying. i went to a good ent at the sunjeonhyang daehak byongwon which is inbetween hannam-dong and itaewon in seoul. he gave me the usual grip load of tabs and it cleared up in a week or so.

maybe you should go get a second opinion. i wouldn't want a hole in my ear drum.

denz

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

WHAT??!!!!!!!

[Ajarn Miguk]

Constant earaches were a problem for me in Korea. See the doctor, get more antibiotics and not a year passed that there were not several bouts of this. Why? I haven't a clue. I've been gone for about three years and have not had an earache or ear infection since. Can't explain it. Won't even try. Just happy I no loger have to live that way. For those of you who are, I feel for you. I really do. The pain is unbelievable. Enough. I don't even want to think about it.

[Hyalucent]

[BTM]

Ear problems happen to me with stunning regularity too, but I seem to be holding them back with a twice-a-week program of soaking a Q-tip with hydrogen peroxide (available at any yak-guk, cheap) and carefully swabbing out the old aural passage a bit while surfing the net or something.

I know you're not supposed to put anything smaller than yer elbow in yer ear, yadda yadda, but it's working for me.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

I also had a loooong bout of dizneyness (sic) last year. Last two years actually. I went to a number of doctors and searched the internet. The truth is that doctors, for the most part, cannot pinpoint what causes vertigo. The second doctor (a doc for embassy diplomats) said it could be anything from a viral infection to the early stages of multiple sclerosis. The third doctor I visited said that it could be stress related, as he had seen many similar cases.

Now, I was adamant that it was not stress related. I was living in a nice apt., had a cushy schedule, and was in loooove. What the hell could I be stressed about, I thought? But when I think about it now (I'm so releived I no longer have to always walk with my head down and hold onto door jambs when turning corners) it very well could have been unrecognized stress. After all, I never seemed to get dizzy on the weekends when I was away from work. Of course, twelve screaming kids can aggravate an already existing condition, so who knows the exact cause. All I know is that I'm happier than a fly in sh*t that it's gone. It really was hell for me.

(Perhaps Anda can offer some theory about how North Korean spies implanted a chip in my brain -- and in the brains of countless others!)

Sparkles *_*

[rodan]

hit 'otitus media' in a google search. it's a middle ear infection that is common in children and adults who work with them. see if that's what you got.

[Stunted Wookie]

I had a dizzy spell like you mentioned about two months ago. Friday night I felt sore like I was getting the flu or something.....
Saturday I stood up.....felt the floor switch to the ceiling and went back to bed!
For about 30 hours I did nothing but lay in the darkness trying not to think of the spin factor....
Sunday afternoon my wife made chicken soup and I felt a little better....took about 3 days for the gross as.s feeling to leave.
I never thought this was 'common' here ...

[mack the knife]

dang...this is apparently a widespread problem...i had never had an ear infection before Korea. then, two years ago, i felt a horrible pain building up in my ear that i can still recall if i think about it (the pain). i combated it with painkillers (darvocet) which i had from another ailment but even those didn't work. after a couple of days i finally went to an ear, nose, throat guy and he gave me a shot in the *ss and a handful of pills, and i was better a few days later.

also, my right ear is permanently screwed from teaching screaming kids in small rooms. everytime i hear a loud noise my right ear goes ballistic now. so i avoid like the plague teaching young kids. it's just not funny.

the noise levels in seoul are well above what is acceptable for normal human beings to live in. add kids into that mix and you've a recipe for a hearing aid. this city is terrible for the health in so many ways, but i'll save that for another post.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[Harvard Material]

Hey canuck2. BTM is right, but I would like to take his advice a step further. Instead of soaking hydrogen peroxide on a Q-tip, pour it directly into your ear canal. I know...doesn't sound safe, but it is safe. It is what I do when I get the same problem (plugged ears), and it works. Peroxide will not hurt the interior of your ear. It never has with me. It works!

Sit comfortably, tilt your head and pour roughly one tablespoon of peroxide in. Doesn't take much. After about 30 seconds you will begin to feel the 'carbonation' effect. Lots of fizzing and bubbling. It is kind of annoying, but it is expelling all of the gunk in your ear canal. Foam will surface in your outer ear. Stay still for several minutes and let the peroxide work it's magic. Then tilt your head upright, drain everything out, take some Q-tips/tissue and do a thorough cleaning. Repeat as required. I would also suggest taking an extended hot shower/bath, beforehand, to help warm up the fluid in your ears.

So; step 1- hot shower. 2- clean ear canal(s) with a Q-tip. 3- peroxide. 4- clean with a Q-tip. 5-repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 a few times per day.

When hydrogen peroxide has reached it's expiry date it turns into H2O; water. You can drink it when it has lost the carbonation effect, so that may make you feel a bit more at ease when considering using it in your ears (or not).
Also, be carefull with the cheap version Q-tips. The wooden ones snap in half easily, and the wadding is very dense. I like original Q-tips because you can fluff up the wadding by spinning the shaft between your thumb and fingers while gently squeezing the wadding with your other hand. Collects/absorbs more wax and unwanted material, but the Q-tip copies I find here are wound too tightly to do this. They aren't as soft as the North American brand so they aren't as absorbant. Try to find the original Q-tip brand.

Ear waxing would most likely help too, but I don't know where to have it done (it's kind of like a 'bikini wax', except all of the hair on your ears when you start is still in place when you are finished ).

I have only had an ear infection/loss of balance three times in my life; twice since I have been here. My mother was a nurse and she administered the first 'in house' procedure. She said it would work and it does. Your choice cII.

If you decide to attempt this and you find it works (or you go deaf), post again so people reading this won't think I am nuts (or maybe I will admit I am ).

Hope this is a help to you...