Yay: after two weeks of my ear being clogged, I finally got it unclogged. My hearing isn’t fully back to normal, as I think I’ve got some water in there now, but it is way better than what it was.
I used carbamide peroxide every day for like a week, and occasionally sprayed with water from a bulb. I also occasionally put alcohol in there to prevent infection. Finally, today, I got it. I used the peroxide for extra long. I took a hot shower, during which I used the water bulb, angled downward into my ear as I tilted my ear a bit down. I also breathed through my nose some to provide some help from the Eustachian tube. Between squirts I would do various things like wiggle my ear, push my finger in and out of it, or push my flat hand against and pull back for a plunger-like effect. After a bulb spray and the water flowed out of my ear, it was instant: The passage was opened.
I think it was a combination of all of this over time that finally did it. The importance of the nose-breathing, wiggling, and plunging probably isn’t emphasized enough in the tips I’ve read: When it was getting close, I could hear or feel effects of all of them deep inside my ear. For the peroxide, it should make a noise in the ear. And the bulb should be squeezed quite hard with plenty of water. I’m sure the heat from the shower helped soften the wax a bit, and not having to worry about spraying water everywhere makes the water bulb much easier.
Feels so much better operating in a world of sound to have an unclogged ear. This ordeal reminded me of how important my hearing is to me. It’s hard to operate among people when it’s hard to hear them. Music is very important to me, and I also like watching (and hearing) TV and movies. I use hearing a lot when walking to get a sense of where things are without having to look, such as other people, or cars when crossing the street. It can just generally be a bit disorienting having a clogged ear.