P.S.A.: Be careful how often you use earbuds

Public Service Announcement: Please be careful how often you use earbuds. I went to my otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor) the other day, and he pulled out a piece of compressed wax almost big enough to have been the remnant of a 98%-burned Chanukah candle. 😮 It took him three pokes to finish the job, too, and boy, did that hurt! But it wasn't injurious at all--my ear stopped hurting after only about five minutes of me saying "ouch." My ENT advised me not to wear earbuds for at least a week. Apparently, earbuds compress earwax. Don't take a chance--take care of your ears and your hearing by limiting your earbud use! And make sure to see an ENT at least once a year to check not only for possible hearing loss or other problems, but also, to get the wax cleaned out *safely*--given the "fun" I just had, I made another appointment for six months from now.