John Whyte

So I saw a patient two years ago.

True story.

I'm going to call her Mary.

That wasn't actually her name.

But Mary came in because she had what's called cerumen impaction.

Anyone ever hear that?

Basically means your ears clogged with wax.

It's very common.

Now, Mary had searched it online.

And she saw, rightfully, that hearing loss can lead to dementia.

So she was very concerned that she was having decreased hearing, even though it was only for a day, very concerned about it.

She also read that too much earwax could be signs of infection, which I'll tell you that's not the truth.

But she was very focused on getting the wax out of her ear.

So she had read that hydrogen peroxide is actually pretty good if you mix it equally with water.

But what she did was she microwaved it and then she put it in her ear.

And obviously she came into the office because she had a burned ear canal, very red, very irritated.

And I said to her, Mary,

Why?

And maybe I shouldn't have said it like that, but that exactly is how I said it.

Why?