The MiMiture Electronic Ear Cleaner
By Paul Miller 
posted Jan 20th 2006 12:04PM
posted Jan 20th 2006 12:04PM
[Via TRFJ]
posted Jan 20th 2006 12:04PM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
i would like to know where i can buy this thing? thanks!
Can I get this in USB powered?
(10 year old mode activate!!) Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!
waste of money, just buy a super soaker :)
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/173/12/1496
damn if it only played mp3's as well
Q-Tips? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Q-Tips!!!
Funny name.... mimi is Japanese for ear.
this actually looks like a great product. for those of us with earwax buildup problems a trip to the ENT to have impacted buildup removed will cost you a copayment ($15) and a coinsurance fee (mine is ~$35). and all they do is stick a waterpik in your ear. granted you want to know what you're doing with the thing in order to avoid damaging your eardrum but it's still a lot of money for something you may need 2-3 times a year.
since this sucks impacted earwax out isntead of spraying to loosen and flush it out it looks to be something that one can self-administer. i for one will be looking into this further as after just two uses it would be paying for itself.
I like the Google translation of their homepage.
"The highest refreshing impression probably will be tasted!"
I agree. Pointless unless it's USB powered. Even better though... I want to be able to control it via USB.
So it sucks the wax out? does it save it somewhere? Now I can start collecting my ear wax!
Ear cleaning devices are pretty common in Asia. This one pictured is actually a pretty basic electric model. Nothing too impressive and not worthy of Engadget at all. Newer ones in Japan are equipped wih lighted cameras at the tip so you can see into the ear canal while you clean. The display is shown on either an LCD screen or provided glasses depending on the model. They are sold at department stores, not medical or specialy stores!
What's with the ear pick? Asian people tend to have very dry (flakier) wax build-up opposed to a white person's oily wax build-up. Thus, traditionally Asian people use wooden ear picks to clean out their ears instead of Q-tips, which aren't as thorough for this type of wax.
I wonder what kind of noise it makes when the wax goes through the tube... *squish* *squish*
I'd have nightmares of sticking this thing in my ear and seeing bits of brain go down the tube.
No thanks.
I have a water pick and it works just as well. In fact I've had a doctor use the same thing to clear built up earwax out of my ears.
They may as well make electric spoons and electrick butter knives.
Damn! This is sort of funny. "Mimi" means "ear" in Japanese, so gotta be a Japanese product.
In Japan, tiny little wooden spoons are in nearly every household, and they are used to scoop out the earwax from your ear canal. Never mind the 'elbow' rule, I guess. Maybe their fascination with this is related to what they call ear wax: 'mimi-kuso', which literally means "ear sh*t".
Now if I can just get a tool to permanently remove the ear hairs that seem to be increasing every week since I past 35 years of age.
Well, it's generally known that asians usually have dry, flaky ear-wax, so Q-tips don't really do much more than push the ear-wax around. Europeans usually have wetter oily ear-wax. So this machine would be great for me :D no more having to have someone use tweezers/wooden scoopers on my ears.
I once had my eardrum vacuuumed. I was told "don't move, or it will puncture your eardrum". I didn't.
This loud sucking/slurping sounds commenced inside my head like my brains were being sucked out. It prepared my for the Bush administration.
mimi means ear in Japanese
I can see it now... someone will start a blog of earwax collections... : p
Earwax candles work 100 times better than q-tips and probably this thing too. The proof is in the massive glob of stinky nasty earwax in the bottom if the candle after you are done, even after you got all the wax you can get with a q-tip.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=earwax+candle
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=earwax+candle
I must submit this link again due to a bug in this web site, sorry.