Far be it
from us to tell you what to do with your own ear wax, but if for some reason you might want to, erm, do
something about that golden buildup, then might we recommend the MiMiture Electronic Ear Cleaner? For $85 this little
contraption will gently suck up that ear-borne obstruction and clear the way for proper iPod headphone-induced hearing damage. Just saying is
all.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tommer12 @ Jan 20th 2006 12:18PM
Can I get this in USB powered?
jamaicanbwoydre @ Jan 20th 2006 12:19PM
(10 year old mode activate!!) Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!
Shaya @ Jan 20th 2006 12:22PM
waste of money, just buy a super soaker :)
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/173/12/1496
kuhndog @ Jan 20th 2006 12:28PM
damn if it only played mp3's as well
Ladderless @ Jan 20th 2006 1:39PM
Q-Tips? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Q-Tips!!!
Samuel McConnell @ Jan 20th 2006 1:55PM
Funny name.... mimi is Japanese for ear.
meesterbrian @ Jan 20th 2006 2:04PM
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.
idsanity @ Jan 20th 2006 2:59PM
I like the Google translation of their homepage.
"The highest refreshing impression probably will be tasted!"
Brad Stansell @ Jan 20th 2006 3:13PM
I agree. Pointless unless it's USB powered. Even better though... I want to be able to control it via USB.
Matt @ Jan 20th 2006 3:26PM
So it sucks the wax out? does it save it somewhere? Now I can start collecting my ear wax!
mark k. @ Jan 20th 2006 3:28PM
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.
Fantaz @ Jan 20th 2006 5:04PM
I wonder what kind of noise it makes when the wax goes through the tube... *squish* *squish*
Scoobydoo @ Jan 20th 2006 5:40PM
I'd have nightmares of sticking this thing in my ear and seeing bits of brain go down the tube.
No thanks.
Greg Smith @ Jan 20th 2006 7:59PM
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.
Berkana @ Jan 20th 2006 8:08PM
They may as well make electric spoons and electrick butter knives.
umijin @ Jan 20th 2006 9:33PM
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.
SL @ Jan 21st 2006 12:03AM
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.
Craig Shergold @ Jan 21st 2006 12:34AM
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.
Jonathan Hopwood @ Jan 21st 2006 12:26PM
mimi means ear in Japanese
shadowhawk @ Jan 22nd 2006 2:20AM
I can see it now... someone will start a blog of earwax collections... : p
Nathan Beckstrand @ Jan 23rd 2006 1:06AM
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
Nathan Beckstrand @ Jan 23rd 2006 1:12AM
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.
minggorgeous @ Jun 2nd 2007 2:27PM
i would like to know where i can buy this thing? thanks!