For a couple of days i could hear my heartbeat in my left ear while sitting mostly but also sleeping. Today my ear began to ache. Also my hearing was a little blocked like someone stuffed it with a cotton ball. i pulled off a little of the cotton on a qtip to make it easier to reach deep inside ear and very gently slid it in. When i pulled it out it had a bit of dark stuff on it. My hearing improved right away. Then i used an eyedropper and some 3% hydrogen peroxide and left in in ear for 15 minutes. i then rinsed thoroughly with warm water. i took ibuprofen for pain and possible inflammation. The pain went away. went to bed this morning because i work nights and 7 hours later woke up and ear was stuffy again. placed a qtip in there and a tiny amount of blood (dim red color) was on it. i verified this by touching qtip it to a tissue and it was wet. What’s your recommendation? Thanks in advance