US Entry on Saturday

[Laura+Tom 2]

Went I flew into Detroit in August they noticed the residential address I gave, which is middle of nowhere, and asked why I was visiting. I just said 'my boyfriend and his family'. Then he asked if my boyfriend lived there, I said 'no he is returning for 2 weeks R&R from Bahrain'. He asked if he was Air Force, I said yes then he had a quick flick through my passport and said 'Cool you've been to Bahrain' then 'have a good trip'.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Just to echo what others have said, Gemmie, re "fiance" or "boyfriend" - I'd definitely go with the latter. Every time I've been through immigration I've always said "visiting my girlfriend" and have never been asked to elaborate on the matter in any way.

[Gemmie 142]

Alright then, I'll say boyfriend and not give any other information unless asked.

On another sad note, I have literally lost 87% of my hearing in the past 24 hours. I went to the doctor's this morning and she said she can't even see my eardrum due to wax build-up and that the solution given to me would take 1-2 weeks to fix. This has added to my POE stresses as I can barely hear a thing right now, let alone adding the air pressure on to it and facing something as intimidating as this straight after.

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how I got on.

[Laura+Tom 2]

Oh no, that must suck. Hopefully the flight doesn't affect it too much. Couldn't they syringe it or something? Tom regularly gets his syringed as he has what you have described and is now classed as being partialy deaf in one ear.

[Gemmie 142]

She said you need to apply the oil for a week or so before allowing them to be syringed. She knew about my flight tomorrow and when I asked if it will make it worse, she said perhaps and advised me to suck on boiled sweets. I just don't want to become deaf!!

[Laura+Tom 2]

She said you need to apply the oil for a week or so before allowing them to be syringed. She knew about my flight tomorrow and when I asked if it will make it worse, she said perhaps and advised me to suck on boiled sweets. I just don't want to become deaf!!

I'm sure you won't, sorry if i worried you. His was caused when he was doused in fuel whilst working on a car. A lot went his ear and for some reason it has caused excessive build up.

Edited September 5, 2008 by LauraUK

[ginger1981 0]

I'm sorry to hear. There wasn't a way they could at least clean a bit of it out?

[Gemmie 142]

She just gave me oil and said to come back i na couple weeks if I still had problems.

Now I'm debating whether or not to fly.

[ginger1981 0]

She just gave me oil and said to come back i na couple weeks if I still had problems.

Now I'm debating whether or not to fly.

I remember my grandma had a similar problem, and her doctor basically took a pair of tweezers and pulled out the wax. However I guess it depends on the consistency. But I remember hers was pretty impacted as well.

You might want to be extra careful as the flight could compound things and it could lead to an ear infection. I would possibly see if you can get any antibiotics that would prevent this from happening.

[Gemmie 142]

It's too late as I leave at 8am, (it's 6:30pm now) I don't see how I can get anything now. Bill says there's a health centre at Heathrow but I don't see how they can flush my ears out there.

I got some decongestant for sinuses and some olive oil spray for my ears, though the oil will take several days to take effect. I'm going to fly, taking precautions (might buy some ear-plugs as well) and Bill has said there's a doctor he knows that will see me if there are any problems without worrying about health insurance.

Nerves are sky-high!

[Laura+Tom 2]

Well good luck with it. I overheard an air stewardess saying olive oil was good for the ears on my flight back.

Have a wonderful time.

[samantha_lou 0]

Hi Gemmie!

I suffer with my ears too, often get wax buildup, when you get to the US, go to a pharmacy or supplements store and get some "ear wax candles" they will do the trick nicely and you'll be feeling a million times better - you can use them straight away; no need to wait for oil to soften things up for a week or so.

Hope all goes well with your flight, looking forward to hearing that you made it here safely! Xx

[Gemmie 142]

Thanks! I'll go through the pain if it means having my Billy afterwards.

Figners crossed!!

[Sherri and Matt 1]

Olive oil is very good for your ears, especially if it is garlic olive oil. Get a big syringe at a drugstore (one without a needle of course) like the ones you would use to give medicine to a child, just bigger. Fill it with warm water and squirt you ear until the wax comes out. Another thing that helps is a little hydrogen peroxide in the warm water. I work for pediatricians and we clean ears out every day with just a little warm water like that. The trick in using the syringe or something similar to do it is that it has some force behind it and flushes out the ear. If it is hard wax it might hurt a bit when it comes lose from the skin in the ear canal, which is probably why the doc told you to use the drops for 2 weeks to soften it up. You are not going to go deaf, don't worry. The wax just gets in the way of the sound waves hitting your eardrum properly. We have kids come in all the time because they fail hearing tests at school and we just clean their ears and they are fine, no harm done, no lasting effects.

[Gemmie 142]

Update from the US... obviously I made it through POE, but barely.

The officer asked me a LOT of questions when he saw how many stamps to Boston were in my passport. He even put down the stamper, sighed and began looking through the stamps... didnt even ask for my other hand for fingerprints! He asked me a lot more questions, such as when and where we're getting married, why I'm cutting a week of school to be here, how long I was here for in June, if I have the right to work here... he wanted to see my evidence of return ticket and student status. Then he drew a massive "A" on my waiver form and stamped me in... another officer questioned me on the way through baggage collection, maybe due to the "A", I'm not sure. Then a suitcase scan, though from what I understand that's random.

When I got through the exit, I fell into Bill's arms and cried. We never even spoke to each other for minutes!

Anyway just letting you know.

Edited September 7, 2008 by Gemmie