Re: ear wax

[Guest guest]

We go to the ent and he uses a vacuum when her tubes are in and vinegar

water rinse when the tubes are out. It takes three people to hold her down.

Diane

ear wax

Okay, I did search the website first, but couldn't find anything on this, so

please direct me to the page if I am missing it! My question is, what do

you do about wax in your child's ears? has had HA's for a little

over a year and wax was not a problem until recently. There seems to be a

build up of wax in his ear canal. Do you remove it yourself, and if so how?

If you have a professional remove it, which one: pediatrician, audiologist,

or ENT?

Thanks!

in NC

[Guest guest]

> Okay, I did search the website first, but couldn't find anything on this,

> so please direct me to the page if I am missing it! My question

> is, what do you do about wax in your child's ears? has

> had >HA's for a little over a year and wax was not a problem until > recently.

There seems to be a build up of wax in his ear canal. > > Do you remove it

yourself, and if so how? If you have a

> professional remove it, which one: pediatrician, audiologist, or

> ENT?

> Thanks!

> in NC

Hi ,

Something I read one time somewhere and just found on the web

again is the use of " Sweet Oil " which is olive oil. One website says

that it will simply soften the wax, another says it will remove it.

I would ask your pediatrician or ENT. I intend to, because I have

noticed that looking into my son's ears look long dark tunnels. (he

has had aids for 2 1/2 months) but there was no wax on the part of

his ear that the hearing aid goes in. So, I poured olive oil into

one ear, left it in a few minutes and then had him tip his head onto

a towel. I then poured oil into the other ear while the one was

draining. Then flipped him and let it drain. Then I let him go

several hours without his aids. It seemed to loosen that wax enough

for a thin streak of brown to be found on his ear a short while

later... HOWEVER -- I'm so new to this, I don't know if this is a

safe thing to do. I haven't asked my doctor about this yet.

I know that sweet oil warmed slightly (not burning - be careful) is

good for an earache -- so it would appear to be safe -- but then,

what about getting oil accidentally on the hearing aids if some stays

in the ear?

waiting for replies to your question too,

Trish

mom of Eamon, 4 HOH

and four hearing kids ages 9 to 13

from the web, fyi:

from http://www.destinationrx.com/news/article.asp?news_id=59

How do you get rid of earwax buildup?

When your mother told you to never put anything in your ear bigger

than your elbow, she wasn't kidding. So don't stick anything

(including Q-tips) into your child's ear canal as a way of dislodging

earwax. You risk rupturing his tissue-thin eardrum. (If there's wax

on the outer ear, you can wipe it away with a cotton swab or, better

yet, a wet washcloth.)

You can remove earwax that is embedded in the ear by tilting your

child's head so his ear opens upward and then using a medicine

dropper to drip hydrogen peroxide or

over-the-counter ear drops in until his ear is full. (If you don't

have either, you can also use baby or mineral oil.) Then you'll need

to keep your child still for about five minutes before turning him

over and letting the liquid and softened wax drip out into a

washcloth. For best results, try this while he's asleep. You may need

to repeat the procedure once or twice a day for a few days to get all

the wax out.

The whole procedure will be less traumatic at home, but if keeping

your child still for five minutes is impossible, you can have your

pediatrician do the dirty deed of removing the earwax. During an

office visit, the doctor will gently flush your child's ear with warm

liquid, which loosens the earwax and allows it to come out on its

own. She may need to scrape out the more stubborn earwax with a small

scalpel called a curette.

[Guest guest]

>

>

> > Okay, I did search the website first, but couldn't find anything on

> this,

> > so please direct me to the page if I am missing it!  My question

> > is, what do you do about wax in your child's ears? 

=======

Uggghhhh...one of our biggest problems with both " hearing aid boys " (as

my 7 year old refers to himself and his youngest brother). We've been

given two ways to remove wax from our pediatrician.

1. Use Colaice (an over-the-counter stool softener) in the ear for a few

minutes several nights in a row to soften the wax and then use a Q-tip

to gently remove the wax.

2. Use Debrox drops in the ear. The drops will bubble up and

aggressively remove the wax.

We find the Debrox treatment much more effective, but I've tried it on

myself, and it burns terribly, especially if there are any tiny

abrasions in the ear canal.

We've also had the ENT use the long scraping tool to remove wax,

especially if they find wax when doing the exam just before a hearing

test. Unfortunately, even a really experienced ENT has managed to nick

the canal in both of Ben's ears, and THAT'S painful.

Not to be too gross, we were blown away to see what impacted wax

actually looks like. When we saw it, we realized how much it would

reduce available hearing.

Good luck!

[Guest guest]

When Dominic was just 11 months old he had the ear wax removed by an ENT

consultant under general anaesthesia. Three different people (our GP, an

audiologist and an ENT) said that's the only way to do it in such small

children. Luckily, he hasn't had the need for it again. I can't tell you

my disbelief at the time that such a simple procedure should require day

surgery. I hope it's easier in older kids.

Cristina

[Guest guest]

This is the first time I've responded to e-mail since I've joined the list.

I love reading the e-mails and have learned so much about what everyone is

going through. What a wonderful format for sharing!

I have used ear candles on my three children, and my older step-children,

myself and all my friends for years. They are amazing. They work on a very

gentle vacumn pressure that can't be felt, not invasive at all. It's been

used in China for 3,000 years. You can buy them on the internet or at health

food stores. They are rather expensive in the stores, so I buy in volume on

the internet. Just search for " ear candles " . I've done them with friends,

who've gotten hooked on them, too. I don't do it frequently, maybe twice a

year. I wish I'd known about them when my twins were younger, for they had

so many ear infections due to fluid. It's rather unorthodox, but they were

on gantricin for 6 months at a time, and too many antibiotics for years. My

daughter Sara has a mild to moderate hearing loss now and loves the ear

candles! Your ears feel so clean afterwards. I know it seems very odd at

first, but try it on yourself, with the help of a friend--it takes an adult

to assist in holding the candles, and you'll see. Good luck.

Connie, mom to 17 yr., twins Sara (HoH) and 13 yrs.

[Guest guest]

We just dealt with this for the first time a few months ago. Started

with audiologist, who strongly recommended we have pediatrician clean

out our son's ears (he was 4 1/2 at the time). Doc had nurse do it,

of course (LOL). All she did was take a syringe, fill it with

lukewarm water, and squirt it into TC's ears. She then had him tilt

his head so that the water would come out on its own. She'd then wipe

the ear with a clean washcloth. It took quite a while to do each ear,

but stuff just came out eventually. Yuck. Let's just say she was very

patient and there were M & M's involved.

But since, they've had us squirt water in his ears in the same way

during bath time. The wax has been under control since. It's not

always an easy proposition, either. But since we do it periodically,

I don't worry about doing both ears at one time, or even every day.

That way, neither one of us gets too frustrated.

We also use Q-Tips to clean the outside of the ear, when we see wax

coming out, but never actually in the ear canal.

> Okay, I did search the website first, but couldn't find anything on

this, so please direct me to the page if I am missing it! My

question is, what do you do about wax in your child's ears?

has had HA's for a little over a year and wax was not a problem until

recently. There seems to be a build up of wax in his ear canal. Do

you remove it yourself, and if so how? If you have a professional

remove it, which one: pediatrician, audiologist, or ENT?

> Thanks!

> in NC

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Okay, I did search the website first, but couldn't find anything on this

That's probably because I don't have anything on the topic. Would it be OK

with everyone who answered if I collected your answers, took out any

identifying names, and made a page for the website, especially since this is

a topic that comes up quite often?

Hugs to all,

Kay

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I am curious if anyone removes ear wax from their children's ears that has

ear tubes.

We were told by the ENT doctor not to put anything but the earmolds in his

ears.

Thanks.

Rita Westfall

[Guest guest]

At 03:12 PM 2/7/2002 +0000, you wrote:

>Uggghhhh...one of our biggest problems with both " hearing aid boys " (as

>my 7 year old refers to himself and his youngest brother). We've been

>given two ways to remove wax from our pediatrician.

>

>1. Use Colaice (an over-the-counter stool softener) in the ear for a few

>minutes several nights in a row to soften the wax and then use a Q-tip

>to gently remove the wax.

>

>2. Use Debrox drops in the ear. The drops will bubble up and

>aggressively remove the wax.

We do something similar...but it takes about an hour, and with three other

boys running around, well, GOOD LUCK! ;-)

Use Colace (comes in capsules like Vitamin E -- just pierece a capsule and

squirt in the whole thing). Let it sit for five or ten minutes...this

loosens the wax. (Teddy sits with his Colaced ear facing up, so it gets all

the way down the canal to soak, and doesn't leak out.)

Then, he rolls over, with that ear down, and I use a medicine syringe to

squirt in a solution of half hydrogen peroxide (the 3% kind you use on

cuts, not the 10% kind you use to dye your hair!) and half warm water. It's

a little milder than the Debrox, but still bubbles up to dislodge the

now-softened gobs of wax. (Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!) Takes about ten or

fifteen minutes of squirting in each ear, but afterwards, those " golden

raisins " are quite a payoff. That reminds me, we're probably due for a cleaning!

[Guest guest]

FYI you can get Colace in liquid form at your local pharmacy. CVS has

ordered it for me before. You only need a small amount so it will last a

long time. No need to deal with the capsules. Martha deHahn

> >1. Use Colaice (an over-the-counter stool softener) in the ear for a few

> >minutes several nights in a row to soften the wax and then use a Q-tip

> >to gently remove the wax.

> >

>Use Colace (comes in capsules like Vitamin E -- just pierece a capsule and

>squirt in the whole thing).

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We had the same problem; Ellie is far too wiggly, so they gave her GA and

removed her wax. Now she can get new ear molds! She was 16 1/2 mo. old

(about a month ago).

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jules@...