Cannot use liquid meds/drops. Thanks. We did visit an ENT in the past and very often. But it has become very difficult for mom to travel. Earwax accumulates behind the inserted hearing aid and the ENT is always very careful to extract the earwax using a special tool/tweezer, He never used water because it would damage the hearing aid once it was re-inserted. However, the sensation of "pulling off" the earwax with the special tweezers was becoming more and more painful for my mother. In addition, loose skin was also being peeled off along with the earwax build-up and this too caused some discomfort.
I was told that earwax has to be removed "dry" because it is safer for the hearing aid and keeps them performing at their best. So, how do I accomplish this? Any suggestions are appreciated. You are all wonderful and thoughtful people.
Second, the advice not to irrigate the ear is ridiculous, the aids can be left out until the ear is dry, she takes them out to bathe/shower, right?
And lastly, ear drops can be used over night when she is in bed and the hearing aids are removed, and you can use peroxide rather than oil based drops to soften ear wax.
The aids need to be removed at night, cleaned and put in a container with
a substance that helps keep them dry. The VA provided us with a kit that includes an eye dropper type syringe, little basin and directions for flushing the ear with water. The VA has the most sophisticated and thorough methods of treating ears that I've seen, far more efficient and thorough than any doctor we've been to.
It also uses suction to remove built-up wax.
Thus, not removing the wax caused the wax to cement itself to the skin, almost impossible to remove without surgery. And at 97 that is no longer an option. My Mom was her own worst enemy when it came to her ears.... [sigh].
In her absence, what you want to find is another sympathetic ENT specialist with a vocation for treating older people. Ask your geriatrician if he knows one; or get busy on the internet and ring round until you find one who fits the bill. But, not that I want to be a wet blanket or pad anybody's bank account, your mother does need this job done properly and squirting more stuff into congested ears is not the way to go.
Seek and ye will find. I despaired initially of finding opticians, audiologists and most of all a dentist who would do home visits; but when these professionals decide to take a kindly interest in treating the elderly, going to their patients' homes is part of the job description and you will, I hope, be pleasantly surprised.
PS The tweezers aren't exactly tweezers. They're precision instruments designed for the job, along with teeny-tiny hooks and the like. He probably did know what he was doing.
First, wash hands before and after cleaning, then follow these instructions:
1. Mix equal amounts of hydrogen peroxide and tap water (well water must be boiled and cooled to room temp first) in a cup (VA provides one that's a 120 ml plastic cup with a cap). Liquids should be as close as possible to body temp. If too hot or too cold, person can feel dizzy or nauseous.
2. Use a syringe (you'll have to buy your own) with a flexible plastic tip; fill with the hydrogen peroxide/water mix, by placing tip of syringe in mixture, pull plunger to fill the syringe.
(Syringe is called BD 10 ml syringe, with a "Luer-Lok" tip, REF 309604)
Since the plastic cup to be filled with the mixture is 120 ml and the syringe only holds 10 ml, this is obviously for multiple uses. I think what I would do is just add 5 ml of hydrogen peroxide and 5 ml of water instead of filling the whole bottle.
3. Lie down on side, affected ear facing toward ceiling. Place towel under head. Gently place flexible tip of syringe into ear canal, but DO NOT PUSH TIP INTO THE EAR.
4. Slowly push plunger to push liquid SLOWLY into ear canal. Hold head still 5 minutes to allow solution to sit inside ear.
5. Then place a C shaped bowl or pan (like the emesis basins hospitals use) under ear and against neck, tilt head to allow liquid to drain into bowl and not on clothing as it may stain.
6. Repeat with other ear.
If ear pain and/or bloody drainage is experienced, discontinue and call doctor.
This is a similar but slightly different method of cleaning:
md-health/Ear-Wax-Removal-Hydrogen-Peroxide.html