I had a large chunk removed from my own ear (Haha..it was disgusting!!) ...got me wondering if Mom's failing hearing just MIGHT be from ear wax? Anyone else seen that?
I had a nurse and a hearing aid tech both tell me that a high percentage of hearing loss in elderly can be improved by flushing/cleaning out the wax. I thought my dad needed hearing aids. I had his ears cleaned and he's fine. It's remarkable.
My grandmother had permanent hearing loss, and could have benefitted from a hearing aid, but just removing the wax did help things.
My Mom had ear wax but she didn't like the hot water that was used. She wanted luke warm and nothing else. Of course, no wax would come out. In her mind, she had her ears cleaned.... [sigh]. One ear doctor used long tweezers type instrument and he was able to get some out.
Mom used her hearing aids, but they never worked right due to user error. Heck, an old fashioned ear trumpet would have worked better :P
The secret is hydrogen peroxide. amazing. Wax just dissolves I pour little from a warmed cup into my husband's ears each week. ( I warm the cup first, put the peroxide in, and then it is the right temp).
He sits at table with head on pillow. when he turns his head, the wax falsl out onto a cloth.
I had the same problem and tried to have a hearing test. The tester said my left ear was impacted with wax. I got a flushing kit from Amazon and flushed the ear and was amazed at how much better I could hear.
Many years ago I tried a syringe for the first time. I noticed these huge things with roots on him that had obviously been growing in my ears for quite some time. I'm surprised the doctor didn't see them but I noticed a huge improvement when these big lumps came rolling out of my ears but it wasn't really a huge difference, just a slight one and I could suddenly here not only a little better but more clear. Wax build up deep down in the ear canal can be unnoticeable until you get an ear syringe and fill it with water and shoot that water into your ears. It's much safer than a Q-tip, quit using Q-tips right away because you can really hurt the insides of your ears and even break your eardrums. A water syringe is much safer and won't hurt your eardrums. Your syringe is well actually this lodge anything you don't know is down there, way deep down in your ears. You'll notice an improvement right away as soon as they come out if you have them, you'll hear slightly better and everything will be more clear and you'll be able to hear softer sounds slightly further away. I've always had excellent hearing but it became even more and enhanced when I got those lumps out of my ear canals. They must've been sitting really deep and heading out of sight if the doctor didn't even know they were there to address them. You have hidden areas were wax can hide for years until you suddenly run an ear syringe with warm water in there. If you have a detachable showerhead with an adjustable spray, you can also adjust your shower head to very gently clean your ears in the shower when you wash your hair. Be careful how hard you let the water flow into your ears so you don't hurt them. You need a little bit of pressure to dislodge anything that may be hiding deep down in your ear canals but you don't need a whole lot
Yes, my dad now requires ear wax removal every 3 months. The woman who did it says ear wax increases with age, so it's every important to check. Luckily, the facility brought in an ENT office to do just that...
Wish that were my problem! I have worn hearing aids since age 63 and they are very expensive, and seldom last over 3-4 years. But being deaf is no fun either! My ears are apparently remarkably free of wax.
Depending on your mother's age - get her hearing tested. They all give free hearing tests now and there is no obligation to purchase. They will even tell you exactly what the problem is. ie: my DH's problem is consonants.
Having worked in an ENT office, I remember how large some people's ear wax plugs could be. The condition is called ceruminosis. The doctor used a large syringe like apparatus and would shoot warm water into the ear canal and out the wax would come. Sometimes the doctor would use an instrument that had pinchers that were attached to a scissor like instrument to pull the wax out. Patients were sometimes amazed at the improvement in their hearing. And, yes, don't use Q-tips!
When I was a kid, my mom would warm olive oil slightly then put 2 to 3 drops in each ear then clean our ears an hour or so later - i remember how easy it was - check with dr to see if that would be good on the elderly
Moecam, I DON'T advise this lol, but I knew an elderly lady 20 years ago who had lifetime ear/hearing issues, something she was either born with or developed very early in life, and she would boil urine (to sterilize?) and drop a little in her ear. She said she had learned the home remedy as a kid. Urine is acidic, I guess? And the uric acid can be used to clean the ear? Since we're talking about home remedies, just thought I'd share the story. :) My anthropologist professor in college talked about old timers wiping faces with diapers because the urine/uric acid is cleaner in babies, and the uric acid can treat acne.
I don't recommend either of these applications for urine home remedies, but I think it's interesting. :-D
Yes! A few years back, my mom's hearing was going and I was really concerned. I took her to her primary care and suck out so much ear wax it was ridiculous! She could hear clearly after that thank God!!! I was so grateful!! I would have never thought that.
I regularly clean my ears and very little wax is present, but for some reason, even though nothing comes out, whenever I just wiggle the ear canal (vigorously, with a finger), I hear a lot better! Anybody know why that would be?
At first,when Mother was having trouble hearing,the ear doctor would clean and flush out her ears and it was like a miracle and she could hear again for awhile and then it would get bad again and then the doctor said she had a hole in one of her eardrum's and he created a patch to go over it and that helped for awhile and then the patch didn't work anymore and she lost all her hearing in that ear and she could only hear alittle out of the other.It was frustrating to her and I and I really missed our conversations.It is awful not being able to hear.I'm sorry your Mother is having a hard time hearing also.Take care~
Well, Ali I think I'm just going to get my Hubs to pee in my ears.............but seriously I do believe removing ear wax would help a lot of people. I know my Mom used to get her ears cleaned out at the doctor and she said sometimes when he did it she would suddenly hear a loud pop and she could hear clearly.
Gershun, What? Did I hear that correctly? I heard that the brats on "Caregivers Behaving Badly" are really missing your sense of humor.
To others who have just mentioned a hearing problem within the past hour...don't get paranoid. My experience on AC has been one coincidence after another, even if I am only thinking it!! The next thing I read is talking about the same subject!
My grandmother had permanent hearing loss, and could have benefitted from a hearing aid, but just removing the wax did help things.
Mom used her hearing aids, but they never worked right due to user error. Heck, an old fashioned ear trumpet would have worked better :P
He sits at table with head on pillow. when he turns his head, the wax falsl out onto a cloth.
Very easy.
Depending on your mother's age - get her hearing tested. They all give free hearing tests now and there is no obligation to purchase. They will even tell you exactly what the problem is.
ie: my DH's problem is consonants.
I don't recommend either of these applications for urine home remedies, but I think it's interesting. :-D
What? Did I hear that correctly? I heard that the brats on "Caregivers Behaving Badly"
are really missing your sense of humor.
To others who have just mentioned a hearing problem within the past hour...don't get paranoid.
My experience on AC has been one coincidence after another, even if I am only thinking it!!
The next thing I read is talking about the same subject!
Weird, huh?