Ear Hygiene

COTTON BUDS

“Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear”. Cotton buds may be used to clean the opening of the ear canal only. Do not use cotton buds to clean deeper in the ear, or else:

¨     Wax may be lodged deep against the ear drum,

¨     The delicate ear skin may be abraded causing infection and recurring itch,

¨     The ear drum may be damaged.

ITCHY EARS

Itchy ear is a common complaint. Avoid the temptation to scratch. Frequent scratching or use of cotton buds prolongs the problem.

What to do:

¨     See your family doctor to exclude an ear infection.

¨     Avoid chemicals, perfumes, ear plugs, headphones, hearing aids or excessive water entering the ears.

¨     Avoid excessive grinding of the jaw.

¨     Dry itchy ears require moisture. Obtain a dropper bottle from the chemist and instill 2 or 3 drops of olive oil once or twice a day for a few weeks.

¨     Wet itchy ears may need drying- see below.

Discharge may indicate infection and requires medical evaluation.

WET EARS

Some patients suffer with recurring outer ear infections known as “swimmers ear”. This is characterised by discharge and pain in one or both ears, especially in summer.

Prevention involves keeping the ear dry by using waterproof ear plugs when swimming, washing the hair or in the shower. Waterproof ear

plugs include blue tac, cotton wool with vaseline, Doc’s Proplugs or may be custom made at Hearing Innovations. Do not use small bits of silicone putty which may break off and become lost down the ear canal.

Aquaear is a spirit based ear drop available from the chemist without a prescription. It is often very effective in drying up moist ears which result from swimming, washing the hair, use of headphones, hearing aids and humid environments.

Aquaear must not be used in the presence of grommets, a perforation or an external ear infection. If it stings it should be avoided.

WAX

Wax is normal and prevents ear infection. Do not remove it unless it blocks the ears.

Excessive wax can be controlled by using wax drops from the chemist, such as cerumol, waxol or olive oil. They are best instilled lying with the affected ear up. Wait for a minute or so, as the drops are thick, and will run down slowly into the ear.

Use a cotton wool ball to block the ear canal and thereby keep the drops in for a few minutes.

If this is ineffective see your family doctor to have the wax removed.

It is important to have the ears clean of excessive wax when wearing a hearing aid, as wax damage to the aid can occur.