PROBLEMS HAVING EARWAX.

Earwax Obstruction

Another leading cause of hearing aid failure is wax blockage. The technical name for common earwax is cerumen. It’s produced by a gland in the outer ear roughly one-third of the way down the ear canal. The
product of this gland is a pasty substance, usually light brown or tan in color and bitter in taste. (Take our word on this one!) Cerumen is believed to exist in the ear canal to discourage flies and insects from entering this opening.The degree of wax generated in the canal varies greatly from one person to the other. On average, men experience more wax buildup than women. Some women, however, can produce large amounts of cerumen, as can children. For reasons not clearly understood, some individuals generate little or no wax. If you’re presently unaware of the wax condition in your ears, your physician or hearing healthcare professional can readily inform you of this after examination with an otoscope (ear light).
Hearing aid wearers must continually be on the lookout for adverse effects of earwax. When hearing aids
are inserted into the ear canals, (or earmolds in the case of BTE hearing aids), they can slide alongside or
directly into accumulated wax. The fresher the wax, the softer and more easily it can get pushed into the
sound bore (receiver) of an aid. A thin smear of earwax over the receiver (sound) tube will shut the hearing
aid down instantly.

Preventing Wax Build-up

The first defense against wax build-up is regular cleaning of your ear canals by a physician or audiologist, or
as simple as it sounds, in a shower by direct spray into the canals. The cautions here are to be careful of the
water pressure, and be certain you don’t have a hole in your eardrum, or any other condition which might
prevent such easy management of earwax.
Hearing instrument specialists are generally not trained to remove earwax, and while wax removal is within the scope of practice for audiologists, many prefer not to provide this service. In any case, you are well-advised to locate a person or office that will provide this service as needed. Attempting to control build-up of earwax by regular use of cotton swabs is not recommended. Aside from the possibility of doing physical damage to the ear canal or drum (the “don’t put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow” concept), cotton swabs will usually only serve to pack the wax deeper with each attempt. By looking into the ear, professionals can readily discern the cotton swab users, as the wax shows a nicely formed concave surface down in the ear canal.
Some hearing aid wearers with chronic wax problems may find regular use of “ear lavage” effective. Equipment along with instructions for home use are available in many hearing care offices and drug stores. Wax softeners for use prior to cleaning can also be purchased. Some people may be uncomfortable
squirting water into the ear canal. A discussion with your physician would be advisable before attempting it. The main problem with this type of treatment is the difficulty knowing when the wax is all out.
The second defense against wax blockage is utilization of some type of wax guard for your hearing aid. There are a number of commercially available products which suit this purpose.

Many manufacturers now provide such a device on their hearing aids. Directly, or under magnification,
you can look into the sound opening of the hearing aid to see if a wax guard is there. These common devices
include “spring,” “Band-Aid” or “trap-door” style guards. All such devices should be discussed with
your hearing health care provider who can explain service requirements.

Responsibility for Wax Maintenance

Whomever dispensed your hearing aids does not have the primary responsibility to keep them free of earwax.You need to develop a daily habit of inspecting the end of the hearing aid where the sound comes out and looking for wax blockage. If accumulation is noticed, this wax can be readily removed in most cases

by the hearing aid wearer with tools provided by the hearing healthcare professional. Remember, periodic
check-ups (every 3-6 months) with your hearing health care professional are recommended.After you have been fit with hearing aids, be sure your hearing healthcare professional demonstrates how to clean your hearing aids using tools which normally come with the purchase of hearing aids.

When and How to Remove Wax

The best time to inspect hearing aids for wax is at the end of the day. At this time, any accumulated wax will still be soft and more easily removed. If you use the Band-Aid style guard, you can wipe across it gently. After a few days if you observe the cushion separating from the adhesive backing, remove it altogether and replace. If used properly, you’ll never need to clean out the receiver (loud speaker) which is the rubber
housing hole at the tip of an aid.
If your hearing aids have the wire coil in them, you may use a device known as a wax loop. This is merely
a wire looped around the end of a piece of plastic. Gently insert it into the receiver tube, turn it one full
rotation, then remove. Avoid picking or poking. Clean any debris from the loop. Nightly cleaning has the
added advantage of keeping the receiver tube open for more adequate ventilation and drying. Review this
procedure carefully and thoroughly with your hearing healthcare provider so that inadvertently you don’t
damage your hearing aids by cramming the wax loop into the wrong opening (such as the microphone port
on the face of the hearing aid) or too deeply into the receiver port which can damage the speaker diaphragm.
Additionally, a wax tool that is a little too large to fit readily into the receiver tube can push the tube itself down into the shell of the hearing aid. This will damage the aid, often causing it to squeal, resulting in needed repairs.Wax should also be removed from hearing aid vents. This is the other port in the hearing aid next to the receiver (loud speaker) port. It can be identified because vents are longer, they do not have a rubber housing through the channel, and often run the length of the earpiece or ear mold. This also means they’re not as easily cleaned. Some people have resorted to the use of wires of various gauges to ream out vents. Wire should be used with caution as it can crack the shell. Large vents are less likely to get plugged up and much easier to clean. Pipe cleaners work extremely well for large vents, such as ITE's, and light gauge fishing line for vents in CICs. Your provider will have suggestions for obtaining these and other suitable tools for cleaning.Sometimes, wax build-up becomes dry and flaky before it’s removed. When this happens, a good brushing of the hearing aid openings can be helpful in addition to use of the wire loop. When brushing, always hold the hearing aid upside down so that wax particles fall out of, rather than down into, the hearing aid. Also, keep your brush clean so that wax particles which collect in the bristles from previous brushing aren't injected inadvertently into the openings.