Hearing loss due to wax in ears

Thank you for the advice. Probably lost in the thousands of comments on here but I saw ent Feb.2019 before this became so bad.. esp. pain/tinnitus/bit more hearing loss as had him years before to remove half thyroid. He checked up in sinus, at the time, and all OK. Fast forward to my familydoctor moving out of town, getting the ear pain and everything starting after bad sore throat and many meds; and now phone an online clinic. They thought ear infection pain but wasnt. Anyway, we have 2 ENTs where we live.. so Clinic contacted both Spring 2020 and I had a year wait for the one I had seen and a 2 year wait for other.
So after a year #1 2 months ago ent #1 phoned and gave me heck for 20 minutes - husband heard, about his problems during covid etc. etc. I couldnt believe it; after a week or so I wrote a very polite note saying I hope I hadnt upset him with anything I had said (had told him had 2 ocular migraines that morning and I think he thought I was diverting from ear issues??)..anyway ten days or so later he phoned again, spoke to my husband, said putting ear tubes in punctures eardrums fifty percent of the time, then spoke to me, thanked me for my letter and said I had taught him a lesson?? then spent next ten minutes talking about himself and never once asked me about my ears UNBELIEVABLE.

He wrote a report and sent to the Clinic mixing up a small problem I had Feb.2019 with their referral a year later....and sent me a copy - it is full of errors, and he attached some information printed about tinnitus etc. from internet dated 2014. I have other illnesses and was just too worn out to counter-act this report or contact him again. So I have no GP, no ENT. I went to emerge about 18 months ago and nothing was showing from sinus xray at the time, but right cheek a bit numb.

Thankfully this site has show me not a lot can be done about tinnitus and really not a lot with, if it is: eustachian tube pain, and its quite painful. Also echo, pressure etc.

As long as mineral oil wont damage my ears I will try and also tell my daughter about it... I am 77 and you would think I would have questioned no wax in ears before now, but why didn't ENT ever mention it, or my GP?Doesnt seem normal not to have any at all .

Sorry this is disjointed but just wanted to say how horrible it is in Northern Ontario with not many specialists and I cant travel cos of fecal incontinence.. but may have to ?? Have NP and Glaucoma amongst other things, its just getting too many things to deal with ... bless you for trying to help, J.

@lacy2
Hi

I have cousins in Ontario and I am assuming you are under the national universal healthcare system. I have heard numerous complaints about wait times to see Doctors and the doctor you spoke to sounds like a moron. I am so sorry that, with all your health issues, there are not many physicians or specialists available. How is the Nurse Practitioner situation in your area?
Many times they take a more caring detailed holistic approach to treating someone.

Have a friend who moved here permanently because of that. Try some warm compresses on your ear…may relieve some discomfort.And, by the way, I am 80 and I never questioned why I did not have much ear wax. I do know ear wax has antibacterial properties and dry ears are a result of little or no wax. What little you may have might be working it’s way out naturally.
My ENT explained that to me….some people just don’t have much. I was always prone to ear infections too so it’s all tied together.

So try the mineral oil and warm compresses…softer ear skin and some warm moisture therapy.
Just don’t get too aggressive. I think you will notice a difference.

Be as well as you can in those circumstances.

FL Mary

Eustachian tube dysfunction and pain can be very difficult to handle. We find, in our family with many bad ears, that the following may help:
Lay on a heating pad (we use a rice pack) for 10 min or until pain eases a bit, then sit up and massage the painful area firmly. It works best for me if I tilt my head to expose sorest spot.
Use Mucinex to thin secretions inside ear (not ear wax).
Put warm olive oil and cotton in ear and cover with a warm wet cloth.
Sue

....I will try this.... as ent has not even looked in my ears since Feb 2019 and says over phone nothing can be done, but have the same type of pain daily, will be trying this.
By the way I used to make rice packs for friends from fabric but now cant sew... but a new/clean COTTON sock with 1 or 2 cups raw rice, enough to heat but still be pliable, and sew up the ankle part very well so rice grains dont fall out works.
I used to type instructions with pad as easy to overheat in microwave and daughter did get a small burn... for small pad only a minute , shake and feel, then maybe another 30 seconds... if space here to put the instructions i typed, can do....as can burn
I am not sure if Mucinex in Canada but will look; thanks

Also called guaifenesin, but you want the long-acting version. If it works for you, the cheapest place to buy is on-line via Amazon or eBay.

...thank you. Yes am fortunate that most medical issues being deal with, or not, have no cost. They don't allow a two tier payment system which worked for me when raising 2 children alone an could not affod, but now older and have saved some money would be willing to pay for help!
I "never" had ear issues except very occasional tinnitus over the years a ding here, a click there... until after throat infection and after taking many anti biotics for other issues.
Still no actual "ear infections" but pain inside and fullness, echo, did I mention PAIN. It was just lucky I noticed someone here mentioned the mineral oil and daughter also has dry ears so its worth a try as long as we don't make things worse.
Had I recorded the call from the ENT I think I could have reported but its not in me; I did write a note apologizing to him if I had said something to upset, and he phoned husband and I back, apologizing and STILL did not offer to check my ears..after a year wait; the only other ENT is a 2 year wait list.
As a matter of interest, the wait for either of our new Ophthalmologist for non urgent is now 3 to 4 years.. my Optometrist just got a letter circulated to all Optometrists in our area.Also they refuse to attend emergency during night... emerge drs. have to take care of!!
If one can travel out of town, to Toronto for instance, the wait is much much shorter, the specialists seem more knowledgeable and can also be referred to a teaching department in a hospital: but when can't travel have to wait, and wait. Best to move to the cig cities if a lot of medical issues!
Thanks again for help - I feel my dog gets faster diagnosis and treatment than I do, but last time it was a $1,000.00 visit as urgent.🐕

Oh no.... checked this guaifenesin and warns against my use as I have narrow angle Glaucoma and it can raise eye pressure... BUT doesn't say if "could happen" by putting in ears? This has been a problem for me since diagnosis of narrow angle Glaucoma, dant use this, cant use that...especially steroids, some anti-depressants and seems now this! ugh It seems its a chance to take many of the meds they list as problematic but it has meant I cannot take many helpful drugs for many issues in case affect my vision...J.

Oh my, please don't put guaifenesin in your ears. It is an oral med, and that wouldn't be helpful. I too have glaucoma, and closely watch the labels. Sometimes, if you consult your docs, they will OK short courses of "cautionary" treatments to get things controlled. Maybe because I have used it a long time, but Mucinex has no effect on my eye pressures, and neither do oral steroids, but I have to be super careful with inhaled ones - go figure.
Sue

..oh I am glad I asked
when you wrote:
Use Mucinex to thin secretions inside ear (not ear wax).
I assumed it had to be put iN ears...!

yes I am suffering so much cos cannot use meds that increase eye pressure in
narrow angle glaucoma, including antihistamines, steroids and many others...
so frightening and its a "toss of the dice" when using them as to whether or not will
affect vision and where I live the 2 ophthalmologists refuse to go to emerge during night
if anyone has a problem.... as they are only ones here for 54000 people plus surrounding
area... we NEED more specialists where I live - our bodies do not always act up
during 9am to 5pm, weekdays! J.

I was a US Foreign Service Officer who lived with my family in several tropical countries. Several years ago I began to swim laps and regularly swam about a 1000 meters a day. A few years ago I began to have problems with muffled hearing. I first consulted an otolaryngologist/ENT in the Republic of the Congo. He noticed ear canal blockage with cerumen and asked me to visit him for an ear canal cleaning every six months. My hearing would improve for a short time after the cleaning, but I began to need the procedure more frequently -- first every six months, then every three months, and in recent years my hearing improvement would not last more than a few weeks after each cleaning. Doctors in some countries told me to stop swimming. Others told me that swimming made no difference. In any case I stopped swimming daily laps, but continued to have ear problems, despite regular cleaning. Most of the medical professionals told me I had unusually narrow (stenotic) ear canals that had a tendency to clog up with cerumen in short order after cleaning, particularly as I began to get older. I retired from the Foreign Service some years ago and began to work at a university in Pennsylvania and more or less resigned myself to the fact that I would need ear cleaning every few weeks, something the ENT physicians were reluctant to authorize because of health insurance restrictions. I tried prescription medications, hydrogen peroxide, drops etc. but nothing seemed to work. One ENT doctor recommended surgery to widen my ear canals, something I was reluctant to undertake. What has begun to work is the procedure mentioned in the previous posting, namely putting a small dose of mineral oil in each ear with a medicine dropper every evening before going to bed. One of my ENT physicians had mentioned mineral oil as an "old fashioned" remedy. I thought I might as well try this old fashioned approach since nothing else has seemed to work. After several months of doing this, I hear better than I have for years. I can take part in most conversations without difficulty and am much more at ease at social events. I am not trying to give medical advice, but I did want to let people who read this forum know that an old-fashioned approach to dealing with hearing loss caused by stenotic ear canals/cerumen obstruction in the canals seems to have improved my hearing and made daily life much more enjoyable. MN John