Ear wax-Part-2

Ear wax-afterall what is it ?-Ear wax is produced by the glands present in the skin of the external auditory canal.It traps dust particles and gives oily feel to the skin of the external auditory canal.Before  reading  this  article  pl  go through our article on  Ear wax -Part -1 in healthuseful.com

https://healthuseful.com/ is the link for this website.

What  will happen  if  the  external  auditory canal  does not  secrete  ear  wax?

Then external auditory canal  will become  hard, dry and  more  prone to  infections.

What are symptoms of  ear  wax  ?

Tinnitus (Ringing  sensation in the ear)

Earache,

Ear blocking sensation,

Decreased  hearing,

Ear  itching,

Infection,

Vertigo (Giddiness -sense of  loss of  balance) ,

Cough -due to  wax  causing  pressure on  the  external auditory canal and  stimulating  the  vagus  nerve. Vagus  nerve  has  common  innervation to  the  ear  and  larynx  and  so  there is  cough  sensation.

Ear  wax and  hearing  aids -Hearing  aid  advice  should be taken from  ENT  specialist doctor only  as  he will  examine  the  ear  with  ear  microscope  first  and  if  any ear  wax  is  there, he will remove it first  so  that  there  will be not  any  problem  with  fitting  of  hearing  aid.

Also  he will  get  a  proper  Pure  tone  Audiometry  done  so that  ,he  can  advise  digital  hearing  aid to  provide  amplification  only  at  those  frequencies  where amplification  is  required by the  patient which  prevents  any  undue  discomfort  to  the  patient.

Also  from the  pure  tone  Audiometry he  can  inform  the  patient  whether  he will  really  be  beneficial  from the  hearing  aid  and to  how much  extent .

Etiology of  ear wax problems –

Excess  production  of  ear wax  in  some  individuals.

Those  individuals  who  do swimming more  have  tendency to develop  more  ear  wax.

Those  people who  use  hearing  aids  or  earplugs  in  those  people there is  no  proper  drainage of  ear wax leading  to  more  accumulation  and  blockage.

Those  individuals  who  use  ear  buds pins, napkins, towels  to  clean  ear, in  them wax  gets  pushed  further  inside  the  external auditory canal leading  to  problems.

What are  risk  factors for  developing  ear  wax? (In  what  kind  of  people ear  wax  is  more, or  in  what  circumstances  ear  wax  accumulation  is  more)

It  will  be  more  in the  following  situations –

In  people  with  more  hairy  skin.

In  people  with  patients with osteomas or  benign  growths  of  the  external auditory canal

In patients  where  the  external auditory canal  is  narrow  or not  fully  formed.

For  narrow  external auditory canal, canaloplasty surgery  is  advised  to  increase the  diameter of the external auditory canal so  that  drainage of  ear  wax becomes  easier and  it  doesn’t  accumulate  so  as to  create  problems.

In  individuals  with  eczema

In  individuals  with  diseases  like  lupus, Sjogren syndrome

In  individuals  with  frequent  ear  infections

In  old age  as  the  wax  becomes  more than  usual  dry and  difficult to  drain.

How  to  clean the  ear-

We  always  recommend  to  get  the  ear  wax  if  any  to get  cleaned  from a  qualified and experienced ENT specialist doctor.

Always  avoid  cleaning  with  hot  oil, cold oil, pins  ,needles, keys, sticks, or  with  buds-this  can  push  the  wax  further  inside  and  cause  damage  to the  skin of the external auditory canal  or  to  the  tympanic membrane.

Methods  used  by  ENT specialist doctor  to  clean the  ear-

By ear  microscope using  suction  irrigation.

by  syringing.

In  the  following  situations  syringing  should be totally avoided –

The person has had previous ear surgery

An individual has a  grommet insertion done  in the  tympanic membrane which is a small tube to allow ventilation of the middle ear.

An individual born with a cleft palate.

The individual with a perforated eardrum

If  the  individual has recently had otitis media, which is an infection of the middle ear.

In case if there is mucous discharge from the ear, which could be a undiagnosed perforation or  a  cholesteotoma

Anyone who has had any problems, such as severe vertigo or pain, following previous irrigation should undergo this procedure only by  a  qualified and experienced ENT specialist doctor if  possible  in the presence of  anaesthetic in a  ICU set up  hospital .

Complications  of ear wax -Impacted  ear  wax if  it gets  infected  then it  can  cause  ,meningitis  ,cranial  paralysis-these things  are  very  rare ,

Vertigo,

Nausea

For any ENT (Ear, nose ,throat ) problems you  may  contact -Prabha ENT (Ear nose throat) clinic ,Dr Sagar Rajkuwar (MS-ENT), ENT specialist doctor,

Adress -Prabha ENT clinic plot no 345 ,Saigram colony ,opposite Indoline

 furniture Ambad link road, Ambad ,1 km from Pathardi phata ,Nashik 422010 ,Maharashtra .

Appointment  nos  for clinic  visit  or  for  online  consultation -7387590194,

9892596635  .