![]() Usually, the best way to control earwax is to leave it alone, Schwartz said. ![]() “People put everything in their ears: Q-tips, bobby pins, pencils, fingernails,” Schwartz said. That’s not counting the people who try DIY treatments to get rid of earwax, nearly all of which are frowned on by the professionals. “As soon as the earwax is cleared up, even their behavior has calmed down,” Brown said.Įxcessive earwax sends about 12 million people to see health workers every year, including about eight million who require wax removal, according to the otolaryngology association. It exacerbates hearing loss, which can impede communication and worsen aggression and other difficult behaviors. Julie Brown, assistant director of nursing in the memory support unit at SilverRidge Assisted Living in Gretna, Neb., said impacted earwax can be a particular problem for patients with dementia. ![]() “About 3 in 5 people I see have some degree of impaction and most are completely impacted.” “It’s epidemic,” said York, whose clients now include 10 local centers. It’s so bad that Janie York, of Omaha, Neb., started Hear Now mobile hearing solutions, one of a growing number of businesses devoted to cleaning hearing aids and checking the ears of elderly people living in residential care settings. “It seems like such a basic thing, but it’s one of the most common reasons people present for hearing-related problems.” Seth Schwartz, a Seattle otolaryngologist who led the most recent update of the guidelines. “In elderly patients, it’s fairly common,” said Dr. In 2016, federal Medicare recipients logged nearly 1.7 million earwax removal services at a cost of more than $51 million, according to payment records analyzed by Kaiser Health News. Up to two-thirds of people in nursing homes may suffer from that condition, known as impaction, according to 2017 guidelines for removal of impacted earwax issued by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. In most people, the self-cleaning process works fine.īut in others-including about 10 percent of young children, 20 percent of adults and more than 30 percent of elderly and developmentally disabled people-the wax collects to the point where it can completely block the ear canal. “Right now, we see some correlation between hearing loss and cognitive decline.”Įarwax-which is not really wax at all, but a substance called cerumen that binds with dirt, dust and debris-is normally produced by the body as a way to clean and protect the ears. Some people experience vertigo, which increases the risk of falling,” said Jackie Clark, a board-certified audiologist who is president of the American Academy of Audiology. “The excessive amount can cause hearing loss or ringing in your ears. nursing homes and assisted living centers. And when it goes unrecognized, it can pose serious problems, especially for the 2.2 million people who live in U.S. That greasy, often gross, buildup occurs more often in older ears than those of the young, experts say. Of all the indignities that come with aging, excessive earwax may be the most insidious.
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