Earache, tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss might be caused by excessive earwax, an otolaryngologist said, urging people who have those symptoms to have their ears checked by a doctor at least every six months.
Chang Yi-hao (張益豪), who runs a clinic in Hsinchu City, said he recently treated an eight-year-old girl whose hearing had been affected by the accumulation of earwax.
Her parents took her to the clinic after a regular health check at school indicated that her hearing was not good, Chang said.
Photo courtesy of Chang Yi-hao
After Chang found that excessive, dense earwax affected the girl’s hearing, her mother said that she had believed that her daughter sometimes pretended she could not hear her, the doctor said.
“I guess she really could not hear me,” Chang cited the mother as saying.
After the earwax was removed, the girl’s hearing improved and she expressed great relief, Chang said.
Earwax is usually flaky and large amounts of it rarely accumulate, as it falls off the ear when people chew or move about in their sleep, Chang said.
Removing it is usually not necessary, he added.
However, some people have stickier earwax that does not fall off easily, Chang said, adding that attempts to remove it with a cotton swab might push it further up the ear canal.
People with narrow outer ear canals are also at risk, he said, urging them to see an otolaryngologist every three to six months.
People should seek to keep their ear canals dry, he said.
Chang said he uses the same method for cleaning the ear canals of children and adults.
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