The holidays are over, and it’s ear time!
OK, school is about to start, and hearing the teacher is a good thing. What’s the latest thing in ear health?
There can be lots of reasons why children aren’t hearing well, including middle ear infections that can start with a cold. But sometimes, it is as simple as an ear blocked with wax.
Earwax is supposed to come out naturally, but in many families that just doesn’t work. Swimming in summer can make the blockage worse, and before you know it, the child can’t hear the teacher.
So how do you fix it?
The safest thing is to ask a doctor or ear nurse to look inside the ear, to see what is going on. It is important to make sure the eardrum is intact, without any holes, before putting anything into children’s ears.
Ear nurse clinics are now one alternative for assessing the ear, as well as your GP.
Once you know the eardrum is OK, the health practitioner will advise you on the best method to remove the wax.
Ear drops from the chemist may help dissolve the wax, but in some cases, this doesn’t work, or the ear quickly blocks again.
A dry method to remove earwax, called micro-suction, is used by ear nurses in micro-suction ear clinics and also by specialist ear nose and throat (ENT) doctors.
Children as well as adults can have micro-suction, but the first step is to get the ears checked out.
Learn more: wwwcrystalclearclinic.com.au
