Compacted Ears

I know someone like this and they now either use normal ear drops inbetween treatments or a drop of warmed olive oil. Doing this now means they only need the ear candles about every 3 months. (damn)!:p

Thanks Treacle,
She has been using warmed olive oil on a cotton bud. Do you have a suggestion as to a better way as she's a bit worried about putting too much in.
Thanks again
Allie

You could use a dropper or you can also get little capsules at Boots and you just cut the tip off and squirt! (Any excess oil will just run out of the ear anyway).

Each time I see your thread title 'compacted ears' I imagine someone with tiny compact ears!:rolleyes: Sorry! 😀

Each time I see your thread title 'compacted ears' I imagine someone with tiny compact ears!:rolleyes: Sorry! 😀

...that's exactly what I thought too! Ooops 😉 x

To put olive oil in the ears, you need a dropper and use about 5-10 drops, then put a plug of cottonwool to stop it leaking out. Or, at least that's how we were taught to do it (more years ago than I care to remember) - best done at night. The client will need to do this for a week or thereabouts to soften the wax. I did see a different type of ear drops the other day which was based on glycerine, (it absorbs water to itself), which from the mechanical point of view should well work too. Both methods will soften the wax and make it easier to either syringe out or maybe use an ear candle. With syringing, you can see what actually comes out in the washings. I am still a bit unsure how the wax gets into the ear candle, even with the sucking effect of the rising heat - that being said it is a very pleasant experience. I suppose if the candling doesn't clear it then your client will have to go and have them syringed.

Hi Caroline,

The wax doesn't go into the candle, they just help to loosen the wax.
My friend asked if they could have their ears syringed because of repeated problems with wax building up and they were told that this was very rarely done these days due to it now being thought that it can damage the ear drum!

Hi Treacle

My stepfather had it done last week and needs it done regularly, otherwise he can't hear a thing :confused:, as the wax builds up and impacts against his eardrum.

Yes, there are possible dangers in doing it, but then most medical procedures have an element of danger attached to them. The operator must be suitably trained, of course! 😀 Mind you H&S would have us all wrapped in cotton-wool and malfunctioning!!!:002: LoL

Cheers

Caroline

Hi Treacle

My stepfather had it done last week and needs it done regularly, otherwise he can't hear a thing :confused:, as the wax builds up and impacts against his eardrum.
Cheers
Caroline

But...does he need it doing on a regular basis because regular syringing has actually made the condition worse?!? So more syringing now means he needs more syringing to counter act the effect of the syringing.....;)
It's as they say about using cotton buds to remove ear wax - the wax is formed to give some protection to the delicate parts of the ear and when the body senses a foreign body (the cotton bud) going into the ear, more wax is produced for protection.
Nature and the human body are so clever and then we go and interfere!:rolleyes:
It's like the production of hair - it's there for a purpose and we go and shave it all off!:rolleyes: :p

You have a point there! He usually waits until he cannot hear at all before having it done. My husband is the same - wears 2 deaf aids (too much noisy farm machinery in the past) and they (deaf aids) just get bunged up, as do his ears. It's never on a regular date, but purely when necessary. I think it's to do with the amount of saturated fats consumed too - can't get my OH to change his habits!

Generally speaking I believe in letting nature sort itself out, but just occasionally it does need a helping hand.

Treacle is right. Syringing the ears removes all the wax very quickly, stimulating the ear canal to produce more which it needs, in moderation, to keep it clean.

Unfortunately the use of hearing aids, or anything placed in the ear on a regular basis (such as headphones), can also stimulate the ear to produce more wax.

If oil is placed in the ear canal, this should be stopped a couple of days before an ear candling treatment, as the candles could cause the oil in the ears to become too hot.

Thanks for all you posts, I will pass on your advice and hopefully things will start to improve more quickly.
Allie:)