Hearing aid a help?

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I had wax removal done at a doctors office (by nurses) once but they did not get it all out.  I ended up buying one of those squeegee-like bottles - same equipment they used - and used it several times on myself in the shower.  If you do this make sure to get the water/peroxide mixture to body temperature.  You feel pretty sick if you don't.

Edited February 10 by Stompin at the Savoy

[JSngry]

Earwax can clog up your devices too, not just your ears. So clean them regularly and go to your provider equally regularly to have them do the detailed work. Where I went/go, it's free and as often as you like. 

[mikeweil]

Ear wax check and removal once a year is covered by health care, as well as controlling the hearing aids. 

I'm skeptical about cleaning my ear tubes in the shower, as contact of the ear drum with water is not recommended, ear way does not dissolve in water, and the same goes for cleaning agents of any kind. Mineral oil cannot be absorbed by the human body and I will let none of this contact any part of my body. (Vaseline would be the exception only if protecting the skin from anything after any damage would be advised.  

Cleaning the hearing aids is another question. I try to do it, but is tricky and requires much care or you damage the intricate tiny  electronic parts. 

Nothing like the real thing .....

Thankd for posting the links about dementia. As I understand it, it is the restricted stimulation by reduced social contact and aural information, kind of a deprivation, that enhances demtial processes. Whether hearing aids can remedy that, is another question. But they are helpful, I would be the last to deny that. I use mine based on the situation. 

[JSngry]

For those with the option, check before buying to see if the seller offers free and/unlimited service after the sale. My Phonaks dealer (an audiologist who sells other brands) offers three-years coverage, no questions asked, and can get you in and out tout-suite (an hour or less) for standard servicing.

That's the duration of the Phonak warranty, but she's just down the street and around the corner, so hey, easy-peasy. Quality of life right there! 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

 

I'm skeptical about cleaning my ear tubes in the shower, as contact of the ear drum with water is not recommended, ear way does not dissolve in water, and the same goes for cleaning agents of any kind.

 

 

The wax does not dissolve; it softens and is driven out by the stream of water.  Many years back a doctor removed ear wax for me by reaching in and pulling it out with specialized hand-held metal instruments.  Nowadays doctors here generally use the squeegee bottle method with water and a small amount of hydrogen peroxide.  This is what I had done to me at a hospital - exact same equipment.  In the hospital they had a chair set up with a basin next to you, etc.  At home I just do it in the shower.  You squeeze the handle and a stream of water goes into your ear and comes out again.  If you let it build up for many years it can take a number of sessions to get it all out.  My advice is to get this done by medical professionals and only afterward, once you understand the procedure, try at home if you want.

By the way, the consistency of ear wax is genetically determined and there are two main types.  Treatment of the two types is somewhat different.

Edited February 11 by Stompin at the Savoy

[jazzcorner]

8 hours ago, jlhoots said:

Once / year for wax removal has worked for me. I think it varies for each person.

Yes it does.

5 hours ago, JSngry said:

For those with the option, check before buying to see if the seller offers free and/unlimited service after the sale. My Phonaks dealer (an audiologist who sells other brands) offers three-years coverage, no questions asked, and can get you in and out tout-suite (an hour or less) for standard servicing.

That's the duration of the Phonak warranty, but she's just down the street and around the corner, so hey, easy-peasy. Quality of life right there! 

Yes have the same service here in Germany for my Signia but unlimited.

[Gheorghe]

16 hours ago, mikeweil said:

My problem is, I can't afford 6.000 for a pait of hearing aids, and, even though they are tiny with sophisticated electronics, I think the price is somewhat high, if you consider what excellent hifi you can get for that money. I tried them and thought they didn't sound that much better than the health care covered basic models that still cost 1.500. Only inconvenience is the need for frequent battery change and oustide filters (my production of ear wax is quite high and triggered by the othoplasts in the ears.

Maybe I could afford it but I don´t want. Better go for two weeks to carribean islands to warm up my bones and have that feeling, just to escape the cold weather, and come back and be strong and relaxed for the next string of gigs. 

About wax removal. Good thing you told me about this. I think I am overdue. But in the years before , speaking about health asigurare I went to a medic of state who doesn´t cost since ensurance pays, I was not so pleased. He handles it quite rough and he also seems to think that he is not only ORL medic, but specialist ortoped too, since he always as soon as you come in, he tolds you that all you suffer from is from the cervical and prepares an injection. 

I didn´t feel too good after that injection. 

Now I better go to medic privat and have to pay and sometimes get some money back from ensurance. 

Edited February 11 by Gheorghe