WWYD? (Wax & Speech)

Princess_Lily

DS for whatever reason builds up earwax pretty quickly, to a point where there is substantial hearing loss unless the wax is removed. He is in ST.

He doesnt tell anyone when his ears are clogged, but you can look in his ears and see wax buildup.

I have tried Debrox, but it takes 4+ days to only get omly 50% removed, and within a week we are back to square 1 - its stressful for everyone, but he is very good about keeping still to get it out.

Would you get this stuff removed 1x a month at pediatrician/ENT or continue the process at home? Does anyone's children have wax problems? The wax is dry/flaky and stubborn to remove!

Princess_Lily

Yes, 2mo ago DS was impacted. We had a pre & post wax removal Audiology test. He was found to have moderate hearing loss in both ears due to the wax.

He has what is called an articulation disorder, and we're in ST. The therapist said he needs it, and recommends periodic reevaluations. Do you think I stop ST, and see what he qualifies for in school? I was planning on continuing ST until school starts. Its $200.00/mo for this service, since we never did EI.

Well, it's stressful because for example...after 30min of "soaking," you use a medical bulb and wash the canal with warm water to flush out all the wax, etc.

I must have sprayed 6cups in his ear, and while it moved, it took the wax out. He kept asking , "Are you done?". imagine 6 cups. Its an hour long process everyday...and the process may or may not be successful. I have to repeat this process every week!

They think its simply the structure of his canal, it being so narrow, it doesn't allow wax to move freely...it.gets stuck.

Princess_Lily

The above was the "home maintenence", as per the ENT. I'm going to try for another day or two and then call the doc.

About the speech, he has advanced verbal skills (kindergarten level), it's just the articulation. It will be interesting the results of this...

Assembly_Reqd

Isn't wax production the body's way of removing irritants from the ear canal? If you left the ears completely alone would they lesson their wax production?

When we first got hearing aids the Audiologist said that Nate's wax production would increase until the body got used to the ear molds being in the ears.

Could you have him wear those moldable ear plugs to bed in order to desensitize the ears?

Princess_Lily

Assembly, my genetics have caused overproduction of wax in DS, and combined with his narrow canal (especially in one ear), wax will continue to develop there until removed - never really coming out. I had the same stuff as a child. I'm going to ask the ENT if I should go in every 3-6mo for a cleaning. Its sounds stressful, but the wax he produces is the hardest to get out (flaky), and I think one office visit is better than 5 days out of of the week sticking copious amounts of water in an ear.


As for the reading, he is not reading per se yet. He has some basic sight words down...his name, his grandparents nicknames, and mommy and daddy too. Not the typical a, an, as, and...

I pulled his evaluation report, and language skills and phonological development were tested AFTER his wax cleaning. The articulation portion was tested using the GFTA-2. DS's speech as per his SLP is slurred & fast rate; His raw score is 20 out of 90. he is in the 16th percentile for his age. He distorts /th/, /sh/, /r/, and /l/.

Princess_Lily

I have that chart on my fridge! I'm not sure why the SLP called out difficulties in words that are age appropriate pronunciations. Maybe goals to work on?