BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Impacted cerumen is a common condition in adults. It is commonly believed that wearing hearing aids may increase the cerumen impaction, although no empirical evidence exist. The current study was aimed at studying if the use of hearing aids increase the likelihood of impaction of cerumen. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study used retrospective design. The study sample incl...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cerumen (or earwax) impaction is usually asymptomatic, although in some cases, it leads to symptoms such as hearing loss and discomfort in the ear. Various approaches with different sideeffects have been applied for the removal of earwax buildup. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of external otitis after suction clearance. We also investigated the prev...

BACKGROUND Little information is available about the pattern of ear diseases in the elderly population. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the pattern of ear diseases among elderly Nigerians, so as to provide an objective basis for cost-effective health care planning for the emerging geriatric population. METHODS A retrospective study of 320 patients aged 60 years or older present...

BACKGROUND An in-vitro setup was established in order to determine a) the diffusion activities of eight otic preparations (Aurizon®, Eas Otic®, Epi Otic®, Otifree®, Otomax®, Panolog®, Posatex®, Surolan®) through synthetic cerumen, and b) the ceruminolytic capacity and impregnation effects of these products. The main lipid classes of canine cerumen produced with moderate, non-purulent otitis ext...

Cerumen impaction may cause hearing loss and pain. We investigated the prevalence of cerumen impaction in a population of outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum psychoses and studied factors contributing to it. As a part of our study--"The Living Conditions and Physical Health of Outpatients with Schizophrenia"--we performed a thorough medical examination including otoscopy of the ear canal fo...

Cerumen impaction is common and saliently affects well-being Cerumen excreted from the skin of the external ear canal provides a protective oily layer, entraps foreign materials and has antibacterial properties. It is produced by special glands and usually is degraded in parallel, so in most people there is no wax accumulation. If a large quantity of wax is retained, it blocks the ear canal and...

This study was undertaken to determine how many cases of chronic tinnitus in a clinic population resulted from cerumen removal procedures and to summarize cerumen management methodologies and recommendations that will reduce the likelihood of such serious complications. Detailed questionnaires were mailed to 2400 consecutive patients (1704 male, 696 female; mean age, 53.3 +/- 11.8 years; age ra...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the OtoClear Safe Irrigation System for removing cerumen from the external auditory canal in children. METHODS Eligible subjects were 6 months-17 years of age with cerumen obstructing > or = 50% of the tympanic membrane (TM) from view (by otoscopy). Pneumatic otoscopy, tympanometry, and audiometry were performed followed by cleansing of the aff...

BACKGROUND This open-label study evaluated the safety and efficacy of a novel product for the removal of impacted cerumen in adult patients. METHODS This was a prospective, single-center, single-arm, self-controlled clinical trial conducted in a community general practice setting. The novel product contains glycolic acid in an otologically-acceptable buffer containing sodium bicarbonate and g...

Cerumen is a naturally occurring, normally extruded product of the external auditory canal. It is usually asymptomatic, but when it becomes impacted it can cause complications such as hearing loss, pain, or dizziness. It also can interfere with examination of the tympanic membrane. Depending on available equipment, physician skill, and patient circumstances, treatment options for cerumen impact...