Hearing aids fouled by ear wax

I purchased a otoscope from Amazon to see if l have any excessive ear wax. It is connected to phone or computer. I also brought a ear cleaning kit too. I clean my ears twice a month so excessive wax won’t get deposited on earmold.

OK, will have a look at an otoscope. I definitely have to clean my ears. They were full of wax and that plugged the aids real quick when I put them in yesterday. My own fault, I should have hosed my ears out first.

But my aids have been on hiatus since the pandemic broke. Being home-bound reduced the need for hearing aids. It is just me and my wife. Instead of wearing the aids I just say “pardon” more. She does the same to me. :slight_smile:

But yesterday I went out and put the aids in without too much thought and they plugged within minutes.

I just use a syringe and warm water to clean my ears. Seems to work OK.

I suggest soaking plugged wax guards in hydrogen peroxide instead of water much more effective.

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Buy new wax guards online. Wet wax will get beyond that point and destroy the receiver.

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Costco should have shown you how to change the wax guard. And at the very least should have given you some when you purchased the aids. If your Costco store is open go in and buy some spares.

Yeah, stop by Costco and get a pack of guards. They are meant to be disposable. I’m sure you can clean and reuse, but that doesn’t really seem cost effective. They only take a few seconds to replace.

I have one aid. In the last 12 months I’ve probably used 5(?) in addition to the one it came with, so I average a couple months out of each one. There are times where I might use 2 in one week and times, like now, where I can go 3+ months.

CostCo will clean the aids for you, for free. May need an appointment, I can remember for sure. And as others have said, you need to have replacement wax guards. CostCo should have explained about them when you bought the aids, and you should have been given some as part of the starter kit.

This is a good ear cleaning system to remove ear wax, it is safe and you can’t do any harm. Murine Ear Wax Removal System | Walgreens

Thanks for the tips, everybody. Costco did not give me much when I got these aids a few years ago. I did go back once with a problem and they gave me some click domes for nothing. I’m not a Costco member any more as I don’t think it is worth it and the store is rather far from me. So it might be best to find supplies on line.

My ears and aids are currently clean and the aids are working!

Anyone know who makes the Kirkland Signature 7? I’m not sure what brand of wax guard would fit.

Rexton I believe.

A search of the forum can help.
Search KS7 Rexton

@MDB wears KS7 aids.
He knows the answer for sure.

KS7 is made by Rexton. Wax guard from Rexton or Signia should work.

Those screens are very fine… DIY cleaning won’t get you far.

KS7 instructional videos

Amazon has damn near every possible hearing aid supplies.

Jodivac is a great useful accessory for cleaning wax guards.

DIY cleaning worked fine for me!

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Or you can order online - not sure if the Costco site offers them, but I have seen wax guards and domes on Amazon - just need to get the correct type for your Hearing Aid model.

Just FWIW: the receiver contains a copper coil which isn’t hermetically sealed. If you find something that liquidises the wax and let it dry on the receiver filter you risk subsequent condensate/perspiration/earwax mixing with it and forming something that is quite aggressive to the components.

Given how cheap some varieties of wax guards are, especially the Mk1 Cerustops, the economics of cleaning them over outright changes makes no sense.

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The “Elephant Ear” is the product that my doctor uses for ear cleaning: Elephant Ear Washer | Dr. Easy Medical Products | Doctor Easy. So, I purchased one of my own a few years ago. I just put a few ounces of Docusate Sodium Liquid (available at Walmart) in the bottle first, fill the bottle with warm water, and it is ready to use. It works great!

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FWIW, I use Debrox weekly. It does a good job of removing ear wax - at least on me. I change my wax guards every 4 - 8 weeks. Hope this helps.

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Not had to change my wax guards in 5 weeks buy I have found a wax problem with one ear. The dome has two small holes either side rather than the end. These holes get a visible wax build up and if left would obviously get into the filter. First time I realised these holes were blocked was after the sound in that ear became muffled.
After I cleared the wax in the dome (I wont tell you how) I check daily. If I see the start of wax build up I clear it by pushing a fine interdent tooth brush through, clean the wax off the bristles, and every thing is fine. It saves the hassle pulling off the dome, extracting the filter, replacing, and then refitting the dome.