Itchy ear and moisture from mold

Hearing Loss
#1

Hi, I went back a few pages and didn’t see any thread on this.

Both my ears are constantly itchy due to moisture accumulated by the mold I’m wearing. It sometimes causes pain (not infections, but it hurts and my ear swells up and it’s hard to put the mold in). I can’t help but scratch as it helps, but sometimes I scratch till I bleed (oops).

I keep the HAs out as much as I can… while I sleep, when I am home and such. My left ear is out more than my right since I don’t hear much there anyways.

I’ve used different creams at bedtime (when they’re out)… from anti-itch lotion to antibiotic ointments to help reduce the swelling. I’ve even used peroxide lightly soaked cotton to try to dry my ears out.

I find myself taking them out at work to dry my ears with tissues, and this gets bothersome, considering I am at work!

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what to do to prevent my ears from itching so much, and getting moisture?

please and thank you!

#2

There are different types of material for molds, some are hypo allergenic and some are not.

If your loss allows it, you could try vents and/or skeleton molds?

My ears get wet from my molds but not enough to itch them.

#3

How long have you had the molds? If it is new it could just take time to get used to, but it could also be an allergic reaction to the mold and you might need them to be re made out of something else. Talk to your audiologist or ENT. Good luck!

#4

Being short on cash, and I just paid $375 to get my aid refurbished, plus the $50 copay… I want to avoid going back to her and have her charge me for some new molds and another $50 copay :frowning: My left hearing aid will need to be refurbished too as it’s giving me internal feedback.

The molds are about 2-3 years old, still good condition. I tried vents, but they didn’t work so well with me.

#5

Draco,
I don’t know where you live but if you live in the US and even better close to SoCal you could send your HA to www.DirectHearingAidServices.com for refurbishing and repair: the most it will cost you is $142.99 + shipping. I have used these guys a couple of times and they have been great! If you take the HA to your audiologist for repair they are going to send it to someone else and charge you upwards of a couple hundred bucks to put it in a box and send it off. If you live near a Costco and are a member they will make you a new mold for $40 each. Good luck!

#6

really? thanks! I didnt know costco makes molds too. thanks!

#7

1. Go to a doctor.
2. Try boiling the earmolds for a minute. Not only will it kill off any bacteria that might be on them and therefore causing/making the situation in your ear worse, but this is also what some of the earmold manufacturers do to make a mold hypo-allergenic.
3. If they are new (like in the last 30-40 days) and you are truly allergic to the material they are made from you can send them back in and have the material switched.

A couple caveats to sending hearing aids in to companies that are not the original manufacturer:
*The parts they use are not necessarily from the manufacturer the hearing aid is from and not always compatible.
*If the repair ends up messing up the hearing aid you may have to send it into the original company to get it ‘un-fixed’ and now you’re right back to paying for another repair.
*If during the repair process the repair company changes something in the hearing aid or causes the programming to be lost you’re still going to have to go back to the audiologist to have them re-set.

My rule-of-thumb (after learning the hard way a couple times) is if the hearing aid can still be repaired by the original manufacturer, send it there. If it can’t, then send it to an all-make company.

Those are just my words of advice.

#8

As for my post above, if www.DirectHearingAidServices.com can’t fix it they will send it to the manufacturer and it will cost you only what the manufacturer charges to repair the HA, they charge you no service fee. All of the techs at Direct were employed by Starkey until 7 years ago when Starkey moved their So Cal operation back east and layed them all off.

#9

Draco, I have experienced itchiness and soreness from some types of moulds as well. Is it a hard or soft mold? Do you have any inner ear conditions that would be irritated by a hearing aid? I cannot wear one in my right ear because, apart from chronic discharge due to a mastoidectomy, the skin has been sensitized because my doctor used merthiolate to help stop the ear infections when I was younger, which burnt the skin. The other thing to consider is the material they used to make the mould in the first place. I was shocked when I went to one dispenser which requested me to sign a waiver saying the substances used may cause allergy, damage to the eardrum or death. Needless to say, I abandoned that company and went with dome style hearing aids. The other thing you might want to explore is if you have an allergy to another substance, such as pollen or mould (the fungus kind). I detach mom’s earmoulds and immerse them in water and hydrogen peroxide to clean and disinfect them.

It would be a good idea to get a professional opinion from a medical doctor.

#10

I’ve been told almond oil is good to help with problem ear molds and I totally agree, works wonders for myself.

#11

I have the same problem with my ears; tried boiling the molds and the plastic tubing became hard, and very difficult to insert onto the hearing aid.

#12

Oil, any oil kills the receivers. " Eargene" Soothing and refreshing ear lotion. $5.99 in Costco. It is fantastic, takes care of itchiness.

#13

I wore HAs for over 35 years before having two stapectomies last year. I haven’t worn them since my last surgery Oct. 5th, 2011. I always often used a q-tip dipped in 91% alcohol to clean my aids, letting the alcohol stay on for about 10-15 seconds and then drying with the dry end of the q-tip, usually at night after removing. When I got lax and forgot for a spell and start to get itchy ears I would use the q-tip and alcohol also to swab my ears. This always cleared it up. Bottle of 91% alcohol is about a dollar and will last almost forever.

#14

I use " Eargene"- soothing and refreshing lotion. I get it in Costco for $5.99. It works like a charm. I had seen it in local audiologist, they started to carry it. Itching stops after a few seconds, and I believe it does dry the ears too.:smiley:

#15

Since I started using wet ones hand wipes to clean my ears, I have not been having problems. No need to use q-tips, since it is the outer part of the canal that is involved in itchy ears. Less mold slipping, too.

#16

i would also recommend eargene, it seems to work really well.

boiling the molds may help, too.

i seem to have the best luck/fewest issues with acrylic molds that have been boiled in saline.

if you do get new molds at costco, as them to have westone boil them in saline before shipping them out. really helps with the itching issues for many patients.

#17

I had constant itchy ears that were driving me nuts…constant fluid in my ears that would drain out at night expecially my right ear which has a hole in teh drum.
ENts told me nothing they could do…then the surgeon who is doing my choleostoma surgery prescribed 3 medicines that have worked like a charm…2 are generic and cheap…the other unfortunately is expensive…its a two spray combination if your interested…one is
Patanase, thats the expensive one the other is Flonase generic.
The other prescription is for an oil like drops ok ready for this lol…name Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil…thats a generic name…
The combination of the 3 stopped my itching… good luck

#18

I have a similar problem for years and tried various molds and finally found that harder molds worked better for me. Doesn’t completely alleviate the itching but it is much improved. I sometimes clean with a mix of rubbing alcohol and vinegar as recommended by the ENT.

#19

Equal parts alcohol, vinegar, water, two drops each ear, no itch.

#20

Draco, i had the same problem,went to my dermatologist,he recommended a product called scalpasin, it is for dry scalp.you can purchase it over the counter. Apply it to a cue tip and place it around the outer ear canal or wher e the itch is. It works for me ,costs about six bucks a bottle. No problem since i started using it. Only apply when ear itches. Hope this helps,dayton