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PrintDr. Dad: Earwax or Selective Hearing?
Each year as the Christmas holiday approaches, an unusual but welcome phenomenon seems to occur in the Worley household. The collective behavior of our children seems to improve. In December chores seem to be done with less parental reminding and there is less bickering and fewer physical altercations between Jack and Greta. In general, a more courteous and respectful attitude is conspicuously on display for parental consumption. I would like to think the spirit of Christmas is at the root of this change, but I am also not so old (or naive) as to have forgotten the motivations of the preteen child, having been one myself (even if it was before the invention of cell phones and the Internet). The promise of LOOT in the form of gifts, gift certificates and cold hard cash delivered on Christmas morning definitely has something to do with this yearly anomaly.
A week before Christmas and nine days before his birthday (a dream loot scenario, if you ask me) Jack, age 7, seemed to have surprisingly reverted back to his baseline non-December behavior. Instead of responding to the first request for his services, it was literally taking four or five increasingly frustrating attempts to get him to do his chores. The television and computer volumes also were noted to be painfully loud as was his conversation. It was almost as if he couldn’t hear what was being said, however, with a long tradition of selective hearing, no one gave it too much thought. That night as I put Jack to bed I noticed a brown substance on his pillowcase. Grabbing the otoscope, I quickly solved the mystery of Jack’s behavioral change. Peering into his right ear canal, I could not see his ear drum, the canal being completely obstructed with wax. The left side was nearly blocked as well.
Cerumen (wax) is made by the skin cells of the ear canal and is designed to trap dirt and debris, thus protecting the ear drum. Wax obstruction is common and symptoms include a reduction or complete loss of hearing, pain or discomfort and occasionally drainage of solid or semi-solid material from the ear canal. Anyone can experience this condition though some individuals seem to produce more wax than others. Diagnosis of wax obstruction should be made after viewing the ear canal with an otoscope. Clearance of the cerumen relieves the symptoms though this should be done carefully. A physician’s office can clear cerumen with a curette, suction device or irrigation of the ear canal with a syringe and warm water. Over the counter products such as Murine or Debrox drops can soften or liquify wax relieving the blockage as well. Never stick a q-tip in the ear canal as this may push the wax further back into the canal, damaging the ear drum.
Once Jack’s ears were cleared his behavior improved til December 29th, the date of his third and final birthday bash. When faced with the prospect of no more loot, his hearing returned to selective. Til next time.
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