Effect of cerumen removal on the hearing ability of geriatric patients

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to estimate the prevalence of impacted cerumen in a population of hospitalized elderly patients, and to evaluate the effect of cerumen removal in reversing hearing impairment. The design was a pre-test/post-test static-group comparison. Over a 1-year period, a random sample (n = 226) was drawn every third day from daily admission lists of English-speaking patients aged 65 or older, admitted to non-intensive care units of one hospital. On either the second or third day of hospital stay, subjects were given a hearing test using an AudioScope and then their ear canals were examined for impacted cerumen. Ear canal irrigations were performed on those subjects with impacted cerumen. All subjects received a second hearing test. Results indicate that impacted cerumen is a common condition in the hospitalized elderly. Thirty-five per cent of the sample had impacted cerumen, 19.9% bilaterally and 15.0% unilaterally. Furthermore, removal of cerumen significantly improved hearing ability. Improved hearing scores were obtained in 75.0% of the ears after the impacted cerumen was removed, with subjects hearing from one to three more tones per ear on the second hearing test. An analysis of variance for repeated measures on hearing was computed to test for the effect of removing cerumen from individuals who had neither, one or both ears occluded. A significant interaction (F = 146.83, d.f. = 2/223, P less than 0.0001) between hearing tests and cerumen removal was found indicating that those with no occlusion had no change in hearing whereas both occluded groups increased with the greatest change for the bilateral group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of cerumen impaction on hearing and cognitive functions in Japanese older adults with cognitive impairment

“…This frequency was quite low compared with Western countries. [2][3][4]10 The prevalence of wet type cerumen in the present study was 25.5%, and the incidence of wet cerumen with impaction and wet cerumen without impaction was not significantly different. The cause of a non-significant incidence of wet cerumen impaction in the present study might be due to the low participants.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Moore et al reported that 65.6% of residents in a skilled nursing facility had cerumen impaction in at least one ear. 10 The reason for a higher prevalence of cerumen impaction in people with an intellectual disability is still unknown.…”

“…1 Indeed, the prevalence of cerumen impaction appears to increase with age in adults; in the geriatric population (those aged 65 years and older), the incidence of cerumen impaction is reportedly 19-34%. [2][3][4] Furthermore, studies have shown that people with an intellectual disability have a higher prevalence (24-25%) of cerumen impaction, regardless of age. 5,6 Cerumen impaction is also more likely to occur in people with wet type cerumen.dementia.…”

Clinical Practice Guideline (Update): Earwax (Cerumen Impaction)

“…10,18 In the developmentally delayed adult population, 28% to 36% have excessive or impacted cerumen. 10,11 Moreover, the presence of cerumen impaction has been associated with hearing loss 19 and diminished cognitive function 15 in these populations. The prevalence of cerumen impaction varies widely but is still high in healthy adults and children.…”

“…15 Removing impacted cerumen can improve hearing. 9,15,19,60 If the patient has relevant symptoms (pain, tinnitus, hearing loss, aural fullness, or vertigo) and the ear is impacted with cerumen, cerumen impaction may be a contributing factor for the symptoms.…”