HA makes ear itchy

Thanks seb. I am glad to hear that there are some drops that might help. I was going to actually try a smaller dome I have for my old Rivera’s for her today to see if that would help. I thought a larger dome would irritate her ear more. She has had the one HA for almost 3 years and quit using it shortly after she got it. She is finding that she really needs to wear it now, so hopefully she will find a solution. Her opinion was that her dry skin was what caused the itching. I thought it was a reaction to the dome material; but what do we know, since we are just guessing. I will post what the audi says, if I can get her to go back.

Try Miracell. It can be purchased on line.

@seb said:

MVP,
She could be allergic to the dome, my wife Audi was going to go to a different material that is hypo allergic if the new domes didn’t work.

Thanks seb. I was going to ask my audi about that. I want my wife to see mine who I have been going to for 3 years. She had gone to one closer to home that is there any more.

A very inexpensive solution that works for me is vinegar water. I put 4 tablespoons of the brown apple cider vinegar in 14 ounces of water and use Q-Tips too very gently swab the inside of my ear. Make sure to hold the Q-Tip so it can go in no further than her hearing aid. Swab out and let air dry the acidic leftovers keep fungus at bay.

I appreciate that recommendation. It sounds like an excellent one if fungus was causing her problem. She put in her HA this morning and the itching started within the hour.

I spent about 6 months a couple of years ago trying to solve an itchy reaction to hearing aids. I had worn them 20 years ago, and quit because of the itchy reaction, even with hypoalergenic materials. I needed them now, so started trying again. I tried a number of different alternatives to the regular plastic and ear mold materials, and reacted to them all. In the end I went to a Siemens dealer who ordered a pair of ear molds and Siemens gold plated them. They are expensive, but have worked for me. I wipe them down with an alochol wipe in the evening when I take them out and let them air dry over night. Then in the morning I wipe the inside of my ear canal where the mold seats with a light coating of Hydracordizone cream 1% and put in the aids. With this routine I can ware them all day with only an occasional itching reaction, which I eliviate by removing the aid and rubbing the canal. Don’t know if this will help, but was my solution to a very painful reaction to 4 different mold materials. It is true, that they are bright in the ear being gold plated, but I can hear now, so they are worth it. I ware a behind the ear aid, and do not react to the tubing that goes to the aid.

Another thing that helped me with itchy domes was getting custom molds. They cost under $200 for measurement and fit and for any needed changes for the first few months. Molds and domes can be made of different materials; if one material causes an itchy sensation, the audiologist can try something else. (I really got the custom molds because I was having a retention issue in one ear, but as a side benefit, it solved the itchiness problem of the open-fit domes my aids came with as well. I occasionally feel itchiness in the ear canal now, but it’s rare, whereas it was constant with the open-fit domes. I never tried the drops, but they’re worth a shot as well.)

This is not an uncommon complaint with new aids, and the audiologist should be willing to work with her on it. Good luck!

My reason for earmolds was also for retention, several friends with open fit HA had them fall out when working and I didn’t want that so I went for earmolds and haven’t had any problems. Also, after my wife 's itching problems with her open fit HA I think I made the right choice.

@seb said:

Mike,
She isn’t allergic to gold is she? Lucky for me my wife is!

Not hardly! I could probably get her to wear a diamond ear mold too.

In reference to the allergic reaction to gold. I believe that my molds are plated with 24K gold. If they were plated with 14K there is a possibility of reacting to the alloys in the mix, which bring it down to 14K. So pure is better. I tried all of the creams out there on the market, saw and ENT. and found through trial and error, with many errors, that the only solution for me was the Gold Plating to seperate the plastic from the ear canal. I ware glasses with a plastic frame, but don’t react to those with contact to the skin of my face. But the skin of the ear canal appears to react differently, and wont tolerate the plastic of any type contact. Thought of bone mounted aids, but that was totally a last resort. Didn’t need to go that route. So what works for me is gold plus the cream plus cleaning them with alcohol and let them dry to avoid fungus.

Thank goodness you found something that worked. I don’t know what it will take for my wife to solve her problem; but until she is willing to wear them long enough to find out if her ears adapt to whatever we try, her problem can’t be resolved.

@MVPinFLA said:

A bunch of great info. It is appreciated.

The hydrocortizone cream recommended by rw622 might be something she could try, since it does stop itching. I don’t know if she would risk trying an ear-mold, until she could find out if she had a reaction to the material, if that is her problem. The gold one might appeal to her though.

Hydrocortisone cream does stop itching, but it is a steroid that can carry side effects as well particularly when used long-term, so you’d have to discuss that with a doctor or at least be aware of the possibility. Steroids don’t always work well for daily, long-term use. It might be fine. You’d just have to check on it.

I understand about not wanting to invest $100-200 in ear molds if she could react to them, and to be fair, there are a few people who react to multiple materials and have trouble finding anything that works for them, however, most people can find something that they do not react to. And with my audiologist, remember, the ear mold company allowed as many changes as needed–in other words, they would remake the molds as needed from different material, until we had a good fit and no reaction–for a length of time which I think was the first 90 days, at no extra charge. That first fee covered everything. So it’s something to consider, if her audiologist offers something similar.