Hearing

[suikajuice]

I am usually on here for myself but this time it is for my mother.

She's in her 80s and been on a dosage of 75 of thyroxine for a long time.

She has developed excessive ear wax problem which is severely affecting her hearing. One eardrum has already burst.

Could it be thyroid related?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Possibly

Do you have any recent thyroid or vitamin results for her?

Suggest you get her FULL thyroid and vitamin testing

What brand levothyroxine is she taking

Teva is only brand that makes 75mcg tablets

What vitamin supplements is she currently taking

Important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once a year

Low vitamins more common as we get older

all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options and money off codes

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning…..beware postal strikes

[suikajuice in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for this. My mother is reluctant to ask her doctor for anything. She puts complete trust in him. She just comes away with a repeat prescription.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to suikajuice]

Could you either go with her to GP and request GP test vitamins and thyroid

Or can you persuade her to get private blood test

Then can decide on next step depending on what results show

[humanbean]

I think ear problems, including excessive earwax, is common in hypothyroidism.

hypothyroidmom.com/thyroid-...

The NHS doesn't treat excessive ear wax any more (as far as I know). They used to syringe earwax out with water or saline (?) but I think this is out-dated now.

My father-in-law, who is in his 90s and not very mobile, has found someone where he lives who will come to where he lives and suck the earwax out in his home. I have no idea how much it costs - I've never asked - but he gets it done every month or two because his ears produce far too much earwax and have done for many years.

[ I've just checked - they call it microsuction, not "sucking out". ]

Specsavers does microsuction of earwax.

specsavers.co.uk/hearing/ea...

Another possibility is to google "microsuction near me", and see what you get.

[Brightness14 in reply to humanbean]

Exactly I have had the same done with success.

[suikajuice in reply to humanbean]

Thanks.This is really helpful. I have suggested my mother try this. We hadn't heard of this before.

[Hennerton]

Do be careful with micro suction, as I discovered that it can cause damage if not administered by someone who is very experienced. If you look on Google you will find many sad stories.

I had a thyroidectomy in 2006 and ever since this operation, I have suffered with excess wax and blocked ears . My GP practice used to do micro suction for me with great success. Then as mentioned above, they, like other GP practices, decided they would no longer do it. I find it extraordinary that something as vital as our hearing is not deemed important any more.

The receptionist suggested a person to do it. She was in fact a nurse in my practice and always very professional. Apparently she had recently trained and set up her own business, visiting patients at home. She was the best nurse I have ever known for extracting blood from me and I felt confident she would be equally competent at micro suction,

On the day, the treatment was disastrous, very noisy and painful. I fainted and will not go into more details but my ear was damaged and hearing in this ear has never quite returned to normal. My balance was also affected. Clearly there was either something wrong with the machine, or the person using it was not competent. When I mentioned it to the receptionist in the practice, she very quickly told me that it was nothing to do with the practice. Eventually I went privately to see a vestibular consultant and she confirmed, after very strange testing, that there was definitely an imbalance between my ears. She gave me exercises to help but the basic damage still exists.

I suggest anyone thinking of having this does not use the “visits at home” services, which are becoming popular with people setting up a small business but goes to a proper hearing clinic for professional treatment.

[suikajuice in reply to Hennerton]

Thanks. My mother has already had a burst eardrum thru a botched ear syringing.

It looks as tho microsuction maybe just as dangerous.

[suikajuice]

Thanks for all the replies.I checked.

My mother is on 75 of Teva.

I'm wondering if experimenting with a slightly higher dose might be worthwhile.

I know she is not willing to be more assertive with her doctor in order to get the full test results.