Does Hearing Aid Use Increase the Likelihood of Cerumen Impaction?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Impacted cerumen is a common condition in adults. It is commonly believed that wearing hearing aids may increase the cerumen impaction, although no empirical evidence exist. The current study was aimed at studying if the use of hearing aids increase the likelihood of impaction of cerumen. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study used retrospective design. The study sample included 164 consecutive patients who were referred to cerumen clinic from Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Wales. Audiologist classified the cerumen impaction into four categories (i.e., no cerumen; non-occluding cerumen; occluding cerumen; and fully non-occluding cerumen and debris). Chi-square analysis was performed to study the association between hearing aid use and cerumen impaction. RESULTS The current study results showed no association between hearing aid use and cerumen impaction. Also, there was no association between right/left ear and cerumen impaction. CONCLUSIONS These results interesting and contrary to our assumption that hearing aid use increases the likelihood of cerumen impaction. More well-controlled studies with prospective designs are needed to confirm if these results are accurate.