Re: Any experiece with inner ear yeast infections?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/18/2005 9:42:08 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

em2_mom@... writes:

I went on and on. Any thoughts would be most helpful,

johanna

I have absolutely no experience with this, so ask the doctor before doing it!

My first thought was ... what about a blow dryer set on a low setting? You

could aim it into the ear. not directly at full force but set low and wiggling

back and forth so's not to burn him. That might help dry out the canal.

I don't even own a blow dryer and haven't used one in 20 years. My hair is

baby fine and they dry it out terribly or burn it. But they use to have low

settings.

Just a thought ... perhaps a really bad one. I don't know if the heat would

be a bad mix with the topical medication. So ask about it before trying it.

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

JillcWood@... wrote:

<<My first thought was ... what about a blow dryer set on a low setting? You

could aim it into the ear. not directly at full force but set low and wiggling

back and forth so's not to burn him. That might help dry out the canal. >>

Hmm. That's an idea. My husband and I will actually blow air by his ear, for as

long as Emmett will stand it. Not directly, just by his ear, hoping some air

will get in there. It's when he's on our lap or whatever. He doesn't stand it

for very long ... he says, " What *are* you doing? " in a very put-off tone!

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[Guest guest]

I would definitely go into your ENT to get that cleared up.. the problem is

while the outer ear is not moist the middle ear - the second half of the ear

canal is a very moist area in general so drying it out on your own won't

really work. You don't want the infection to take over the tympanic

membrane/ ear drum.

My class on Auditory dysfunction just went over this stuff yesterday

You will probably need to get a medication prescribed for it to clear it

out completely. The biggest problem is the middle ear is a wonderful

breeding ground for something like a yeast infection. It is always nice and

moist in there.

I am guessing the whole thing is pretty painful for him, I would try

giving him some tylenol or motrin to ease the pain, you could also give him

some benadryl or something for the itching until you can get into the ENT.

Oral benadryl -nothing topical.

Best of luck to you,

Angie in Kansas

Au.D candidate WSU

mom to Allie 3.5 bilateral N24

>

>

> In a message dated 9/18/2005 9:42:08 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

> em2_mom@... writes:

>

> I went on and on. Any thoughts would be most helpful,

> johanna

>

>

>

>

>

> I have absolutely no experience with this, so ask the doctor before doing

> it!

>

> My first thought was ... what about a blow dryer set on a low setting? You

>

> could aim it into the ear. not directly at full force but set low and

> wiggling

> back and forth so's not to burn him. That might help dry out the canal.

>

> I don't even own a blow dryer and haven't used one in 20 years. My hair is

>

> baby fine and they dry it out terribly or burn it. But they use to have

> low

> settings.

>

> Just a thought ... perhaps a really bad one. I don't know if the heat

> would

> be a bad mix with the topical medication. So ask about it before trying

> it.

>

> Best -- Jill

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Angie Mucci wrote:

<<I would definitely go into your ENT to get that cleared up..>>

Hi, Angie. Perhaps you missed my earlier post, but he's been seen by our ENT,

twice this week, in fact. He's on an oral anti-fungal medication. I just have

never had to deal with this, and I'm a little nervous. The affected ear is

Emmett's only hearing ear, and he has an ear tube in place in there. We're

extremely cautious of this ear ... I wouldn't try to treat this at home without

visiting our ENT.

<<I am guessing the whole thing is pretty painful for him>>

You know, it had been painful for him last week and itching him, too. But that

has subsided ... he's no longer complaining of pain and he's not scratching at

it. He's only this anti-fungal med for 2 days so I don't think that's really

kicked in yet.

Johanna

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[Guest guest]

oops. I am sorry. I shouldn't email before my morning cup of coffee. I did

find your previous emails!!! so sorry.

I hope it clears up soon.

Angie

>

>

> Angie Mucci wrote:

> <<I would definitely go into your ENT to get that cleared up..>>

>

>

>

> Hi, Angie. Perhaps you missed my earlier post, but he's been seen by our

> ENT, twice this week, in fact. He's on an oral anti-fungal medication. I

> just have never had to deal with this, and I'm a little nervous. The

> affected ear is Emmett's only hearing ear, and he has an ear tube in place

> in there. We're extremely cautious of this ear ... I wouldn't try to treat

> this at home without visiting our ENT.

>

>

>

> <<I am guessing the whole thing is pretty painful for him>>

>

>

>

> You know, it had been painful for him last week and itching him, too. But

> that has subsided ... he's no longer complaining of pain and he's not

> scratching at it. He's only this anti-fungal med for 2 days so I don't think

> that's really kicked in yet.

>

>

>

> Johanna

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Angie Mucci wrote:

<<oops. I am sorry. I shouldn't email before my morning cup of coffee. I did

find your previous emails!!! so sorry. >>

No need to apologize. I get the whole coffee thing! And I wasn't offended in the

least.

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[Guest guest]

He should NOT wear his hearing aid as moisture will encourage growth of the

fungus. Further, he should NOT be using antibiotic drops as they will kill any

bacteria that can fight the fungus. The oral meds can take a week and even

multiple doses to kick in. Have they also prescribed topical antifungals?

Cortisteroid drops to ease the itching? Topical means going right onto the spot

that's a problem...ie., antifungal drops. I'm not sure if cortisteroids are

contraindicated with fungus but I seem to recall that we combined them.

Basically, what you have is a bad case of athlete's foot, or a woman's yeast

infection in the ear...itchy and burny but usually not serious. If he does not

have tubes in his ears, it would be hard to move into the middle ear. With

tubes, it could have. What you probably are seeing is a reoccurence of the

fungus because you didn't continue the antifungal applications long enough.

They must be continued for several weeks past when symptoms disappear. Further,

the dryer the area the better. The weepiness from the irritation contributes to

making a better medium for the fungus to grow. Further, if you are reinserting

a hearing aid, you need to be washing the ear mold in hot soapy water before

reintroducing it or you will merely be recolonizing the ear. It is also best to

leave it out as much as possible. If the doctor has prescribed antifungal

creams, I would apply that all around the earmold...without clogging it...before

reinserting the mold. To my knowledge, fungal infections don't usually cause

permanent deafness. Oh, one thing you should also check with the doctor about

is there are drops that can be used to both dry out and alter the ph of the ear

so that the fungus can't grow. We actually were advised to use a diluted

vinegar mixture but I can't remember the percentages and wouldn't do so without

the doctor's recommendation. Another name for what you're seeing is swimmer's

ear.

Sorry this is disjointed but I've no time to organize the thoughts.

-------------- Original message --------------

> It seems I'm always posting about illnesses. Well, here goes

> again ... Emmet has developed a pretty nasty looking yeast infection

> in his hearing ear. He's on Fluconazole for three weeks (we've never

> done that one before ... it's an oral anti-fungal). The infection

> started about a month ago on his outer ear. We cleared up the outer

> ear, but I had suspected that it moved into his canal. When it was

> checked out, the thought was that it was bacterial and we started

> antibiotic drops. But a culture showed yeast so we've changed

> tactics, obviously.

>

> My question is, does anyone have any experience with this. This is

> Emmett's first yeast infection since he was an infant when he

> developed one in his diaper area after a round of antibiotics. His

> ear looks just terrible right now. It did look fine 2 days ago, but

> now the rash is spreading back out his ear. His neck and behind his

> ear look affected, just rashy.

>

> He's not scratching at it, but he had been last week. His canal looks

> very wet and quite red; from the outside we can see that. We started

> the medication yesterday and I don't know how to expect this to last.

> He's allowed to wear his aid but I'm keeping it off of him because

> it's so wet in there.

>

> I went on and on. Any thoughts would be most helpful,

> johanna

>

>

>

>

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the

> intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

> restrictions.

>

[Guest guest]

semesky@... wrote:

<<He should NOT wear his hearing aid as moisture will encourage growth of the

fungus.>>

I've not been letting him wear his aid as I noticed that it just held the

moisture in. When I did put it in on Wednesday, his ear sounded squishy, AKA

wet.

<<Further, he should NOT be using antibiotic drops as they will kill any

bacteria that can fight the fungus.>>

We aren't doing antibiotic drops.

<<The oral meds can take a week and even multiple doses to kick in. >>

Wow. That long, huh?

<<Have they also prescribed topical antifungals? Cortisteroid drops to ease the

itching?>>

We've been using Lotrimin and OTC cortisteroid creams on the outer ear and in

the cup. It also travels down his neck and behind his ear, so we do it there

too. But we obviously can't put those in his ear because of the ear tube.

<<Topical means going right onto the spot that's a problem...ie., antifungal

drops. >>

We can't do the antifungal drops ... he has the tube.

<<If he does not have tubes in his ears, it would be hard to move into the

middle ear. With tubes, it could have.>>

I suspect it has.

<<What you probably are seeing is a reoccurence of the fungus because you didn't

continue the antifungal applications long enough.>>

Well, we did continue to use the cream for a month, but I believe Emmett spread

this into his ear by scratching. He kept sticking his finger in his canal, even

though I tried to keep it out of there.

<<Further, if you are reinserting a hearing aid, you need to be washing the ear

mold in hot soapy water before reintroducing it or you will merely be

recolonizing the ear.>>

We do this every night anyway because of his ear tube. We've always washed the

mold every night.

<<Oh, one thing you should also check with the doctor about is there are drops

that can be used to both dry out and alter the ph of the ear so that the fungus

can't grow.>>

I did and we can't. Again, that darned ear tube.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Johanna

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[Guest guest]

Hi Johanna

Looks like you're right on target. I would ask about the special drops that

change the pH though they might be contraindicated since there are PE tubes in

place. Like any fungal/yeast infection, these infections can be stubborn as

heck. Sometimes, it can take multiple does of antifungal pills. However, you

have to be careful as, especially with smaller children, these meds can have

complications so they try not to use them too often. Amazing that in this day

and age, little " bugs " like that can still wreak such havoc!

Good luck with this!

-------------- Original message --------------

> semesky@... wrote:

> <> fungus.>>

>

> I've not been letting him wear his aid as I noticed that it just held the

> moisture in. When I did put it in on Wednesday, his ear sounded squishy, AKA

> wet.

>

>

>

> <> bacteria that can fight the fungus.>>

>

> We aren't doing antibiotic drops.

>

>

>

> <>

>

> Wow. That long, huh?

>

>

>

> <> itching?>>

>

> We've been using Lotrimin and OTC cortisteroid creams on the outer ear and in

> the cup. It also travels down his neck and behind his ear, so we do it there

> too. But we obviously can't put those in his ear because of the ear tube.

>

>

>

> <> drops. >>

>

> We can't do the antifungal drops ... he has the tube.

>

>

>

> <> middle ear. With tubes, it could have.>>

>

> I suspect it has.

>

>

>

> <> continue the antifungal applications long enough.>>

>

> Well, we did continue to use the cream for a month, but I believe Emmett

spread

> this into his ear by scratching. He kept sticking his finger in his canal,

even

> though I tried to keep it out of there.

>

>

>

> <> mold in hot soapy water before reintroducing it or you will merely be

> recolonizing the ear.>>

>

> We do this every night anyway because of his ear tube. We've always washed the

> mold every night.

>

>

>

> <> that can be used to both dry out and alter the ph of the ear so that the

fungus

> can't grow.>>

>

> I did and we can't. Again, that darned ear tube.

>

>

>

> Thanks for your thoughts.

>

> Johanna

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>