Narrow ear canal in child

[Miracle29]

Just looking for some advice or if someone has had something similar. I noticed about a month ago my dd was ignoring me when I spoke to her sometimes or asked me to repeat myself or I get 'huh'. At first I thought selective hearing maybe or if she was distracted doing something and zoned out as alot of the time she will answer me but it continued. I then asked her about it and she told me that sometimes the sounds are blury but she cant work out which ear it is. I then wanted to get it checked asap to be safe. We went straight to see doctor today and she struggled to see in one ear. She said she has a very narrow ear canal and it's like looking in a black hole so referred her to etn for a hearing test. She also mentioned it could be perforated eardrum too. When dd was born she failed the first hearing test and passed it the next day. What can be done for a narrow ear canal. I've never heard of this before so now worried.

Hi @Miracle29 - my DS has a narrow ear canal. When he was little (about 2-3 years old) he would often ignore us and his speech was really very delayed. He would often have ear infections on that side and, after having a hearing test, they said he was “significantly deaf”. We saw a consultant who was brilliant and thinks DS wasn’t that bad (likely bored when having the hearing test so that why he didn’t follow the instructions) so he had his ears microsuctioned and also had some drops to put in them in order to keep them clear of wax build up (can’t remember what they were called but I think they fizzed!). Anyway, these things worked and DS hasn’t had issues since he’s gotten older.

Have you been referred to ENT at the hospital? If not, I would ask for one and talk it through with a specialist.

I'm a teacher of the deaf and have a child with narrow ear canals on my list. She wears hearing aids and does very well. ENT and audiology will be able to help and advise.

Yes she's refered to the hospital. This is why I was so confused because she hears me alot of the time and not others it's not a constant thing. This is why I thought at first she was just distracted until she said she hears blurring which the gp thinks is her way of saying muffled. Her speech is fine, there was no wax build up or anything like that. She answered all the gp questions fine so I was shocked when the gp said I can't see her eardrum and her canal is so narrow. I honestly thought it was just wax build up maybe. As she can't see any sign of infection she can't prescribe tablets or drops and thought it was best to have it checked.

Hearing isn't black or white. It's a range. So she may well hear most speech sounds but still struggle at times. The audiologist will be able to check this.

In the meantime try and make sure she is looking at you when you talk with her and that you're not too far away. Also it is much harder to hear when there is background noise.

Thankyou toduk. The gp has said she doesn't know how long the referral will take so I'm hoping sooner rather than later