Wax in ears & grommets

[Olive]

And yes they are exxy arnt they lol!!

[Traveller]

so if I see the ENT then do I have to choose if I get a medicare rebate or a private insurance one? Or is it only the choice of medicare? This will be the first time we have used the health insurance for anything like this so I am not sure what I can claim, lol. I know it would pay towards the hospital costs which would be the main thing if he needed his grommets redone but I had it in my head there was a rebate for the appointment too.

[Kmn]

Private health cover will pay for most hospital costs (depending on the level), and will probably also pay for the gap between medicare and surgeon/anaesthetist fees for things that are done in hospital. It may also cover things that medicare doesnt cover (like something towards devices and non-medicare covered therapies).
But you only get rebates from medicare for consultations with surgeons or doctors.

[~me~]

We have PHI and DS2 has had grommets twice, the second time was also adenoids removed. I hardly paid anthing at all, just a gap cost for the anaesthetist. I would suggest straight to an ENT. If you have PHI and the ENT sees that he needs grommets, this could all be fixed within days of seeing the ENT. If it's the same ENT you should get in quickly as existing patients usually have priority of appointments of new patients.
The ENT also has a special little tool that he grabbed quite a bit of wax out before he could see DS2's ear drum and discovered glue ear. It was like a hook at the end and it was quite surprising to see how much wax came out after he dislodged it using this tool with which DS2 had no idea what was going on.

[Olive]

if you see the ENT for a consult then you can only claim through medicare, anything in hospital is PHI, anesthtist is part medicare

[Fleur]

What about ear candling? I don't think anything is inserted into the ear itself, just that it draws out the wax. I've never had it done mind you, but I've heard really good stuff about it.

[Traveller]

Thanks everyone. We have had PHI for ages but were unable to claim for his last grommets and adenoidectomy so I wasn't sure how it worked. He has resorted to miming when he is trying to communicate because his speech has deteriorated so I have got him an appointment to get a hearing test and will get him in to see the ENT straight after. I'm not sure if it is just the wax or if the grommets are displaced but at least once we have the hearing test we will know what level of loss we are dealing with.

[~me~]

What about ear candling? I don't think anything is inserted into the ear itself, just that it draws out the wax. I've never had it done mind you, but I've heard really good stuff about it.

I have had hopi ear candling done. You need to have a few appointments to really get the benefits. On a child it would be difficult, as you need to be still as possible.