My now 3 yr old was born deaf...had hearing aids at 4 months old and now has a cochlear implant, lol I have heard just about every question imaginable when asked why he is hearing impaired. And some very opinionated stangers have not hesitated to let me know what they think about my decison to have the cochlear implant, whether they thought it was a good or bad choice.
Among the many things I have learned on my journey with my son, is that once the cochlea is damaged, there is no reversing it. And hearing aids, although very advanced in todays technology, are still simply amplification devices. They don't provide much assistance to those damaged hair in the cochlea. I am pretty sure that lots of ear wax cannot cause permanant hearing loss. and if the build up is really bad, you can see a doctor or audiologist who can flush out the hardened and built up wax.
The important thing is making sure not to let an ear infection go untreated, because if it becomes too severely infected hearing loss is a possibility!
Hope my ramblings helped! lol