Ear wax removal diy or other?

[meddyg]

Tim Hall's lovely link to tongue in cheek medical write up of home ear syringing is great !

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1316180/
Thank you.

British Medical Journal likes to do this stuff too in their Christmas edition.
I was going to write similar vein 'Singing in the Shower' or the aqualaryngeal reflex with my anatomist father-in-law
but to my regret never got round to it.

[meddyg]

Have we mentioned Captain Corelli yet ?
(Famous earwax in literature moments)

"Dr Iannis tilted the old man's head and peered into the ear. With his long matchstick he pressed aside the undergrowth of stiff grey hairs embellished with flakes of exfoliated scurf. There was something spherical within. He scraped its surface to remove the hard brown cankerous coating of wax, and beheld a pea."

A propos of which, if you happen to be fair and Northern European for example you probably make less wax than
Mediterranean types. Some great surgeons' tools in museum at Xante, DE, including a weapon which looks like the 'Jobson-Horne' probe on my desk right now !

[onerousdeporte]

Anyone use hydrogen peroxide (10 vols) and then warm water to irrigate the ear?

Have seen some amazing ear babies from this method.

[alfapete]

We've used ear drops to soften it, for up to a week.  Then a water-squirty thing, applied carefully. 

Ours looks like this: Otex combi pack

Another vote for the water-squirty thing - a couple of days of drops and then a whoosh over the sink with warm water always works for me. And SO satisfying.

I remember back in 1986 getting my GP to syringe my ears as they used to do (the doc, not the nurse specialist). When I got back in the car and started it up I thought it was falling apart because of the multiple previously inaudible rattles I could hear. Mind you, it was an Alfa.

[fruitcake]

There are a few choices:

Urea Hydrogen Peroxide drops work for me, though it takes a few applications over a number of hours and it can initially cause a temporary blockage in the ear due to expansion of the wax as it breaks down. Over the counter in any supermarket pharmacy.. I think I paid £4. They work by converting hardened wax into a foamy sludge (with gas bubbles in it) which you can flush out with lukewarm water (multiple times). Don't use this product if you've scratched your ear with your fingernail, as it will sting.

Alternatively, vinegar ear drops seem to work (for me). They're branded as EarCalm at the high street pharmacy near me, and are administered via a dosing spray; I expect other brands are available. They're actually sold for minor ear infections. I think I paid £7. Far less dramatic that Urea Hydrogen Peroxide, this spray liquifies the wax and allows it to run out of the ear where it can be wiped away with a tissue (for me).

In each case, it's most effective to stay lying on your side with the affected ear uppermost for 5 minutes after application, to let gravity transport the liquid down to where it needs to be.

[fruitcake]

I've read that olive oil drops need to be medical grade olive oil. The less expensive 'food grade' olive oil can contain less antioxidant and it is that that's the mechanism. If it is medical grade it will say on the box. Not all the stuff at the pharmacy is medical grade, some of it is the cheaper stuff.

[Kim]

I've read that olive oil drops need to be medical grade olive oil. The less expensive 'food grade' olive oil can contain less antioxidant and it is that that's the mechanism. If it is medical grade it will say on the box. Not all the stuff at the pharmacy is medical grade, some of it is the cheaper stuff.

Food grade oil won't be sterile, and you're potentially introducing spores or whatever (which our digestive system would laugh at) to a warm, damp environment.  At the very least you should boil it first.


Glycerine's another one.  Softens the wax, and is then soluble in water.  Shouldn't act as a growth medium for nasties.

[velosam]

I going to try the hydrogen peroxide next as I applied food grade olive oil , who knew!

[velosam]

So wax came out, how do I know it’s all out?

[Bledlow]

It winds me up that earwax removal is no longer provided on NHS as several of my friends are full-time hearing aid users and prone to wax issues as a result and now have to find £90 a few times a year to get it done even using all the remedies suggested here regularly.

I can understand encouraging people to use remedies, but where they don't work, the service should still be NHSable.

When? I had an ear cleaned out not very long ago. It had filled up quite suddenly after getting an infection, & left me pretty much deaf in my left ear, very uncomfortable, & not just earwax smelly, so perhapa it was seen as a special case.

A doctor sucked a quite alarming quantity of stuff out at the Royal Berks. Instant hearing renewal!

[hellymedic]

I think it's been at least a couple of years but will search.

[rafletcher]

At least. My wife had to pay privately a couple of years ago.

[T42]

I de-wax my chain with petrol. Don't suppose that's any help.

[ian]

I've read that olive oil drops need to be medical grade olive oil. The less expensive 'food grade' olive oil can contain less antioxidant and it is that that's the mechanism. If it is medical grade it will say on the box. Not all the stuff at the pharmacy is medical grade, some of it is the cheaper stuff.

I only use single-estate, cold-pressed, early-season extra-virgin oil from Puglia. I mean seriously, any else. I use an old copy of the Guardian to soak up any excess.

[onerousdeporte]

So wax came out, how do I know it’s all out?

Do your ears feel cleaner after being rinsed out with warm water?

[giropaul]

I noticed a brand new specialist ear wax “ clinic” in a row of small shops close to me.
I’m led to understand that, given that gp surgeries and hospitals no longer offer the treatment there’s a noticeable demand.
A friend had his done, and had seen poor feedback on Specsavers, so went to a specialist clinic. He was very pleased with the care; but it was around £80 I think he said.

[DaveReading]

He was very pleased with the care; but it was around £80 I think he said.

Yes, but it's hard to find places that will do it while you wait.

[Duckfoot1606]

I dont know if i just got lucky, or if its a regional thing, but my ears were cleared on the NHS a couple of weeks ago. Although the nurse referred to it as a syringing, there were no syringes in sight, rather it was a bit like an outsize water flosser that squirted jets of water into my lugholes.

A

[velosam]

I dont know if i just got lucky, or if its a regional thing, but my ears were cleared on the NHS a couple of weeks ago. Although the nurse referred to it as a syringing, there were no syringes in sight, rather it was a bit like an outsize water flosser that squirted jets of water into my lugholes.

A

I think you maybe lucky no such service in London on the NHS that I could find

[rafletcher]

I dont know if i just got lucky, or if its a regional thing, but my ears were cleared on the NHS a couple of weeks ago. Although the nurse referred to it as a syringing, there were no syringes in sight, rather it was a bit like an outsize water flosser that squirted jets of water into my lugholes.

A

I think you maybe lucky no such service in London on the NHS that I could find

Same here, nothing in Bucks or West Herts we could find on the NHS. Not even our long-time GP.

[velosam]

I dont know if i just got lucky, or if its a regional thing, but my ears were cleared on the NHS a couple of weeks ago. Although the nurse referred to it as a syringing, there were no syringes in sight, rather it was a bit like an outsize water flosser that squirted jets of water into my lugholes.

A

I think you maybe lucky no such service in London on the NHS that I could find

Same here, nothing in Bucks or West Herts we could find on the NHS. Not even our long-time GP.

GP just laughed in my face lol

[Duckfoot1606]

I just had a second effort on my left ear and after some schlurping noises my ears are now confirmed clear . But my hearing is still compromised, although my ears are quite tender and it will take a few days to settle down. If this is as good as my hearing can be it’s not good enough and hearing aids are the logical next step.

[velosam]

Sorry to hear that.

I think mine are clear but the old ear plugs still come out with bits of brown residue, although not always which is frustrating

[Duckfoot1606]

Sorry to hear that.

I think mine are clear but the old ear plugs still come out with bits of brown residue, although not always which is frustrating

 I’m philosophical, today somewhere some poor sod has been told they won’t make it to 2024 so this is a minor irritation by comparison.

[hellymedic]

Sorry to hear that.

I think mine are clear but the old ear plugs still come out with bits of brown residue, although not always which is frustrating

 I’m philosophical, today somewhere some poor sod has been told they won’t make it to 2024 so this is a minor irritation by comparison.

It might be a minor irritation but that does not mean a correctable issue should remain untreated.

Sharp cornering meant I was thrown off a bus seat on 11 September 2001.
I was chided for complaining as thousands had died on the other side of the Atlantic.
One has no effect on the other.

On a personal level, a doctor might not always have the spoons to face a patient with a life-changing issue but could still unplug an ear...