Ear wax removal

[Whatadayyyy]

Does anyone have any ear wax removal tips? My DC aged 7 has wax build up and can’t hear out one ear. Been to doctors twice since start of January and they keep giving drops which have been useless, they say they won’t syringe kids under 16. I am desperate, any wax removal tips?

How can you state this as a fact?

I have had Hopi treatment twice because of clicking in one of my ears and it was effective for me. Looking at the wax deposits in the 'candle' afterwards was astonishing.

My child has been referred to ENT for micro-suctioning several times, so this is definitely still available in some parts of the UK.

I'd be wary of taking him somewhere private due to the absence of any professional regulation of this area.

OP I would look into getting it suctioned out privately. The best £50 I ever spent! I got fobbed off for weeks at doctors, two rounds of antibiotics for a non existent ear infection. Oil did eff all as it was impacted wax and honestly worse pain than childbirth once the painkillers wore off. Getting it suctioned is painless unlike syringing and also pretty satisfying! I had to go back.once more to get the final bit out and once it was out I felt oddly disoriented like I was seeing double for a couple of minutes then the relief finally kicked in.

I think you need to ring a peds ENT doctor and ask if they will do it with microsuction and for how much. Mine charges about £85 I think - its a quick job so they only need a 15min appt

Oh. It's for me, not the kids 😄 It's got to the point where getting microsuction is like a treat. I'd like to be able to treat myself to something a little nicer instead.

Thanks though. I don't have lots of success with olive oil.

No one should be sticking that in a child’s ear!!

@Drapion that is a piss take price. Next time identify a doctor and book through their secretary. The last time I saw an ENT, it was £195 in Central London.

Never, ever use cotton buds! Ex practice nurse here, with 25 years experience of ear syringing.

Most Gp practices do not now syringe ears ( appalling to have dropped this service).
Use olive oil twice daily for 1-2 weeks ( not sodium bicarb or Otex, that can actually dry out the wax, which can then scratch the ear canal on the way out when syringing or suctioning).

Either you have to pay for micro suctioning or ( in only some cases, it can work its own way out, if the wax is soft enough).

Hopi candles are useless.

I syringed out a 3cm long cotton bud that was 11 years old, a while ago. The pt told me she knew it was 11 years old as that was when she'd last used them after being warned off them. ( They are DREADFUL...they simply push the wax further in where it gets dried and impacted).

Persevere with the olive oil( it doesn't need to be warmed beforehand) even though it can lead to increased loss of hearing in the short term. I cannot believe we no longer provide this service; it is such a common and uncomfortable condition which, when relieved, can be such a huge relief. Sympathies, I also echo a PP; never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear canal.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe

There is an ENT doctor on YouTube who does a video on exactly why it is impossible for the "vacuum" created by an ear candle to actually remove wax. As an audiologist myself I've seen several people over the years with ears full of ash and debris after using these. If you had experienced the suction force needed to remove wax by microsuction, you absolutely would not believe that Hopi ear candling is a viable way to remove ear wax.

Just don't do it. It's therapeutic at best, but it does diddly squat to remove wax.

Otex ear drops are fab I've got so much gunk out of mine. I used the olive oil one's first to soften it. Then the bicarb one's gives them a good clean out.

You have to get the olive oil specifically for ear's. You don't use the stuff you cook with. Otex both the olive oil and bicarb ear drops have worked for me.

You can use normal olive oil (mild not extra virgin!), but the chemist ones have a handy dropper bottle.

Ridiculous that this is no longer done by GPs. What are we all supposed to do, just go around deaf? What about the impact on child development? And what about older people? There’s a wealth of evidence showing that hearing loss is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s and they decide it’s a great idea to stop wax removal? Madness.

Typical NHS though - falling over themselves to save £5, and costing themselves £50 down the line as a result.

I once did marketing for a business that specialized in ear wax removal using candles. Could be worth checking out. I was impressed!

Micro suction. Only way.

but in the mean time try a hairdryer for relief. It’s the opposite of wetting and loosening with the oil. It’s not going to remove it. But you might be able to dry it and through wiggling and rubbing the ear you can roll it into a compact ball which is neither stuck to the drum or the ear sides.

I have been round the block a few times with this.

Use about half a teaspoonful of hydrogen peroxide in the ear. Let it sit for five minutes, fizzing. DC should lie on her side with the blocked ear up.

Have a plastic (blunt) syringe handy, or a rubber nasal syringe, and a bowl of warm water.

Fill the syringe with warm water and squirt it forcibly into the blocked ear, leaning over a basin or bathroom sink.

The wax should start to come away. You can repeat the process.

He is a child with ear pain

Keep continuing to request a ENT appoitment
Apart from Olive oil i personally wouldnt use anything else

Get a hopi candle and open it before use, the deposits are already there.

Olive oil works you just to be patient. My daughter has hearing loss. We do hers ears alt nights and have her go sleep on that side so theres max time.

If you think it isnt working it melts the wax and it comes out looking same as oil.

Ears get blocked easily when ppl have colds and fluid can take up to 3 months to clear on its own thats normal.often younger kids get a second cold before its cleared.

😱

OP has said GP won’t do it

Keep going back to GP and insist on a referral to ENT. Most of the ‘advice’ from pp on here is potentially dangerous.

Take him to a hearing specialist. I travelled to Durham to use the one there recently. Plus they post videos afterwards….beautiful stuff.

Don’t use water or olive oil or cotton wall buds - proper ear cleaning specialists don’t recommend it!

Syringing has been shown to be dangerous. High risk of ear drum perforation and it will damage the tiny hairs (q-tips are even worse for this) in the ear which actually help keep the ear clean. Microsuctioning after softening with drops is probably best

However, people are desperate, I've seen someone who used a Dyson vacuum cleaner to try and remove their impacted ear wax. It did not go well for them

Please definitely don't do this.

Quick way to perforate an eardrum.