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?

i am not sure where you are based but there is a great company called hearology in London and SE. They do microsuction on kids ears, painless and quick and costs around £80

I had the same thing - tried sodium bicarbonate drops for ages with no joy. Like, literally 2 weeks.

Then two or three nights with Otex Express and they were miraculously cleared!

I have one of the endoscopes that someone up thread recommended - I definitely, definitely wouldn't use it on someone else's ear and treble that on a child -

but on your own you can see/feel when you're anywhere near the drum and it was very useful for getting the last bits out and checking it was clear. And v satisfying!

my sons wax came out after he had been on a water park slide on a cruise lol he felt something in his ear stuck his finger in and out came a ball of wax

My child is under ENT and they recommend olive oil ear drops.
If you find it hard for your child to lie still for the ear drops - you can put them in at night when they are sleeping on their side. This way you know the olive oil from the chemist is going in properly.

My GP surgery is one of the few that still do syringing. There’s a nurse there who is available every week to do it, it’s her favourite job she says.

Quite an expensive method of wax removal 🤣🤣🤣

Thank you everyone!! I called specsavers but they don’t do it on under 18’s for insurance reasons. Found a private clinic and have an appointment on Friday. Will see if I can get a picture of the wax that comes out

Yes made mine worse

No please don't! An online newspaper had an ad with a picture of expelled earwax and it actually made me vomit.

I did it at home to my daughter , kit off Amazon and hydrogen peroxide water mixed with water . I’ve had it done quite a few times over teh years as I build up wax easily , so last year o hit digested this . I would just say don’t do it often and only if needed , you want want to mess up the natural wax production as it’s there for a reason

Ah ok fair enough maybe I’ll post in sporner corner then 🤣

@Whatadayyyy OP, my GP surgery doesn't do this either (useless when it comes to ear stuff) HOWEVER, after yet another episode of impacted wax, I went to the local hospital (yes, I know, but I was deaf) and the ENT nurse there was aghast and asked why I had never been put on the ear clinic. I never knew this existed. I now go to the hospital every 4 months to have microsuction, NHS. Before this I was paying £90 a time privately. It's been life changing (i know that sounds funny) I do produce a LOT of wax, not just anyone can have this, you have to have proven problems. ANYWAY, if this keeps happening, ask your GP about this and see if your hospital has such a thing. But it needs to be something that has happened a lot to be considered. Just keep it in mind for your DC. I hope he gets some relief soon.

Hopi candles. A complete fraud. If you burn waxed paper you get some wax. But it's from the paper, not from the ears!

Those bicarbonate of soda drops are very good. But not sure if they would be suitable for a 7 year old. Check with your local pharmacist.

The otex bicarb ear drops desolves wax. That's what one of them that post's on YouTube recommend that do it professionally. I have a bad reaction to chemicals in some ear drops. But ok with them. Might be worth a try before appointment.

I have had some luck with bicarb drops. Olive oil does nothing and gave me earache the first time I tried it. But nothing with peroxide in - it makes my skin vvv itchy and is the worst thing I could put in my ears.

I have recently discovered ear calm. It contains acetic acid so not to be mixed with the bicarb drops. But my ears have stopped itching and seem to be sorting their own wax out for the moment.

I will try the bath thing at some point if it goes bad again.

If you can afford it get microsuction at a properly qualified place.

If you search my username you'll find a thread started by me re my six year old who was in agony for a week with impacted wax. If you can run to it I would just find a local or as near as possible audiologist who does wax removal for kids and take your little one there as soon as they will see them. Don't wait. Repeated olive oil can make the wax swell as the wax will absorb liquid. My poor little girl was in real and totally unnecessary pain because no one mentioned that I could take her to get it removed privately until I posted here.

I wouldn't use a home removal kit - their tubes are tiny and you risk damaging something or tearing the eardrum.

Sorry, just saw your update! When will I learn to read the full thread?!

They are a con. The wax that they remove from people’s ears is wax from the candle, not earwax at all.

Ask for a referral to the hospital for micro suction and be firm that they need this! Private micro suction is an option but given they are U16, it can be hard to find ones that do children. My youngest suffers with build up of wax to the point it gets completely blocked. Oil olive is best for maintenance not the more powerful drops as they can irritate. I’ve paid for private micro-suction whilst we were waiting for the nhs appointment to come through, it took a year, so paid for two private visits at £60 each.

I am a bit surprised that they won't do earwax removal on the NHS for hearing loss. In our area I was told that that's all they will do it for.

I'm also a bit surprised that they won't do it for excruciating pain, but I suppose that's just what a horribly underfunded and underresourced NHS has been brought to.

Wax will dissolve in oil as that is what it is - oil that is solid at room temperature and has largely the same polarity.

As people say though, that probably produces an expanded mush of wax and oil. If someone is already having problems with wax build up enough for them to have earache then I doubt putting oil in would make them feel any better.

Water will not mix/dissolve wax because it has a much higher polarity. In the same way water will not dissolve in cooking oil, it just forms large droplets and eventually separates. I think with syringing it is the force of the water that moves the wax, along with the fact that it is warm, as as the wax gets warmer it gets less viscous and starts to turn more soft/liquid and is easier to remove. I sometimes find if I don't go swimming for ages then spend a couple of hours in the water then earwax will fall out a couple of days later - unexpected bonus for the price of a swimming ticket

I think with the tools, the biggest problem as someone else pointed out, is using them with other people. It's hard to know how deep to insert them and turn them to pull out the wax, whereas if you can use them on yourself you can be very gentle and feel how far they go in and more importantly stop instantly if they cause any pain.

Maybe your GP doesn’t have someone at the practice that can do it for DC?

Mine had it done x2 at ours after the other measures didn’t work, by the nurse though not the doctor.

I do think they should’ve referred you though if they can’t offer it not just say they don’t do it.