Does anyone else have problems with ear wax build-up?

[JMSA]

I do, and it's actually pretty uncomfortable. In my left ear at the moment, there is a 'wet' feeling of fullness. Sometimes I can hear fully out of it and then the next moment it will go back to feeling blocked.
I pay to have my ears professionally microsuctioned at a hearing clinic, every 2 - 3 months. It's brilliant but not cheap, and it's inconvenient with work.
I wondered if anyone here has a similar problem (I actually suspect it's a weird menopausal symptom), and if you remove the wax yourself, either with medical grade drops, a suction tool, or whatever.
This goes beyond a normal, occasional bit of wax build-up. So suggesting things like Otex simply won't cut it.
Thanks

I thought that. I have a tiny left ear canal, and have to have it microsuctioned every 6 months - several times usually over a few weeks. Last time, the audiologist got out as much as she could, without going over the ear drum. They always say to come back in a few weeks, when the ear wax has moved further away from the drum. This time, she told me to put in sodium bicarbonate drops for about 5 days. When I went back, all the rest of the ear wax had dissolved and run out by itself!

Thanks. I used to get away with having it done annually for flying off on holiday, but alas no longer! I can't leave it any longer than 3 months these days
Was it a specific brand of drop you used or was it from the pharmacist?

My GP referred me to the nurse to have my ears syringed , but the nurse refused to do it because it may perforate your ear drums.
A few months later I went to a private clinic and they did the procedure for 50 pounds.
I appreciate that not everyone has this kind of money to have them done , but it appears that the GP surgery I go to were not keen on doing them. I didn't have any complications, but I did have to use drops for a few weeks before hand to soften up the wax.
It certainly helped me, but I have the impression it's a procedure that the NHs isn't keen on doing, but maybe that's just my particular GP surgery / nurse.

No, never had this, but some people are far more susceptible than others.
On nextdoor.com in our local area, there is a nurse that advertises ear cleaning. I don't know if its microsuction or water, but have you thought of finding someone else local to you?

I’ve had to have syringing and now micro suction every few years. Apparently my ear canals are child size 🤣

DH drops olive oil into his ears about every 3 months, he does this a couple of times over a week. I then use a warm water syringe gently and it all comes out. He used to go to the nurse but they are so reluctant to do it and he needs regular treatment.
There is a shower thing now that means you can gently squirt water in yourself in the shower to clear it. As long as you have taken the time to soften it all for a week or at least a few days with olive oil. It should be a simple regular procedure with a nurse but that would be far too sensible so people are forced to treat themselves.

I just got some drops from the pharmacist. My ear wax is very sticky, and I am told not to use olive oil, as it makes their job like digging honey out with a spoon!

I think it’s a funding thing, I remember they stopped doing it here and a nurse (trained by NHS) rented out a room in gp surgery and offered it privately. I don’t think if lasted long though.

I've always had very waxy ears - apparently that's very healthy.

ive had the odd problem with dreadful ear ache, I used to get them syringed. But they stopped doing it (they say it's because of risk to ear drums, I think it's just another thing to take off NHS & make you go private.

I'm 55 & finally made the connection with washing my hair. When I came out of hospital I was unable to wash my own hair, so it was being washed far less frequently than normal (usually daily or every other day) and my ear were getting blocked/uncomfortable, but it took a while for the two to connect!!

im not sure if its the hot water on my hear/around my ears or rubbing the shampoo in - probably a mix of the two, so basically if I wash my hair daily/second day, I don't need to get my ears syringed 😵‍💫

weird but 🤷🏻‍♀️

Some can come to the house for microsuctioning if that would work better for you op?

I too have this. When it gets horrific I go for suctioning which is nowhere near as nice as the old style slooshing, which I used to quite enjoy. Apparently if you regularly use ear drops between visits it will sort itself out before getting too bad.

Do you use ear buds or ear plugs? DH has had his ears suctioned a few times, the guy reckons using ear buds doesn't help because every time you push them in, you compact any wax there down and then more wax the next time, until you've got a compact layer than even Otex isn't going to shift.

I'm the same OP. It is Otex, but have you tried this one? It's much better than the others. It kind of fizzes in the ear.

I've ben advised to put olive oil drops in weekly to help it in general, but I keep forgetting.

www.amazon.co.uk/Otex-3453305-Express-Combi-Pack/dp/B002FAHBKA/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2F8WVE3FZ8TUR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vvfNBqUz77O9GGa5qG82jZlmLDWnA7-z2633cj0UG9XpXUYLHFOI5Wl24PN5Ps8DW7nACjOa9b9TR3ROaoP70VajbYTEkoTj2aD6jENbMKbVcTi2zCPZF8rxw4co6o6iNV-iHucuWQfvAtbDbqq-wheLnyzt6NrXxGjPXkCTAtr9polET2tGV1THxRsUbMPUSlX2d_2b11gC9D3vRCURv9gAMpBWmPsiR5AJbFGYI2UlpYqYrUYFzF9jIKm8p4l7lFPKmMJ9F88pboqK23V_aHXXpz_wWCR3CI0YJquEaMQ.JLDnXiimY26pF5SBnquo-9QXX0gIGvDSPCXwuFYUyUY&dib_tag=se&keywords=otex%2Bexpress%2Bear%2Bdrops&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729185940&sprefix=otex%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-6&th=1

Our GP surgery still washes ears out and I have it done every year or so. It's been a problem for 40+ years and I don't use or put anything in my ears.

Yes buy a water flosser, fill with warm water, balance head side ways over sink, and then put the end in your ear and it clears it out a treat!

I discovered this on a forum over lockdown as was really struggling with my ears and I’ve used this method since as has at least 4 people I know.

Im fully aware you could damage your ear drum blah blah….. but you only need to put the tip just inside and it’s saved me a fortune in ear suction.

Have a bath and get your ears under the warm soapy water and let the water get right in. Lift your head and drain the water, then submerge again.

Do this several times and it will soften loosen and lift out wax. If they are bad you might need a few baths a week to begin with and may also need to slosh about a bit.

Every four days when washing my hair I spend extra time in a very warm bath and tilt my head to the side slightly underwater so the water can get deep into the ear canal and hold it there for a good while, it can take a while and at first you think it's gone down but if you hold the position you'll eventually hear a glug, glug, glug sound, stay patient and wait and slowly the water will glug right down to silence. I keep still for a while and let the warm water warm any earwax, then repeat on other side and do it regularly. You will probably need to start this just after microsuction because I think it works to clear small amounts and not large ones.

Edit - just saw pp said the same thing. I do this without soap in the water though.

I can't do the warm bath/shower in ears trick. Every time I try this I end up with miserable earache, plus the slooshing sound of water on my eardrum. I suspect it gets trapped behind the wax.

I find the best thing is to use Earol drops regularly, at least twice a week. If wax is bothering me, I up it to daily.

Earol is easier and less messy than olive oil from the kitchen.

Thanks all!

To answer a few questions, GP surgery/nurse definitely do not offer this.

I never put cotton buds in my ears. God knows, it feels tempting sometimes!

I think my wax is fairly sticky too. It feels like wax soup when I put olive oil in 🤮

I've got one for teeth, if that's what you mean?!

I understood cotton buds too initially but I think the poster possibly meant airpods?

@Kta7

The poster mentioned both. I don't have air pods, but I borrowed my daughter's corded ones for a short trip and I would say they made my ear worse. Even though they don't seem to go in that far.
And I had to clean them very thoroughly before giving them back I'd love to have clean, dry ears.

Worth asking GP mine have recently started offering syringing again, mine need doing regularly so this is a definite saving compared to micro suction

Already checked and they don't.

I get my microsuctioning at Specsavers on the NHS. My GP just does a referral.