Ear syringing/irrigation

[Misha987]

Hi all. Where can I get my ear syringed right away? I've been to my gp and they have advised that I use olive oil drops for 3 weeks. Since seeing my gp, my symptoms are worse. My right ear is completely blocked and I'm now experiencing pain and headaches. My gp can't see me till 2 weeks time. Can anyone help me?

My dh got both his ears irrigated and sucked out at a private clinic. Cost £60 for both ears. Waiting time at Gp surgery was 12 weeks.

Google ear clinics in your area.

If I remember correctly, you need to do the oil drops for a while first to soften the wax, otherwise syringing won't work.

Google ear clinics or audiologists who do microsuctioning in your area. It’s like having your ears hoovered and is much safer and better than syringing. Some branches of specsavers also do it

A number of gp surgeries no longer do syringing due to the risk of harm (perferated eardrums). Most will refer you for microsuction instead

I have this issue too. Need both ears syringing but putting olive oil in or anything or makes me feel nauseous (I am 12 weeks pregnant) so not sure whether I can have them done without using the the olive oil. Waiting time isn’t too bad at my surgery though as I just need an appointment with the nurse.

Micro suction. If you're in london a clinic will see you tomorrow for £80 ...when i had it all follow ups were free til completely clear

It's best to get microsuction done instead - but they recommend olive oil drops to the ears before hand to soften up the wax

3 weeks sounds like a long time. When I had a blocked ear that was driving me absolutely nuts I called and was told to use the olive oil drops for 10 days before the appointment. I nearly cried when I got off the phone as I was so fed up, however after 3 days using the drops my ear unblocked itself. I used Olbas olive oil drops from the supermarket.

My tip - put the drops in at bedtime while lying down on your side to let the oil drip right down into your ear, then after a few minutes flip over onto the bad ear and rest your head on a hot water bottle to warm the area. I slept like this and woke up after the second night with an unblocked ear. Could be worth a try, good luck!

I've been told that I have to see a GP first for them to confirm that it's wax, before I can see the practice nurse to have it removed. I've learnt to elaborate slightly and say that I've already been using drops for two weeks, then I get an immediate referral from GP to nurse (not quite immediate but the next available appointment) with minimal delay. The problem is getting the GP appointment first - online is actually fastest for me, nobody else in my surgery seems to book the online appointments!!

Three weeks?!

I work at a GP surgery, we wouldnt make people go that long. One week minimum, ten days tops (using the oil) Gosh three weeks is so long to wait!

Sorry that doesn’t help you, I’m just shocked they said three weeks.

I was beyond frustrated. Went to a walk in clinic today and found out that I have a perforated ear drum. Ive been given a prescription and more ear drops. I'm shocked as I went to see the nurse practioner at my gp yesterday and weirdly she didn't point that out.

Dd is a regular at ear clinic and when olive oil didnt cut it they gave sodium bicarb drops instead u can get in boots etc