Huge lump of earwax

[Boozysoozy1]

My daughter has a ginormous lump of earwax - honestly looks like a maggot in her ear. I can’t get it out and she’s in a lot of pain, tried olive oil but any tips here? Promise a pic if it comes out in a lump!

Kirby grip to scoop it out - if you can get it in without forcing the earwax in deeper?

The problem with olive oil is you have to use it daily for two weeks at least. I used to stand in the shower and have it on high and tilt my head (in desperation really), not sure what I was trying to achieve. I then bought a plastic syringe to wash my ear out, which you have to order from Amazon (wasn't that good). A doc once told me never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. Once used a cotton bud and made problem worse so wouldn't recommend anything in the ear. I learned the hard way. Other than a visit to the pharmacy I'm not sure what to suggest. They will probably say go to the out of hours doctors due to the pain issue.

Can you pull it out with tweezers? I've had to go tweezer rummaging in dd's ears a few times. She's a very small 4yo, has tiny little ears and they get build up, oil sorts out the wax that is kind of lining around the outside but any decent lumps in the middle never seemed to shift. One day dh and I just went, fuck it, let's see if we can pull it out. Works.

I used a calpol syringe and warn water tilted head and squirt

Bloody hell, don't put a kirby grip or tweezers in her ear unless you're willing to risk perforating her ear drum! Speak to your GP surgery and ask if they will do syringing, and if they won't (many stopped due to covid) you can get it done privately at a hearing centre within an opticians (doesn't cost too much - specsavers charge about £50).

Use this.
Otex Express Combi Pack Drops and Ear Syringe, 10ml amzn.eu/d/1v2jo2J

2 days of drops and it will come our. Enjoy :)

warm shower and warm flannel and then I would actually suck the ear a help it out. But then I’m a gross bitch.

let’s see a pic

I may have used a water closer in a time of utter desperation. Was about the size of my pinky finger and the same width so gross! I could hear in colours!

Disclaimer I am trained in ear stringing or as the nhs calls it 'aural toilet' 😂😂

Ear candle? They've got tons of wax out my ears in the past

I bought a proper ear torch to keep an eye on the kids wax. Once it meets in the middle and closes up that's when my kids got ill. It completely sealed off their ears.

I'd go to the doctors fairly soon. My daughter has 90% earwax covering her ear drum. It's either impacting her hearing or covering the problem of her hearing. Either way they can't investigate without removing the wax. They told me she was on a waiting list but it could take some time.

I tried every private avenue. Every place refused to treat her as she was under 18. I finally got one private health provider to quote. They wanted £400 to do it!

She has finally got a hospital appointment to remove the wax and an appointment to assess her hearing 18 months after I made the first doctors appointment!

Good luck in getting an appointment.

I used Otex on my 6 year old. I also got one of those ear cameras to check what was going on. It took ages. Every day but eventually success.

I have a pic of my success 🤣

You can buy an implement that's like a flexible plastic probe with a tiny soft bendy loop on the end for hooking out earwax, I used to have one, it was very effective if used carefully. My Dad, a retired GP, have it too me but İ lost it although I've seen similar on Amazon. It was so fine and flexible you couldn't scratch the ear canal with it, it had a collar on it too stop it going in too far.

Microsuction. It is the bomb.

My son had his ears microsuctioned on the nhs. I had to ask repeatedly but he had a speech delay so maybe that helped make them.cave in very reluctantly to refer him.

Aaargh. This thread proves why its not always a good idea to ask medical advice to strangers online. Go to your gp if shes in pain with it or if her hearing is muffled.

1. do not try and rip it out with tweezers or whatever, if its stuck to her eardrum you can rip it. The tympanic membrane is so thin, so fragile.
2. do not use cotton buds, because you can either perforate the eardrum or end up pushing the wax further down the ear canal leading to impacted wax which will be harder to get out. (and thats before you get into risks like the cotton from the cotton bud falling off and getting stuck in the ear. Basically think of cotton buds like acting like brillo pads in the ear. You wouldn't use a brillo pad, so don't use a cotton bud!
3. you can try using olive oil drops, or sodium bicarb drops in the ear to soften the wax and it will then come out in chunks.
4. if its painful, then go to gp - hopefully they will be able to do microsuction to safely remove the wax.

Specsavers will sort it out (yes, they also do ears). Failing that, there are private ear clinics that can shoosh it out. Obviously, you'll have to pay but it might be worth it to get it sorted.
A friend has an issue with ear wax and he had to go to a clinic as the GP wouldn't touch it, Boots pharmacy basically laughed in his face in spite of the fact that he told them he'd been trying over-the-counter treatments for two weeks and it was now causing him pain and of course hearing problems. Specsavers had no appointments. It was sorted the following day at the clinic. He was told that he has an unusually shaped ear canal; he's always been prone to wax issues for as long as I've known him.

This thread proves why its not always a good idea to ask medical advice to strangers online. Go to your gp if shes in pain with it or if her hearing is muffled.

But the gp won't do anything!! I tried the go for DD. She was in pain and her hearing was affected. Got told to buy over the counter drops, and that she wasn't going to be offered any treatment by the GP at all. Used the drops every day without fail, went through two bloody bottles and the lump in the middle hadn't changed at all.

It's hardly surprising people take matters into their own hands when they are told by medical professionals "we won't do anything about this so stop asking".

Thanks everyone! Some great advice and it turns out it’s infected. Has “popped “ overnight and is now streaming gunk - all the hair on one side of her head was matted in it when she woke up. She seems in a lot less pain - I guess what I was seeing was pus not earwax?

Pic doesn’t do it justice I’m afraid

Burst ear drum. Has she got some antibiotics? You also need to stop water getting in there when she showers.

Could be oil and puss whatever you do don't put anything else down there no oil water nothing

Have you got antibiotics?

Oh bless her!