EAR WAX REMOVAL

Ear wax is completely normal, healthy and serves several important functions:

• Coats the skin of the ear canal, repelling water and helps to protect against injury and infection.
• Helps keep the skin inside the ear from getting dry and itchy.
• Traps dust and germs, keeping them from reaching the eardrum.

However, when we produce too much wax, it can block the ear canal. This then affects how we hear, as sound can’t travel through the ear canal to the eardrum.

Ear wax blockage, also known as “cerumen impaction”, can happen to anyone. This phenomenon can be accelerated for a certain group of people with particular physical conditions or practices:

• Hearing aids, earplugs or earbuds users
• Misuse of cotton swabs
• Skin conditions (e.g. eczema) or other developmental impairments of the ear canal
• People with very hairy ear canals
• Adults over 55

If you fall within one of these groups, you might be prone to develop more ear wax and experience ear wax blockage more frequently. If this becomes too invasive, it may be time to call a specialist to remove the extra build up.

Although necessary for the health of your ears, excess wax can cause problems. Removing ear wax from your ears allows you to treat common hearing problems in advance such as loss of hearing, ear irritation and tinnitus.

It is also important to check that your ears are in good health, to detect other problems that are not related to the presence of wax.

Ear wax can cause discomfort inside the ear and can be identified by various symptoms:

• Itchiness inside the ear
• Feeling of fullness in the ear and some difficulties hearing properly
• Sensation of hearing a ring in your ear (tinnitus)

If you notice any symptoms associated with the build-up of ear wax, we recommend that you call our clinic to book an appointment with an ear nurse to have a look in your ear and remove the wax without risking damage to the eardrum.

If you feel you are suffering from build-up of wax and are aged 18 years or older, call us on 0800 005 641 or fill in the form to book an Ear Wax Removal appointment.

Ear Wax Micro-suction
At Dilworth Hearing we use a method of wax removal called Micro-suction. Micro-suction is a method used by leading ear, nose and throat specialists, registered ear nurses and MNZAS audiologists, to clean ears safely and effectively.

During this process, the ear canal and eardrum are assessed to identify the best way to remove the build-up of ear wax. We then use a very small suction machine to remove the wax.

Micro-suction or Syringing?
Unlike syringing which puts excessive pressure on the eardrum increasing the risk of eardrum perforation or irritation, micro-suction sees wax removed under the direct visualisation of your ear canal using a microscope or headset and suction machine.