[Closed] Earwax. WHAT? EH?

Pardon?

You can get the syringe kits for about £5 from the internet.

So I called the GP to see if I could get my ears syringed . Except the NHS don’t do this any more. She advised I try a pharmacy, who would charge about £70.

They do. Your GP doesn't.

So I called the GP to see if I could get my ears syringed . Except the NHS don’t do this any more. She advised I try a pharmacy, who would charge about £70.

Your GP means he isnt prepared to pay for it for you from his NHS budget

Save yourself a tenner:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/7722902

Except the NHS don’t do this any more.

Horse shit. I get mine done every 6-8 months.

Nurses normally do the ear syringing, last time I had it done was a few years back - my right ear canal has always been smaller and over time the wax just builds up. I've not needed it doing recently as riding a motorbike means using earplugs daily, they keep the ears nice and clean.

Get some drops and a bulb syringe.  It works well, and is more convenient than having to go to the doctors to get it done.

 I’m now stone deaf.So I called the GP to see if I could get my ears syringed . Except the NHS don’t do this any more. She advised I try a pharmacy, who would charge about £70.

Genuine question. How do you know that's what she said?

I've got a Braille app on my phone

she wrote it down

(he did then need a calligrapher to decipher the scrawl and a medical textbook to translate 'lipid occlusion of the vestibular pathway')

I had an issue with earwax for years but eventually my GP stopped syringing ears because it can lead to worse problems. He suggested I just used the shower, letting the water spray directly into each ear for about a minute. It took a few weeks to clear but gradually my hearing sorted itself. I still do this and I haven't had any problems for years now

So I called the GP to see if I could get my ears syringed . Except the NHS don’t do this any more. She advised I try a pharmacy, who would charge about £70.

No she didn't - she tried in vain to explain to you that you'd called a wrong number. Anyway - the Chinese takeaway you've ordered has probably gone cold by now.

He suggested I just used the shower, letting the water spray directly into each ear for about a minute. It took a few weeks to clear but gradually my hearing sorted itself. I still do this and I haven’t had any problems for years now

I'd stop 'still doing this' unless you actually have a problem to solve - fine if its solves the problem but don't do it as prevention- 'Swimmer's Ear' is a much more difficult problem to solve bit of ear wax. I had never known what depths of grumpiness I was capable of.

done it myself once or twice. Do it over a pan so you can see what you've got out.

After particularly troublesome blockages earlier this year that drops, etc wouldn't touch I decided to bypass syringing as the blockages were completely hardened and plugged, and paid for private microsuction.

Yes, it was about £45, but after two weeks of not being able to hear, wooly thinking, balance issues and so on it was well worth it.

Your dr may not, but the Nhs in general do still offer this, keep taking the drops and ask again until they do it. I had it done about 3 months ago.

Some drops are more effective than others.

I find I have to do two or theee stints with Optex before all the crap comes out of my ears. I hate doing it but have to do it every quarter. Optex is allegedly the “best” but it’s effec for me.

I too have stopped having them syringed, mainly because shoving bits of wax further down the ear canal became more painful than not hearing.

And I’ve suffered with surfers ear too which is nasty.

A couple of drops of olive oil, lie down sideways and listen to the radio for ten minutes, gently massaging your ear (perverts cease!) and after a few more days it will soften to the point it falls out at the most inopportune moment.

If it's properly plugged you'll be there for days with olive oil, drops, etc - it's not worth the hassle.

Find a local microsuction place and just get that done; it takes about 10-15mins and they're guaranteed to get rid of everything .

NHS do it but it's through some central call logging setup not your GP. Of course you won't be able to hear what they are saying. Oh and last time I had it done (last year) there was a 4 week waiting list. Oh and it's not syringing now it's suction, which I found more uncomfortable than the old syringing.

Earwax, it's a pain in the arse.

I do mine every 6 months.  20ml plastic syringe (10ml will also do).  Warm water in the bathroom sink.  Suck the water up, in the syringe, insert in ear and skoosh.  Try and keep your ear parallel with the sink.  You can monitor progress by examining the water.  Usually takes 10 to 20 goes before big lump falls out.  Try different angles with the syringe, you will hear the best angle.

once clear, you can hear a fly scratching its arse 20m away

Earwax, it’s a pain in the arse.

That's not earwax.

Arsewax.

How are you lot getting so much wax in the first place, are you sticking things in your ears every five minutes?  I've never had cause to remove wax from my ears, ever.

How are you lot getting so much wax in the first place, are you sticking things in your ears every five minutes? I’ve never had cause to remove wax from my ears, ever.

Some folk produce more than others I guess.

I've had this issue a few times, quite debilitating, even if in one ear. Earplugs while camping were my nemesis. Syringing myself with a rubber bladder thing worked well.

Had mine done a few times over the years.  Recently they started to refuse unless I had done a week of warm olive oil in the ears as suggested earlier.  Doctors warned me away from the hundreds of other sprays and gumph and said a bit of warm olive oil works as well if not better.

I tested this out once by fibbing to the doctors that I had indeed done the week of oil.  I hadn't.  It hurt like buggery and the nurse couldn't get it all out as it was packed in solid.  Told me to do another week.  Went back and in a few minutes I was clean again.

I am now at the stage (Post holiday with all the swimming etc) where I feel like I need it again.  I did 1 application of warm oil and its 100% better.  I just need to get the motivation to do it for a solid week.

My process is

1) Get calpol syringe (We have about 20 floating about at home due to kids)

2) Put some olive oil in mug and put in microwave for 1min (Please test temp is ok for you)

3) Turn head and pop in syringe.  Calpol syringe is much too big to cause any damage.

4) Squirt it in and mop up mess.

Play around with the temp of the oil you can/cant get away with.

How are you lot getting so much wax in the first place,

Particularly narrow ear canals in my case, along with an ever increasing amount of hair as time marches on... doesn’t take much for me to be all bunged up.

Feels great when I get it done though. I can almost hear colours...

once clear, you can hear a fly scratching its arse 20m away

Ah yes, the moment you walk out the doctors and suddenly EVERYTHING IS TOO LOUD!!!!!

I used to regularly get blocked ears that on occasion turned in to nasty ear infections. Tried every lotion or potion on the market, tried using the shower, made sure I cleaned my ears every day and generally did everything I could to avoid the extremely painful infections.

None of it worked long term. After the last bout and visit to the doctor they told me to leave my ears alone. Don't clean them, don't dig around in them, don't go chasing any wax you think is there and don't jet them out with the shower. Doc said they naturally clean themselves and by cleaning them out you strip the natural oil your body produces for this exact job which leads to future problems.

Did as they said and have had no further problems at all.

No she didn’t – she tried in vain to explain to you that you’d called a wrong number. Anyway – the Chinese takeaway you’ve ordered has probably gone cold by now.

I did, while hitting repeated redial to the engaged surgery, manage to hit the next number and call the local taxi firm. Asking for an appointment with the nurse and not being able to hear the response caused much confusion 😳

Come clean now i bet the cotton buds have been used like packing gunpowder but your not telling us

How are you lot getting so much wax in the first place

Some folk produce more than others I guess.

This is the size of it. I've had mine done quite a lot over the years from when I was a youngster (local nurse with huge syringe and matching biceps) through to new fangled low pressure flushing ('cos now we think syringing can damage the eardrum, so don't do this at home folks) to modern suction, which I had last year and found quite nasty. I have fond memories of the buxom nurse with the syringe full of warm water.

Anyway, apart from that, the last time I had it done I saw my ear canals on the big screen and my God they're are really hairy which can't help WRT to wax build up. I have asked in the past what factors can increase wax build up, specifically does noise affect and it (I play in an orchestra immediately in front of the brass and that can make your fillings rattle). I was told no.

‘cos now we think syringing can damage the eardrum, so don’t do this at home folks

Same as everything - guidelines are there to protect the stupid and the careless.  Forcing liquid into your ear canal can be dangerous - yup.

Take it slow and make sure you're aware of the stiction in the syringe you're using (potential for having to press harder to overcome it and pushing too hard too fast when you overcome the sticking point).  Obviously, if you don't want to do it, let someone else do it, and hope they're in a better position to do it than you are -e.g. not hungover, bored, or unfamiliar with the equipment.

Buy an ear camera for a tenner on eBay and see what’s going on inside.

Fantastic things 🙂

Olive oil worked better for me than proper ear drops. Nurse wouldnt syringe mine until I had softened them enough with olive oil. I partially ignored this advice first and it was agony so had to stop and I gave the olive oil a better go. Cleared most it if without the need for a syringe.

Need to do them again actually...lovely.

Get it done, but get it done at the most reputable place you can find. Not at a dodgy home-made setup in the backwaters of Cornwall while on holiday, or you might end up with tinnitus so bad you have to pay for private consultations to get your ears sorted.

edit - I've had the ear-plug effect by the way, so I know what it's like. It's a nightmare.

Almond oil is better than olive and both are better than the commercial ear drop stuff.

Try one of those hopi ear candles?

Yep, attempted that.  After 5 minutes daughter said her arm was tired, or some such nonsense.  Ended up holding it myself which wasn't easy.  Second time went to a therapist but not convinced it did much.  Pretty certain mine need doing judging by the telly volume I now need.

Boots used to sell these but don't have them listed anymore.

Used mine back in August after spending a weeding in a pool on holiday.

They work and do not direct the water directly at your ear drum.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACULIFE-EAR-WAX-REMOVAL-SYRINGE-FREE-P-P-SAME-DAY-DISPATCH-/263853318729

Try one of those hopi ear candles?

Is that the ones infused with snake oil?

I've had to have my ears done for as long as I can remember, every few years or so. I remember once driving back from the doctors convinced my car was about to fall apart, it was rattling so much! But of course those rattles had always been there.

Have opted for suction recently as it's supposedly less risky but the main thing is you don't have to do a week of drops beforehand. I have also had tinnitus (unrelated to wax removal) and that wasn't any fun, so I'd rather not risk the syringe.

Shop around as £70 Is too much, plenty of places do it.

One downside of the suction is you don't get the same shock/elation of suddenly being able to hear as the suction device can be quite loud.

Gonna say, hair clip or a small paper clip, and bend over the edge.  I get loads that blocks up, but you have to be careful, but I pull out any nasty stuff with a small paper clip - you need to bend over one end slightly, but it's smooth and wont damage your ear. Showering is best if you have an issue as it softens it up.  Don't use ear buds, horrible things

Is that the ones infused with snake oil?

lol @ Drac.  Just wanted a more gentle method that would avoid squirming at the sight of a big blob of smelly wax.

So after 3 days of complete deafness in 1 ear and being quite deaf in the other, plus a horrible feeling of bunged up ness in my head, plus my balance going a bit, I got a syringe kit on Amazon Prime (like Curvatures link above).

Filled the sink with warm water, and after about half a dozen syringe fulls bits started appearing in the sink. Then more bits, and more until the bottom of the sink was quite well covered. Then -pop- my hearing came back!

I rushed downstairs to tell my wife, who wasn't as overwhelmed as I was, and didn't want to see the contents of the sink.

However I still felt bunged up so emptied the sink and had another go. Plenty of bits again, then -relief overload- a bit the size of my small fingernail plopped out!

So left ear sorted, hearing like Superman and head pressure gone. Tomorrow I'll do the other ear.

Anyway the syringe worked a treat and was only a few quid. However I'll do my best to use the drops from time to time to avoid all this. Or at least to avoid phoning the taxi firm and asking for the nurse 😁

Gonna say, hair clip or a small paper clip, and bend over the edge.

That’s some mighty shit advice right there.

Extreme travel telly programme once where some guy was up in Kashmir or somewhere in Northern India/****stan and some market stall hawker was basically a guy hooking ear wax our of punter's ears with wire/needles. He was quick too! Freaky.

There ya go!

On the same page there's a pic of a bloke taking a warm shower courtesy of a cow... ( https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/levison-wood-grooming-kit)

We need more Lev on the telly.

I love poking stuff in my ears - I think my Gspot is in there! BIC pen lids are my favourite.

I bought some tiny metal keyring ear wax scoops when I was in China - they were good because I could dig any wax out and give it to my cat (cat's love human ear wax-try it!)

Once for some reason I got a bunged up ear - I got a red hot water bottle and rested my ear/head on it, it warmed the plug up quite quickly and it dribbled out.

My GP surgery has the practice nurse do it. Unless she thinks it’s not worth doing 👿

cleared up itself after another week or so

Burn the candle at both ends.

I get my lugs micro suctioned out once a yr when I'm at ENT.

I'm sure someone on here could fashion something similar out of an old dyson

I remember going on holiday a few years ago to Rhodes,  I was in the pool almost every day for a good couple of hours, although I noticed the slightly 'swishy' ears I just assumed it was a bit of pool water that would leave eventually...

Then one morning, while sat on the bog, a good peanut sized lump of wax just fell out of my left ear and it was like someone had just turned the volume up on everything, suddenly I could hear way better, having not realised there was an issue...

So go submerge your head in a pool for 10 hours and let the slightly warmer chlorinated water work it's magic...

(cat’s love human ear wax-try it!)

true, I was woken up one morning by my cat licking out my lug hole.

I bought some tiny metal keyring ear wax scoops when I was in China – they were good because I could dig any wax out and give it to my cat (cat’s love human ear wax-try it!)

I've read there's genetic differences in ear wax with some ethnicities (inc. Chinese) having dry, flaky wax as opposed to sticky, waxy wax. So the effectiveness of different removal methods will depend on your type.

Those ear candles - you get the same amount of 'wax' collect if you burn them nowhere near an ear. Total bollocks in other words - one for the homeopathic/acupuncture types.

So go submerge your head in a pool for 10 hours and

Get the mother of all ear infections.

I did a resort dive on holiday once. That evening at some schmoozing event after spending 3-4 hours of the day blowing balancing out pressure in my ears about half a ton of thick, dark brown wax magically appeared.

Those ear candles – you get the same amount of ‘wax’ collect if you burn them nowhere near an ear. Total bollocks in other words – one for the homeopathic/acupuncture types.

They're not just bollocks...

https://www.earwaxclinic.co.uk/do-ear-candles-work

... but they're actively dangerous.

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm200277.htm

... and stop sticking things in your bloody ears.  Aside from the risk of damage there's every chance that it's what's causing the problem in the first place.

What geck0 said.

Mine apparently produce enough to start a shoe polish factory.

Olive oil for a few days.

Sink of very warm water.

Earex syringe, fill with warm water, squeeze rubber bit to swish water around for 5 minutes (or less if it all comes out sooner).

Do remember do disinfect the syringe afterwards, kids.

edit: if you bought some of those candles, I have a wonderful line in leyline aligning crystals and magic rocks, they don't come cheap though.