Have we done Ear Wax Removal?

Use almond oil not olive.

Loosen up the wax for a couple of weeks before going to the pro.

Don't use any of the solutions that they sell in the chemists, they made things worse for me.

Sodium bicarbonate worked best for me, much better than any olive oil type products. I did try one of the Otex home kits with the bulb syringe, but didn't do anything.

pay up!  It's your ears!  You only get one pair!

I'm so old that I can remember a nurse at the local doctors surgery doing it with a syringe and a stainless kidney bowl under my ear. It felt lovely.

Paid for private micro suction earlier this year and it wasn't anywhere near as nice.

Had mine done recently at 60 quid. Took her about 3 minutes.

Was worth it.

I went to specsavers to have it hoovered out, but the couldn’t get it all, leaving a small bit that was blocking my ear canal, as they aren’t allowed to go so far in with the vac, so went elsewhere to have them flushed out.

Best feeling ever.

I've paid on several occasions. Work out at about 50p/week. I have very small ear canals and it is always fabulous after. It takes an age for water to clear from behind even small wax deposits in my ears. I also have very acute hearing, so really notice any blockage and pressure.

Bic pen lid. Perfect results every time

But where does one go for syringing these days?

Anyone tried these?

Ear Wax Remover, Q Grips Earwax Removal-Spiral Ear Wax Removal Tool, Reusable Earwax Removal Kit Safe Ear Cleaner with 16 Pcs Soft and Flexible: Amazon.co.uk/Remover-Removal-Spiral-Reusable-Flexible-Replaceme/dp/B0DGKNGH4Y/

I know as a kid it was the bic pen lid ! I think I will be sensible, chicken out of dodgy online gear, & pay up.

Ask your GP surgery if it's a service they offer, TBH.

It's non-contractural, so you can't get upset if they don't offer it.
But it's an additional service they can choose to offer and get paid for.

DrP

Pay up, had mine done for £60 and it was a relevation on how much better I could hear.. I didn't even know my coat rustled when I walked in. Very impressed with the vaccuming, so so much better than the old water syringe/power wash options. I think last time a nurse did it with the pulseing water, she gave up after removing most of it, the vaccum system has a camera, so they can see if it's clear or not.

I believe High5 energy gel is the STW earwax removal method du jour.

Just pais Specsavers their £60 this morning.  Took 3 minutes and worked perfectly. The lady recommended periodic use of olive oil to stop reoccurrence.

One thing that seemed to cause wax buildup for me was in ear headphones.  Now I only use over ear head phones (also  a snooze band) and wax build up seems substantially reduced.  Maybe the saying about nothing in your ear smaller than your elbow applies to headphones too.

I used the Otex Express Combi pack when I had a problem a couple of years ago. It was a regular application of the softener and then a squirt out with warm water. The first couple of squirts didn't remove much but after a few days it resulted in a very satisfying airy feeling as a large blob detached.

It likely has bicarb or similar in it as there would be a distinct fizzy sensation.

I'd certainly not hesitate to use it again if the problem recurred.

I recently removed mine by paddling my kayak into large waves in North Wales. Got smacked at one side of my swede and then the other, momentarily deaf and then had a bit of rattling about inside but later realised that I could hear a lot better!

GT85. Smells beautiful and comes with an applicator straw.

Jet wash?

I use the Otex kit too. I have a thing called otitis externa which is essentially like eczema in your ears, so mine clog up regulalry. Only started using when I had a proper blockage and it did take a few sessions of letting it fizz away and then skooshing the ear out with warm water and the orange bulb thing. Now do it proactively every month or so.

The problem with the fizzy chemical ear drops (Otex and bicarbonate) is that they can turn the wax into a kind of expanding foam that covers the ear drum. Not always, but when it does it’s very hard to remove.

I’m not officially recommending this, but I have a Waterpik dental flosser. I have found it very useful for
1) Dental flossing (obvs)
2) cleaning out the coffee machine internals
3) cleaning out ears (on the low setting!)

Your ears have a low setting?

Yours don't?

It's one of those things you usually have to pay for these days. I'm not keen on the vacuum cleaner, I don't think it leaves your ears feeling sparkly clean like the old syringe used to.

I did spot in my GP practice the other day that the local ear cleaning place do free wax removal for over 70s.

I guess this is about positioning the expense as much as anything else? It's a lot just for an earplug fitting but it's not a lot for better hearing all of the time, which if you're blocked up ought to be what you get.

I can never be arsed with olive oil etc, it's too much hassle and too slow, I can't be bothered to do it for day after day. Otex express works the same way except much faster and more effective ime (I think the basic otex is literally just olive oil?)

andylc
Free Member

I’m not officially recommending this, but I have a Waterpik dental flosser. I have found it very useful for
1) Dental flossing (obvs)
2) cleaning out the coffee machine internals
3) cleaning out ears (on the low setting!)

Yep likewise I am not recommending it but it seems to be effectively the same as the irregator they used on my at the GP last time. Though only on low power! You can also use a big syringe. WITHOUT a needle, that shouldn't ought to need saying but I'm considering the audience 😉

Probably not recommended, but I've done mine a few times with a 100ml syringe attached to the outer of a 1ml syringe as a nozzle by a length of food grade flexy tubing and a clean bowl of clean warm water. Check the syringe doesn't have any sticky patches in its travel that might cause stop-and-go spikes in pressure, and go steady.  Success every time. Softened with olive oil for a few days beforehand.

I used to commute with in ear headphones and I think they pushed the ear wax in and created a build up. Less of a problem since I stopped using them.

Also, I am not a doctor.

You can also use a big syringe. WITHOUT a needle,

I'm not suggesting we kill off the stupid people but maybe we could remove some of the signs and let the problem take care of itself

Cotton wool buds.  I don't let it build up and I've got great hearing.  Can't bare it when it builds up.

I know in theory they're bad but I'm not stabbing myself with them.

Had mine done recently, woke up with fuzzy hearing so rang the surgery at 8am made an appointment for 11am same day, practice nurse had the obstruction out in about 10 minutes of warm water and syringing, totally cured. FOC,     did I mention I live in rural Cataluña?

I diy it - every 3 months - with a syringe with a very pliable rubber end that shoots water out in 4 directions. I do it in the shower and fill the syringe, tilt head and give it a squirt. Definitely works as there is wax coming out...not a huge amount now but the first twice I was impressed with the size of the stuff.

I don't think I had affected hearing as I don't hear any better, but it does feel a bit more 'airy'...

I bought myself an old school big metal syringe like the nurse used to use.
Olive oil for a few days, long hot shower, then go for it.

edit: and check results with the Smartbud

Oh yeah smartphone-compatible borescopes are now super cheap and if you own one of these and you don't put it in your ear <at the very least> for a look there is something wrong with you.

Onzadog
Free Member

I’m not suggesting we kill off the stupid people but maybe we could remove some of the signs and let the problem take care of itself

It made me think of this

Otex does work eventually, but I need to plug away with it for a couple of weeks usually. No idea if my ears would have self-fixed in a couple of weeks anyway though. Don't store the little otex dropper on the same shelf as your eye drops though. Stupid mistakes etc...and Otex really stings if  you squirt it in your eye.

I had mine done last week at Specsavers, having done as I was told and using olive oil drops for ten days. A couple of large lumps were extracted, but it made zero difference to my hearing.

I swim a lot so maybe something to look into then as the hammer and pen can be painful.

Anyone tried these?

Ear Wax Remover, Q Grips Earwax Removal-Spiral Ear Wax Removal Tool, Reusable Earwax Removal Kit Safe Ear Cleaner with 16 Pcs Soft and Flexible: Amazon.co.uk/Remover-Removal-Spiral-Reusable-Flexible-Replaceme/dp/B0DGKNGH4Y/

Yep, they're crap

My G-spot is in my ears, I love poking stuff in and having a good rummage. BIC lids and cotton buds are my faves. The wife says I have selective hearing but otherwise for 52 my hearing is still.......eh? what?

A good female friend of my wife's was a proper laugh and also had a G-spot in her ears (I never enquired if she had one elsewhere). We used to have wax off's, I'd give her a cotton bud and we used to compare wax amounts with my wife gipping and vomming in the background!

This time of year, it’s best to wear on-ear headphones.

the heat does wonders at melting anything in your ear canal.

marshall major copies from eBay do the Bluetooth with aplomb and don’t make you look like a cyber person, as well as stopping your hat from getting blown away!

Otex made things worse for me, soonest Specsaver appointment was 2 weeks off and it was driving me insane…eventually found a guy who did home visits and paid £40 for the affected side only and done that afternoon, the relief was worth every penny!

Oh yeah smartphone-compatible borescopes are now super cheap and if you own one of these and you don’t put it in your ear <at the very least> for a look there is something wrong with you.

Waits for the DIY colonic irrigation thread...

I've got loads of isopropyl alcohol in the garage. I just googled it out of curiosity and it appears to be a widely used method for dissolving ear wax.

I might give it a spin.

Yeah I got some horrible concoction for removing ski wax from the bases. Even the guy in the shop was cagey about selling it to me

What could possibly go wrong?

I’ve got loads of isopropyl alcohol in the garage. I just googled it out of curiosity and it appears to be a widely used method for dissolving ear wax.

I worked in Saudi a long tome ago and the pharmacist gave me hydrogen peroxide drops. I was dubious but they worked. Lovely fizzy sound whilst they did their work. I assume I have bleached ear drums.

My local Specsavers that does my ears tell me that they can do it for free if I get a referral from the GP

Not sure where you live but I had it done for free in Scotland a few months ago.  Painless and quick.

Off the back of this thread, I googled places that do it locally (Shropshire).  I was pleasantly surprised to see that my GP surgery does the micro suction thingumy for free.  They do prioritise people with a referral from audiology to have it done, so anyone else may have a bit of a wait which is fair enough. I DIY mine with warm water from a syringe with a special silicone multi jet tip. It shifts some, but I never get the same immediate improvement in hearing I used to get after an old school syringing when they used to do that.  That may just be because of age related deafness?  I'll ring the GP and get them to stick their hoover nozzle in there.

Jet wash?

Yup, twice a week with warm water after swimming, no more problems:

Burn the candle at both ends.

I worked in Saudi a long tome ago and the pharmacist gave me hydrogen peroxide drops. I was dubious but they worked. Lovely fizzy sound whilst they did their work.

Isn't this basically what Otex is?

specsavers - 10mins - jobs a goodun.

did get it done free once at the docs but specsavers is quicker/easier to get it sorted.

Often get serious cloggage in my right ear.

Over the counter stuff is OK, but doesn't cure the problem. Have to have microsuction done about once a year.

Audiologist says it's mainly due to very thin ear canal and it also isn't straight.

Blessed relief whenever it's done.

NHS won't even do syringe now.