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I had some experience being treated by the NHS for blocked ears. I waited 3 weeks for an appointment. The doctor sees me, tells me it’s blocked and that he can’

I had some experience being treated by the NHS for blocked ears. I waited 3 weeks for an appointment. The doctor sees me, tells me it’s blocked and that he can’t do anything about it. I need to use olive oil or some over-the-counter drops. Turns out olive oil is ineffective and the drops bleached my skin, while only causing the wax to become lodged in deeper. I finally paid £100 to get the ears cleaned by micro-suction. I strongly agree with what the article says - no one thinks this is a big deal unless they lose hearing themselves.

bhrgunatha 5y ago
No matter what I try my ears both get blocked regularly, every 6 - 12 months. The first time, a nurse syringed it after the doctor prescribed drops which contained olive oil. He said it wasn't to fix the problem (although sometimes that alone does dislodge the wax), it was to soften the wax to make the syringing safer and more effective. These days I see a doctor who uses a suction tube and a small metal scoop and whenever he digs out something wothwhile he delights in presenting it to me to see.
tomduncalf 5y ago
I had the same situation - blocked ear, NHS doctor said they don’t usually do anything about it due to the risk of ear damage in the process. The drops did nothing, but I ended up using one of the bulb syringes you can buy to blast it with water and it did the trick perfectly, lots of gross wax came out and I’ve had no issues since (previously they’d reoccur every now and then). Was really weird after I’d done it, everything sounded really “HD” for a while! (I remember I took advantage and went record shopping, lol) This YouTube clip showed me how to use it properly: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI I’m no doctor so please don’t consider this medical advice and do check with yours before trying this!
- RobertKerans 5y ago
  Doctors IME will always advise not to do it, but also IME it works far better than anything else. I've always had blocked ears, and my grandfather had been an NHS doctor back when this was standard (before the advice not to do it came down), so he was the one who showed me how to do it -- very, very gently and repeatedly, with slightly warm water, don't need to push the point of the bulb/syringe in. And the wax just drops out after a few applications (in big gross lumps if it's bad!). Absolutely not medical advice, but just to confirm that it works extremely well.
  - tomduncalf 5y ago
    > (in big gross lumps if it's bad!). Can confirm, ha
- qart 5y ago
  I have had to go to a doctor only once because of impacted wax. He did pretty much the same thing. He used a massive copper syringe for the task. The only thing he did differently than the video was using cotton swabs to immediately dry the ear canal. It was painful, but he said leaving the region wet can lead to infections. I don't trust untrained people to use swabs in the sensitive regions of the canal. Anyway, for home cleaning, 3% H2O2 or baby oil have been working well enough ever since.
raverbashing 5y ago
Nowadays you can DIY this with some special syringes easily available. There are also other oils that are better than olive. (both can be found in pharmacies) But yes it is an annoying problem.
- UncleSam 5y ago
  It doesn't even need to be a special syringe. I've been able to unblock my ears with warm water and a bulb syringe. It probably takes more effort though since the bulb only holds so much water and has to constantly be refilled.
fergie 5y ago
I'm sorry that you had that experience. My NHS practice has a nurse that "syringes" ears, and its fairly straight forward to set up an appointment. They do ask that you apply oil to your ears in the days leading up to your appointment, but this is just so that the earwax comes out more easily.
- twic 5y ago
  This was also exactly my experience. It's what NICE recommends: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/earwax/management/management/ https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/earwax/management/management/ https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/remove-earwax-if-a-build-up-is-causing-hearing-loss-problems-nice-tells-primary-care https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/remove-earwax-if-a-buil... So it's odd that there are doctors refusing to do it.
  - ZeroGravitas 5y ago
    That NICE guideline says not to use a syringe as it can be harmful. The other commenter used quotes so maybe it was a loose reference to the irrigation devices that they do recommend.
  - UncleSam 5y ago
    Oh, interesting. I once lost hearing in one ear due to wax blockage and finally got annoyed enough I went to an urgent care clinic. They used a wax softener and then a big syringe with warm water (and maybe something else mixed in) to irrigate my ear canal. That did the trick and cleared it out. I wonder what about using a syringe can be harmful?
    - kwhitefoot 5y ago
      > what about using a syringe can be harmful? Pushing it too far in, using water that is too hot, pushing the water in too fast. All can damage your ears. I have had my ears syringed twice. In both cases at my doctor's surgery by a nurse. I visited my doctor because I started to notice that I was going deaf in one ear and ear drops didn't seem to work. Syringing worked perfectly and removed a surprising large amount of wax.
madaxe_again 5y ago
I had the same experience in the U.K., twice - once about 12 years ago, once two years ago. Olive oil does absolutely nothing that I can tell. I’ve tried it, fastidiously, as my ears are really prone to filling with wax. My experiences on continental Europe have been entirely different, however. Ten years ago, about 18 months after being refused treatment in the U.K., I was working in France, and woke up one morning utterly deaf in one ear. Couldn’t unclog it, so went to the local rural clinic. I had to wait about 15 minutes, and they hosed my ears out with a rubber hand-bulb. Magic. €7.20, I think, which was the standard consultation cost at the time. Most recently, I had an ear block again a few weeks ago, and I now live in rural Portugal. Again, took myself to the local clinic, hoping to make an appointment - and they were shocked that I hadn’t gone straight to their emergency department. I had no idea or expectation that they would have an A&E - this is a tiny clinic for a population of less than 2,000. Anyway, toddled around to the back, where there is indeed an A&E, and again, they did it there and then, no cost. I’ve found doctors in the U.K. to generally be a pretty unhelpful bunch - I think it comes from them drowning in insane KPIs and spending most of their time pushing paper or trying to keep their practice from disintegrating. They don’t have time for patients. I ended up seriously unwell as my GP kept brushing me off — and a dear friend ended up dead, as she was repeatedly told by her GP that her colon cancer was IBS, until it metastasised and ate her alive.
- gambiting 5y ago
  I've had the opposite experience, just if we're sharing anecdotes. Went to my GP, he recommended olive oil, put a few drops in, a fat big block of earwax naturally came out of my ear just few hours later. So it definitely works(for some people).
- raverbashing 5y ago
  Your last paragraph is why to me the idea of "you only get to see a specialist if the GP refers you to one" completely ridiculous. It's not the first time I hear about GPs brushing off potentially dangerous conditions. I don't think it's so much about paperwork but rather a narrow pidgeonholing and a patronizing feeling.
midjji 5y ago
Get a earcamera with a scraper, its cheap, instantly effective, and far superior.
- IndySun 5y ago
  Do you have an earcamera recommendation?
  - midjji 5y ago
    I got mine at a local mixed tech/gimmic store for 20$, not sure about the exact model but it looks alot like: https://www.amazon.se/SOONHUA-%C3%B6ronkamera-borttagningssats-reng%C3%B6ringsverktyg-%C3%B6ronplockningsverktyg/dp/B07F5DKMTZ/ref=sr_1_27?adgrpid=113583510153&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxJqHBhC4ARIsAChq4avX8IPkGiCTlCUFfLsbs9iNB-GWkvlRSnynpGFe_tLsnKs62_Mbjx0aAhr_EALw_wcB&hvadid=475485207301&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1012228&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=13704038652855297843&hvtargid=kwd-336308755346&hydadcr=29964_2189035&keywords=ear+wax+remover+camera&qid=1625749640&sr=8-27 https://www.amazon.se/SOONHUA-%C3%B6ronkamera-borttagningssa... I'm pretty happy with it, but I would expect most all would work, its not a hard problem.
    - IndySun 5y ago
      Thank you
  - Cocojumbo 5y ago
    Be very careful about this. I was looking for something similar and heard some horrible stories about people breaking parts of the device inside their ears. Which would make things worse and it's hard to get the stuff out since some of it may stick in the wax. So be warned.
    - IndySun 5y ago
      Thank you too
Loranubi 5y ago
All ENT doctors I have ever been to in Germany as well as Taiwan offer microsuction and it was always covered by public insurance as well. It was done by the doctor and not by nurses.
modo_mario 5y ago
I went to an ear doc in Belgium. Not a general practicioner. She did the micro-suction thing for me just fine and i believe it was covered.
airbreather 5y ago
I have had problems all my life, worst is diving into water and impacting wax and water leading to all sorts of issues including fungal ones that are hard to treat. Doctor said I "make a lot of wax, probably genetic". One ear is very narrow due to swimmers ear. Then I discovered the use of hydrogen peroxide - it just eats and softens the wax, my 16 year old pulled out an enormous wad this way and all of sudden could hear properly. Now I am sure the ear doctors will freak, but I put hydrogen peroxide that my wife uses for her hair on a cotton bud and put it in my ear/s. After a while you will hear hissing and popping as it starts to work. You may need to repeat quite a few times to get thru it enough to lodge or loosen it, but this worked for me a number of times after multiple failed syringing's.

bhrgunatha 5y ago

No matter what I try my ears both get blocked regularly, every 6 - 12 months. The first time, a nurse syringed it after the doctor prescribed drops which contained olive oil. He said it wasn't to fix the problem (although sometimes that alone does dislodge the wax), it was to soften the wax to make the syringing safer and more effective. These days I see a doctor who uses a suction tube and a small metal scoop and whenever he digs out something wothwhile he delights in presenting it to me to see.

tomduncalf 5y ago

I had the same situation - blocked ear, NHS doctor said they don’t usually do anything about it due to the risk of ear damage in the process. The drops did nothing, but I ended up using one of the bulb syringes you can buy to blast it with water and it did the trick perfectly, lots of gross wax came out and I’ve had no issues since (previously they’d reoccur every now and then). Was really weird after I’d done it, everything sounded really “HD” for a while! (I remember I took advantage and went record shopping, lol) This YouTube clip showed me how to use it properly: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAHx0B7icmI I’m no doctor so please don’t consider this medical advice and do check with yours before trying this!

RobertKerans 5y ago
Doctors IME will always advise not to do it, but also IME it works far better than anything else. I've always had blocked ears, and my grandfather had been an NHS doctor back when this was standard (before the advice not to do it came down), so he was the one who showed me how to do it -- very, very gently and repeatedly, with slightly warm water, don't need to push the point of the bulb/syringe in. And the wax just drops out after a few applications (in big gross lumps if it's bad!). Absolutely not medical advice, but just to confirm that it works extremely well.
- tomduncalf 5y ago
  > (in big gross lumps if it's bad!). Can confirm, ha
qart 5y ago
I have had to go to a doctor only once because of impacted wax. He did pretty much the same thing. He used a massive copper syringe for the task. The only thing he did differently than the video was using cotton swabs to immediately dry the ear canal. It was painful, but he said leaving the region wet can lead to infections. I don't trust untrained people to use swabs in the sensitive regions of the canal. Anyway, for home cleaning, 3% H2O2 or baby oil have been working well enough ever since.

raverbashing 5y ago

Nowadays you can DIY this with some special syringes easily available. There are also other oils that are better than olive. (both can be found in pharmacies) But yes it is an annoying problem.

UncleSam 5y ago
It doesn't even need to be a special syringe. I've been able to unblock my ears with warm water and a bulb syringe. It probably takes more effort though since the bulb only holds so much water and has to constantly be refilled.

fergie 5y ago

I'm sorry that you had that experience. My NHS practice has a nurse that "syringes" ears, and its fairly straight forward to set up an appointment. They do ask that you apply oil to your ears in the days leading up to your appointment, but this is just so that the earwax comes out more easily.

twic 5y ago
This was also exactly my experience. It's what NICE recommends: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/earwax/management/management/ https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/earwax/management/management/ https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/remove-earwax-if-a-build-up-is-causing-hearing-loss-problems-nice-tells-primary-care https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/remove-earwax-if-a-buil... So it's odd that there are doctors refusing to do it.
- ZeroGravitas 5y ago
  That NICE guideline says not to use a syringe as it can be harmful. The other commenter used quotes so maybe it was a loose reference to the irrigation devices that they do recommend.
- UncleSam 5y ago
  Oh, interesting. I once lost hearing in one ear due to wax blockage and finally got annoyed enough I went to an urgent care clinic. They used a wax softener and then a big syringe with warm water (and maybe something else mixed in) to irrigate my ear canal. That did the trick and cleared it out. I wonder what about using a syringe can be harmful?
  - kwhitefoot 5y ago
    > what about using a syringe can be harmful? Pushing it too far in, using water that is too hot, pushing the water in too fast. All can damage your ears. I have had my ears syringed twice. In both cases at my doctor's surgery by a nurse. I visited my doctor because I started to notice that I was going deaf in one ear and ear drops didn't seem to work. Syringing worked perfectly and removed a surprising large amount of wax.

madaxe_again 5y ago

I had the same experience in the U.K., twice - once about 12 years ago, once two years ago. Olive oil does absolutely nothing that I can tell. I’ve tried it, fastidiously, as my ears are really prone to filling with wax. My experiences on continental Europe have been entirely different, however. Ten years ago, about 18 months after being refused treatment in the U.K., I was working in France, and woke up one morning utterly deaf in one ear. Couldn’t unclog it, so went to the local rural clinic. I had to wait about 15 minutes, and they hosed my ears out with a rubber hand-bulb. Magic. €7.20, I think, which was the standard consultation cost at the time. Most recently, I had an ear block again a few weeks ago, and I now live in rural Portugal. Again, took myself to the local clinic, hoping to make an appointment - and they were shocked that I hadn’t gone straight to their emergency department. I had no idea or expectation that they would have an A&E - this is a tiny clinic for a population of less than 2,000. Anyway, toddled around to the back, where there is indeed an A&E, and again, they did it there and then, no cost. I’ve found doctors in the U.K. to generally be a pretty unhelpful bunch - I think it comes from them drowning in insane KPIs and spending most of their time pushing paper or trying to keep their practice from disintegrating. They don’t have time for patients. I ended up seriously unwell as my GP kept brushing me off — and a dear friend ended up dead, as she was repeatedly told by her GP that her colon cancer was IBS, until it metastasised and ate her alive.

gambiting 5y ago
I've had the opposite experience, just if we're sharing anecdotes. Went to my GP, he recommended olive oil, put a few drops in, a fat big block of earwax naturally came out of my ear just few hours later. So it definitely works(for some people).
raverbashing 5y ago
Your last paragraph is why to me the idea of "you only get to see a specialist if the GP refers you to one" completely ridiculous. It's not the first time I hear about GPs brushing off potentially dangerous conditions. I don't think it's so much about paperwork but rather a narrow pidgeonholing and a patronizing feeling.

midjji 5y ago

Get a earcamera with a scraper, its cheap, instantly effective, and far superior.

IndySun 5y ago
Do you have an earcamera recommendation?
- midjji 5y ago
  I got mine at a local mixed tech/gimmic store for 20$, not sure about the exact model but it looks alot like: https://www.amazon.se/SOONHUA-%C3%B6ronkamera-borttagningssats-reng%C3%B6ringsverktyg-%C3%B6ronplockningsverktyg/dp/B07F5DKMTZ/ref=sr_1_27?adgrpid=113583510153&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxJqHBhC4ARIsAChq4avX8IPkGiCTlCUFfLsbs9iNB-GWkvlRSnynpGFe_tLsnKs62_Mbjx0aAhr_EALw_wcB&hvadid=475485207301&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1012228&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=13704038652855297843&hvtargid=kwd-336308755346&hydadcr=29964_2189035&keywords=ear+wax+remover+camera&qid=1625749640&sr=8-27 https://www.amazon.se/SOONHUA-%C3%B6ronkamera-borttagningssa... I'm pretty happy with it, but I would expect most all would work, its not a hard problem.
  - IndySun 5y ago
    Thank you
- Cocojumbo 5y ago
  Be very careful about this. I was looking for something similar and heard some horrible stories about people breaking parts of the device inside their ears. Which would make things worse and it's hard to get the stuff out since some of it may stick in the wax. So be warned.
  - IndySun 5y ago
    Thank you too

Loranubi 5y ago

All ENT doctors I have ever been to in Germany as well as Taiwan offer microsuction and it was always covered by public insurance as well. It was done by the doctor and not by nurses.

modo_mario 5y ago

I went to an ear doc in Belgium. Not a general practicioner. She did the micro-suction thing for me just fine and i believe it was covered.

airbreather 5y ago

I have had problems all my life, worst is diving into water and impacting wax and water leading to all sorts of issues including fungal ones that are hard to treat. Doctor said I "make a lot of wax, probably genetic". One ear is very narrow due to swimmers ear. Then I discovered the use of hydrogen peroxide - it just eats and softens the wax, my 16 year old pulled out an enormous wad this way and all of sudden could hear properly. Now I am sure the ear doctors will freak, but I put hydrogen peroxide that my wife uses for her hair on a cotton bud and put it in my ear/s. After a while you will hear hissing and popping as it starts to work. You may need to repeat quite a few times to get thru it enough to lodge or loosen it, but this worked for me a number of times after multiple failed syringing's.