Ear Wax Removal

Ear wax is a natural lubricant and antibacterial agent that’s produced by glands within the ear canal. Ear wax is produced in order to clean, lubricate, and protect the lining of the ear by preventing particles in the air entering the era and by stopping too much water from entering the ear canal.

A buildup of earwax can be caused by numerous factors, including narrow or damaged ear canals, skin conditions around the ear and an increased amount of hair in the ear, all of which cause the wax to build up into layers of hardened material that block the ear and become difficult to remove.

At Doc Plus earwax removal will always be carried out by a trained audiologist who has a clinical understanding of your hearing and can assess if earwax build up is the problem or if there may be other underlying issues. You should avoid using things such as cotton buds on your ears these can cause long term damage to the structures within the ear when pushed inside the ear canal.

Microsuction ear wax removal is the safest and most effective procedure for examination and treatment of the ear when performed by experienced practitioners. The practitioner will examine your ear using a small camera or and otoscope (a microscope specifically designed to look inside the ear), to view the ear canal in great detail and will then use a very fine sterile suction device at low pressure to remove the wax, not dissimilar to using a tiny vacuum cleaner inside the ear to remove the wax. Using microsuction means that the practitioner can see along the ear canal to the external part of your ear without touching any part of the ear unnecessarily

This is not a simple yes or no as it depends on the amount of wax to be removed and how hard it may be, however when a microsuction device is being used and it’s being carried out by an experienced practitioner, there may be some slight discomfort, but the procedure is unlikely to be painful.

If you have hardened wax in your ear your practitioner will advise you on which drops or oil, you can use to soften it and typically you will be asked to come back in roughly one week’s time.

In most cases, it takes around 15-20 minutes to perform microsuction on both ears. It’s important to keep as still as you can during the procedure to ensure it can be performed as efficiently and as safely as possible. The ear canal is very small and is in very close proximity to the eardrum, so even small movements can take the ear canal image out of focus and make the procedure take longer.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to ‘how often you will need to have ear microsuction?’, as it varies from patient to patient. Some are unlucky and develop a lot of wax in their ear canal, with subsequent blockages (as often as every 3-6 months), which means they may require ear microsuction on a similar frequency