ear syringing

I had my ears syringed at the surgery when they were still doing it. It was quite painful and I ended up soaked almost down to the waist. I was happy to pay Specsavers after that.

I get mine done at the local hospital ENT dept too. They use microsuction, & my ears do feel much better when they've had their regular vacuum.

Don't have syringing if you have tinnitus. My ears were 'screaming ' at me! Thank goodness it settled after awhile.

I used to be a practice nurse and loved doing ear syringing
Such a satisfying job and lovely when the patients were hearing better

My husband was told by ENT that they could not deal with sorting out his ear condition ( deafness) until he had had his ears dewaxed which we had to have done privately..... think it cost £84 and certainly some gross lumps of wax were washed out
Back to the ear dept when they gave him an ear test. He said the new hearing aids were brilliant( day 1) and he could also hear me speak as I sounded some 60 years ago ( oh , How lovely!)
(Day 2) He had got used to not hearing anyone and found it all too disturbing and disrupting of his thought processes. The reading he had been able to do had been far more interesting than my idle chatter and, anyway , the hearing aids hurt the ear canal No He would not go back to the ENT dept but would like the tv sound turned up just a fraction

I had my ears syringed last year by the nurse at our GP"s surgery.

I had omitted what i had intended to say when I began.

It might be far better if the NHS were able to deal with such 'trivial 'problems as ear and feet conditionswhen they first arose rather than leaving them until the problem becomes much worse both physically and psychologically

I have not had my ears syringed for fifty years since I had mastoid surgery when l was ten. I think microsuction was quite a new technique in the seventies. I didn't mind when it was done when I was in a chair because it was quick and easy, although I would generally have already been prodded with a probe, It was when a "good clear out" was mentioned that l had to brace myself as this meant lying down on a bed and the subsequent suctioning made me very dizzy as I had no middle ear. Since then, I have had further surgery replacing the bones and eardrum in the middle ear. No further issues with dizziness. Microsuctionig has come on in leaps and bounds since the seventies and is far superior to syringing as it is so much safer, which is why syringing is rarely offered these days

I have internal eczema in my ears so have to be very careful with anything going inside my ears, fortunately our gp surgery help with micro suction. I’m not sure if it’s offered as a service or if it’s only offered to patients with this condition. My GP was the first person to tell me about this after yet another ear infection.

Our surgery still does it for free. We’re in Surrey if areas make any difference.

Only had mine syringed once it was so painful, but I've always got ear ache in one ear anyway.

widgeon3

I had omitted what i had intended to say when I began.

It might be far better if the NHS were able to deal with such 'trivial 'problems as ear and feet conditionswhen they first arose rather than leaving them until the problem becomes much worse both physically and psychologically

I couldn't agree with you more. However, l had yet another ear infection in October and saw my GP. She referred me to ENT at the hospital (l am a veteran of various ENT departments from hospitals all over the country). She suspected a cholesteatoma in my right, aka "good" ear. A cholesteatoma is a non-cancerous but potentially dangerous growth that can lead to mastoid problems. I expected to be seen before Christmas, but am still waiting, despite my GP trying to expedite an appointment for me. There is an average 24 week wait. This should have been treated as an urgent appointment. In the meantime, neither ear is very good and my hearing has deteriorated to the point where it is disabling.

I used to have my ears syringed regularly and hated the messy olive oil soaking first. It was suggested I used Otosan spray. I keep it by my bed and just spray a couple of times a week in each ear. It is not messy and I have now not needed to have any syringing for several years. ( Not an advertisement, just works for me)

I use Earol as recommended by my pharmacist, still need them sorted regularly, I’ve had this problem since I was 14.

I too have suffered internal and external ear eczema for many years. The best advice from an ENT Consultant was to not get water in my ears - best advice ever - so I always use ear plugs for showering and hair washing.

I’m having mine done on Wednesday by micro suction at a local audiologist who is offering it free to really really old people like me. (North west England)

I went to spec savers but they said the wax was too deep and recommend a private clinic but it was going to cost about £60.00. So asked at my GP surgery and found they did ear syringing. It took 3 go's but it has helped my hearing enormously. They had a machine that pumps water in at a regulated pressure. Of course for free on the NHS.

NHS has become a postcode lottery for ears, teeth and feet. That's not fair or right. As far as ears are concerned, NHS are missing a trick. They could do it for a lot less than £60 and still make a profit.

Granless, as you say, earplugs every time when washing hair and showering, also if you use hairspray.

widgeon3

My husband was told by ENT that they could not deal with sorting out his ear condition ( deafness) until he had had his ears dewaxed which we had to have done privately..... think it cost £84 and certainly some gross lumps of wax were washed out
Back to the ear dept when they gave him an ear test. He said the new hearing aids were brilliant( day 1) and he could also hear me speak as I sounded some 60 years ago ( oh , How lovely!)
(Day 2) He had got used to not hearing anyone and found it all too disturbing and disrupting of his thought processes. The reading he had been able to do had been far more interesting than my idle chatter and, anyway , the hearing aids hurt the ear canal No He would not go back to the ENT dept but would like the tv sound turned up just a fraction

I have recently had some new hearing aids and the domes are larger than the old ones. I have small ear canals and the domes annoy me so I am going to request the smaller types (by email).

Perhaps the smaller ones would help Mr. W.

The irrigation water used shoukd be at body temperature. If the water temperature is above or below that temperature then the irrigation flow can cause movement of the fluid in your inner ear which can lead to dizziness. Also, are you sure there was no perforation in your eardrum beforehand?.Microsuction shouldn't lead to dizziness in itself. The suction noise will be loud, and some peopke struggle with this and get stressed. Make sure that any wax is softened, and that the practitioner is very experienced, qualified, medically insured and registered with a National Healthcare body. Loads more people are setting themselves up to carry out wax removal now that GP surgeries don't, so take care who you use.

You're probably correct. Except that not all Trusts will sponsor training of audiologists to do it or carry it out, for various reasons - clinic time, other types of appointments, more complex situations. I found it frustrating to have to refer patients back to other agencies, after they'd waited quite a long time for the appointment, before helping them. Then the wax could build up again, leading to a similarly aborted appointment the next time. We advised that patients arranged to have any wax cleared in the week before the audiology appointment to get around this.

Try to get him to acclimatise to using the aids - perhaps a short while each day at home, gradually increasing the time worn, and in noisier)fifferent situations. The brain doesn't just switch back on to hearing things and listening to things as used to be the case. You have to train the brain and learn to listen again. Build up the time of use and then return for at least the follow up appointment, which should be offered, and then discuss anything like fitting sizes, adjustments, comfort of some sounds, available nouse programs etc at that time. The longer a hearing loss us left unaided, the longer it can take for the brain to get used to everything again.