Ear syringing

I know a fair bit about this as I used to manage community nursing services at about the time when ENT surgeons decided that regular ear syringing was not a good thing - irritates the ear and causes further wax build up. They agreed that people should be encouraged to use oil regularly if their ears build up wax that didn't remove itself naturally as its designed to do. However there are some cases where syringing is done DH has it done occasionally as he has a lot of scar tissue in one ear from old infections and possibly over syringing so his auditory canal is blocked. It sounds as though your practice has moved this advice along a bit and decided to privatise the procedure. You could write to the commissioning group and ask for an explanation.

My son needs his done and when he got back from our GP and told us that, I didn't believe him and thought he'd got it wrong! Thought if they didn't do it at the surgery they would've referred him to a clinic. He's been trying to use ear drops but it's not working very well. When did they stop that and why I wonder? It can be painful and make you hard of hearing, so isn't it necessary medical treatment? Understandable if you wanted your ears pinned back on the NHS but syringing? Be interested to read if any practice nurses on here could explain why?

I should have said its still available here on the NHS but in specific clinical cases.

Ah you beat me to it Teetime while I was typing. So it's not considered a good thing medically to keep having them syringed. OK. Thanks.

Yes that's right better to keep them lubricated with oil. They have changed their mind about domestic olive oil lately as well which used to be considered Ok so get the one that is prepared for use in ears from your pharmacist.

That's what he is using now. So I guess persevere unless it gets worse then ask GP if can be referred as a special case. Thanks.

The health care assistant who does my blood tests went on a course to learn how to syringe ears, so evidently it's still done at our medical centre, though maybe for special cases.

If you can afford it, have your ears syringed by micro-suction. I paid £100, though you'd probably need to pay a consultation charge too. It was sooo much better than the old way, but I have yet to find out whether it was more effective in the long run.

Our GP practice still does it.

It can cause infection including serious infections, otitis externa, tinnitus, perforation, bleeding, dizziness etc etc etc. Most ENT specialists don't recommend it now for these reasons preferring micro suction.
We still do it in my health centre but there are these risks. Health Care Assistants are not trained nurses and should not be doing this.

I know the medics among you will slaughter me for this.

I do it myself, I purchased the kit below and on the odd occasion I need to, do it myself. I used to get a lot of problem when i swam, but as I do not swim much now rarely get a problem that drops won't clear.

When my ears got blocked I found it so distressing and painful, that I needed instant relief.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/otex-express-combi-pack--ear-wax-removal-kit?langId=44&storeId=10151&krypto=LfqH4Q8Xoi3m9T9%2FMD6eA7mepjObOfHdSIFmLUfapbOGZVkiFqIedTJrYD1HKJA4%2BbmWegwCrDz5GzEoH0d3LtLIXfU%2BUwQBBgqmMnYFHPPtPQDbxIoR6tGmpaGvD914t%2FFVYlDeyZloiqML02ndi2%2Fyfun0CD3IDg%2BslJ%2BKJY8%3D&ddkey=http%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Fotex-express-combi-pack--ear-wax-removal-kit

I do mine myself too. Have done for years. Bicarbonate of soda drops, which you can buy in any pharmacy, in the ears (well, one of them) while lying down to soften the wax. Then a few squirts of warm water with one of those infant medicine syringes over the bathroom basin. Job done.

My method is far less intrusive that having one's ears syringed 'professionally' and I've never had any problem because of it.

Once I had mine done by a GP. I fainted while she was drying the ear out! She said she'd probably gone too close to something or other whose name I've forgotten.

Your Brain ??? (only joking)

?

It is still available on the NHS , my son had it done last week in the surgery .

DH has had it done lots of times in the past - apparently he has very narrow passages (no comment!). But when my ears blocked completely a few years ago, so badly that it was affecting my work as I couldn't make out what was being said on the telephone or what visitors were asking, I had to keep filling my ear up with olive oil daily for weeks on end before they finally agreed to syringe. Instant relief and the nurse admitted it would never have cleared any other way, there was so much wax in there. It was the only time I've had it done so I was a bit cynical about the reason given for not doing it (regular syringing can damage the ear).

I'm certainly [shocked] about people being told to go private. It's either a useful procedure (in which case it should be done on the NHS) or it's not. What's the next thing to be farmed out to the private sector, I wonder?

DH has a lot of wax build up in his ears and used to have them syringed regularly at our last practice, but when we moved, our new practice wouldn't do it. Things came to a head when he got so bad he couldn't hold a normal conversation with anyone, and the doctor decided to syringe them and told him to make an appointment with the nurse. He went to the receptionist and she said, "oh no, we don't do that here!" She even went to check with the doctor before she'd make him an appointment!! It seems that some practices do and some don't. DDs practice still do it.

Thinking about it, a girl I used to work with, an audio typist, had her ears syringed and then developed severe tinnitus and vertigo which was attributed to the syringing. She had to stop working. Depending on how prevalent this sort of thing is, perhaps GPs are wary of carrying it out in case someone sues them! Just a thought.

I have mine 'hoovered' at the local ENT department every 6 months. It is wonderful and so much better/quicker/safer than being syringed at the GP. I had an appt with the consultant a couple of years ago as I am a long term sufferer of tinnitus and had it done there and then. I asked if I could return and - hey presto, the appointments just keep coming!

Please be wary of syringing. I had mine done some years back and I had an echoing sound in that ear for about 6 months when my hearing was distorted like being under water. I do have hearing loss in that ear and tinnitus and it made things worse for a while.

The place I bought my hearing Aid from said they could suck out the wax and not use the warm water and pressure method, however I too have used the bicarbonate drops from Boots and it has kept my ears fine (well as good as they will ever be) and the wax soft. So my suggestion is avoid syringing.

I had mine hoovered once, I was very apprehensive but it was a very pleasant experience!

I've had it done at the surgery acouple of times to see if it would improve my hearing. I didn't really notice any difference, so I still remain in Limbo - not quite deaf enough for a hearing aid.

I hadn't realised there were alternative methods of clearing wax from the ears, nor had I ever considered whether syringing could be detrimental to the ears in any way. Hmm. I have psoriasis in my ears and the flakes of skin (plaques) are seen by my ears as 'foreign bodies'. More wax is produced, therefore, to protect my ears from these invading furriners. Which means I have to have them syringed every six months or so, and they are usually well and truly packed solid with wax . The last time I had it done, the nurse really struggled to clear my right ear, and was about to suggest I come back in a week or two when suddenly out popped this huge plug of wax . So I really hope this service isn't removed from the NHS.