Waxy ears

My husband had his ears ‘hoovered’ out last year, syringing isn’t something that is advised any more and our Doctors don’t advise it either,
typically they got a lot of wax out of one ear and none out of the ear that he had problems with.
He said it was interesting though as they let you watch it all on screen, it costs around £60 totally painless and out in about 10 minutes.

I used to have my ears syringed every few years. A couple of times it was really uncomfortable and left me feeling very queasy. Most GP surgeries have stopped offering this service now. I have had micro suction (hoovering) a couple of times at the hospital where I go for hearing appointments and it’s a much better experience. Early this year one of my ears became completely blocked and I couldn’t wait for the hospital appointment so had it done privately for £60. Quick and easy.

I'm another microsuction fan. I was quite happy to fork out for it.

SueEH I definitively wouldn’t try any DIY syringe on your ears as you could damage your ear drums. I’m surprised your GP suggested it.

If you are feeling miserable I’d say go for the Specsavers option of micro suction for prompt relief.

It’s available on NHS in hospital clinics. A friend goes twice a year on a rolling appointment. Perhaps you could ask your GP to refer you for future appointments.
In meantime don’t use cotton buds as you’ll only push the wax further in.

An ENT consultant I once knew told all his patients “never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear! ?

Haha yes I’ve had the elbow advice too when I worked in a nursing home! I’m happy to go to the audiologist in Specsavers .. however they do it. I’m just getting a bit panicky in case it doesn’t come back! I have had it syringed once before but it was many years ago. And no, I was surprised to be recommended the bulb syringe but when I phoned the doctor about three weeks ago when I was worried as the hearing had completely gone I was asked again whether I’d used the bulb. I just don’t see what good it could possibly do!

I have wax build up too. Narrow ear canals in my case, so the wax doesn't drain properly.
I bought a little ear syringing kit from Amazon, and did them myself. Very effective, but a strange thing to do.
My health center won't do ear syringing now either.

I had the same problem and my Dr irrigated my ears and eventually removed the wax with forceps. It caused me to have vertigo for a little while afterwards but now I am fine. I would not advise you to use the bulb syringe yourself. The Specsavers option sounds like the best one to me. Good luck SueEH

I did the same as MiniMoon. I
bought a syringe set from Amazon. It did the trick. Having blocked ears is horrible. I was wary at first but it worked fine.

Use olive oil for at least a week and use one of the syringes available on Amazon it’s more like a plunger.
Worked a treat for me.

GP practices are no longer reimbursed for providing this service, hence the refusals. It was formerly done by practice nurses, but only after specific training. Diminished hearing can have many causes which may need to be excluded before syringing/irrigation can be performed, and even then the procedure can cause ear infections, balance problems and perforated eardrum if not done correctly. DIY ear syringing/irrigation should never be recommended and for a health professional to suggest this suggests either ignorance or out of date knowledge.
Hospital ENT and private providers (Boots, Specsavers, Scrivens etc) offer micro suction on a private basis.
Alternative is to ask your pharmacist for olive oil, sodium bicarbonate or proprietary brand ear drops which may take up to 2 weeks to work.
I agree it is unacceptable that Primary Care practices are unable to provide a service to alleviate what can be a distressing condition.

Once you have had the wax removed, stay out of draughts and wear a head-scarf or ear muffs if you go out in windy weather.

Doing so, has prevented me having a build up of wax in ears for years. I was troubled with it as a teenager.

After recommendations from other GNs I had my ears ‘hoovered’ this morning and was astonished at the amount of wax that came out - a good baked bean size lump from each ear.
It wa a bit noisy but totally painless - just a strange feeling now that everything sounds so loud. Highly recommend this treatment.

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This all sounds more authoritative about ear candling. They don't advise and there is no proof it helps! www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/what-is-ear-candling

Aepgirl I was advised, after having mine done, to use olive oil regularly to try and avoid a build up and cotton wool in when showering. Needless to say I forget most of the time!

I have this problem from time to time. I use a little kit available at the chemist Otex Express. You use the drops for a few days then the little rubber syringe filled with warm water to syringe the wax out. I find it easy and it does get rid of a lot of wax.

I have had my ears cleared about 3 years ago on the NHS,the nurse who did it told me I have narrow ear canals,over the last 3 months I was noticing I was having to say Pardon more frequently and to turn the TV up,I tried the NHS route only to be told this was no longer available so I went to have it done privately to a small family firm who have been doing it for years and charged me £30 for one ear...not happy that NHS are not providing this service as it only takes a couple of minutes to do this,surely the practice nurse could be trained .

Boots do syringing too, they went to see a relative in a care home and they were fantastic, quick and easy.