Blocked ears can make you feel irritated and cause issues with hearing. The common cause of this is hard ear wax, which can easily become embedded in the ear, causing pain, balance upset and whistling hearing aids.

Ear wax production is an everyday process the body goes through. From time to time ear wax build up is caused by the ears self-cleaning mechanism not functioning and is one of the most common ear related conditions patients seeks medical care for today.

Patients that have generally had excessive ear wax or embedded ear wax removed use water syringing and ear drops to remove the wax. While it is still common practice, doctors are cautious removing ear wax via syringing as it cannot be performed if that patient has a perforated ear drum, also sometimes it can be uncomfortable.

WHAT IS EAR SYRINGING?

Here at Vitalia Healthcare the trained GP’s use ear syringing to remove the ear wax or foreign objects after the patient has generally been using ear drops for around four days to loosen the wax.  

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

The process of ear syringing takes approximately 15 minutes. 

IS THE PROCESS PAINFUL?

No the process is not painful.   The ear syringe process uses water so sometimes you may get a bit wet and feel some discomfort.   If during the process you feel dizzy or any pain, please let the doctor know immediately and the process will be stopped.

HOW IS IT DONE?

  1. You will sit in a chair and the nurse will hold an ear irrigation cup just under the ear to catch any water and wax that comes out of the ear.
  2. The GP will use an electrical syringing device to shoot water into the ear to remove ear wax or objects from the ear canal. The GP uses a foot pedal to control the water jet into the ear. In cases of ear infection, cleaning of the ear canal will sometimes help improve healing. At all times the GP can see exactly what she is doing.

  • The GP if needed may also use fine instruments (like tiny forceps or scoop) to help remove wax. Occasionally some dizziness may be experienced for a few seconds. If this occurs please inform the GP and they will stop the suction to allow the dizziness to settle.

Ear syringing is safe, comfortable and an effective process for removing ear wax in patients over 10 years old that have any one of the following conditions:

  • Impacted wax 
  • Perforated Ear Drum 
  • Problems in the ear canal where syringing is unsuitable 
  • Previous ear surgery 
  • Narrow Ear Canals 
  • Curvy Ear Canals 
  • Hairy Ear Canals, and 
  • Wearers of hearing aids and ear plugs.

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