FAQs 

Itchy ears, discomfort / earache, tinnitus, temporary hearing loss.

Problems for hearing aid users include delayed hearing tests as the ears need to be cleared first, blocked loudspeakers (receivers), blocked wax guards, reduced performance, feedback (whistling), and problems taking impressions for moulds / custom hearing aids.

Your ears are designed to be self-cleaning and will normally produce enough earwax to prevent problems occurring, and make its way out of the ear, completely on its own.

Many people use cotton buds in an effort to ‘clean’ their ears from excess wax, but this method is more likely to cause earwax blockages and further issues. Rather than removing the earwax, it pushes it further into the ear, leading to a build-up, or impacted wax.

The safest way is to have your ears checked regularly by a professional and have wax removed if there is an excess.

Micro-suction is usually the quickest and safest method of earwax removal, including for hard or impacted wax. Sometimes there is a need to soften the wax with oil or Otex to allow hard impacted wax to be removed. We advise our customers to pop in the shop for a quick assessment prior to their appointments. We can then advise if oil etc is required.

If the wax cannot be removed in one session, there is a free return visit within 14 days. Micro-suction is much more comfortable as it avoids touching the sensitive skin of the ear canal and has no contact with the eardrum.

Irrigation uses a pumped spray of warm water – normally pulsing at a controlled pressure.

Irrigation devices exert a pulsing spray of water into the ear to flush out softer wax. The water should be warm, as cold water can cause dizziness.

Irrigation is perfectly safe if the clinician appropriately controls the water flow pressure and angle of spray.

This may be surprising but there is no registration body for private ear-wax removal services – it is an unregulated procedure.

Registered Hearing Aid Dispensers (RHAD’s) must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and can undertake ear wax removal (with appropriate training for their insurance purpose), but the HCPC does not cover ‘ear wax removal’ in their scope of work for RHAD’s.

If you undertake ear wax removal services, you must have treatment liability insurance – and the insurance company state you must be able to clearly demonstrate competence. For this you first must have appropriate training. At Hearing is Believing we have this training.

It would then also be appropriate to work in accordance with a specified practice guidance note, and to have in place up-to-date risk assessments for each ear-wax removal method. You may find many places undertaking ear-wax removal services are not implementing such essentials or indeed au-fait with them in the first place.