Micro suction ear wax removal is the gold standard of ear wax removal. It offers a safer and more gentle way to remove ear wax than traditional irrigation methods. The technique involves using a endoscopic microscope or TTL surgical loupes and a medical suction aspirator with a suction pen.The procedure is quick and painless – it can take as little as a few minutes to extract the wax safely from the ear.
Although micro-suction requires very little intervention we always advise a few drops of olive oil in the ear to help soften the wax. We often find the softer the wax the easier it is to remove out of the ear. However in saying that the over use of drops can turn the wax in to a viscous sticky liquid in the ear which can slide on to the eardrum so try not to use drops excessively.
We would recommend olive oil drops for 1-2 days or Otex but this is dependant very much on an individual to individual basis
We also provide water irrigation for the ears. For some patients microsuction is not always stable especially when dealing with particularly soft wax as a consequence of over use of drops. In such cases we use the irrigation method which involves the controlled pressure of water at body temperature in the ear in order to remove stubborn deposits of wax which deposit themselves on th eardrum. Your clinician will determine which would be the better procedure on the day of the appointment
Ear wax removal drops usually peroxide based including name brands like Otex and Sodium bicarbonate drops are great for breaking down hard abrasive wax in the ear ready for ear wax removal. In some instances they can break down wax sufficiently to the extent were by earwax removal may not be required as the wax has sufficiently dissolved, however we find that this in most cases depends on the size of the cavity. We usually deal with a lot of cases were by the wax has turned in to a semi liquid which slides down the ear canal and settles on the drum completely sealing the canal. and causing complete deafness, our advise is to use drops for 2-3 days before coming in for an earwax removal
We always advice a qualified Audiologist or a practitioner nurse with experience in ear nose and throat. Any other practitioner with a background not in Audiology simply wont have the experience to deal with complex difficult cases and you usually want a audiologist with 100’s of ear wax removal procedures under their belt. We say this because unfortunately due to the unregulated nature of the training you could potentially be having a invasive procedure undertaken by a non audiologist with no previous experience in audiological medicine.
