What is ear wax

The technical term for ear wax is cerumen. Cerumen is a natural substance made by the body, and its purpose is to protect your ear drum. It traps dirt, dust and other foreign bodies from falling too far down the ear canal. However sometimes the body produces too much ear wax, and it can cause problems for your ears, such as earaches or infections.

Ear wax can turn hard and inevitably gets pushed further into the ear, making it harder to remove.

Symptoms of excessive ear wax include:

• Earache
• Itchiness
• Infections or discharge from the ear
• Tinnitus
• Vertigo

There are a number of solutions for getting rid of unwanted ear wax, and some that you can try at home.

Ear drops

Ear drops can be purchased at any local chemist or supermarket. You must follow the instructions on the label, but generally you place the drops into your ears, and the solution starts to break down ear wax, clearing your ear canal.

Ear Irrigation

Ear irrigation is where a small bulb or syringe filled with warm water is placed inside the ear, loosening the ear wax making it easier to flush out with some genital manipulation. This procedure should always be completed by a health care practitioner or a nurse.

At Tailor-Made HearingCare we also like to use soft and gentle irrigation with specialist equipment. We will always use the best method for the condition at that time. As part of this service, you will also receive a FREE Hearing Screening which will provide you with a baseline of your current hearing levels.  It’s so very important to gain this baseline whereby we can catch any hearing loss before it further deteriorates and leads to complication and detracts from the joy and sense of sound. 

If you have any concerns about ear wax or you’re hearing and would like to make an appointment, please get in touch today.