Ear Wax

Ear Wax

Ear wax which is medically termed impacted cerumen is a build-up of wax in the auditory canal. This can cause discomfort and affect hearing and is most common in children and older people.

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Symptoms of impacted cerumen

  • If you have impacted cerumen then your ear will be bunged up with an excess of ear wax.
  • You may feel some discomfort in your ear and expereiencer loss of hearing.
  • Other symptoms might include dizziness and tinnitus. Tinnitus is a persistant ringing in the ears.

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Treatment for ear wax

See your doctor if you think you may have ear wax or impacted cerumen. Your doctor will look deep into your ear with an instrument called an Otoscope. They will look for dry, hard wax within the auditory canal.

Once diagnosed, several treatment methods are avaialble to treat the condition.

  • You may need to have your ear flushed out. This is known as irrigation of the ear.
  • Wax can be removed with forceps and suction.
  • The hard ear wax may be softened with olive oil, or sodium bicarbonate. Once the wax is softened, you ear may then be syringed.
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