THERE IS A 48 HOUR PRESCRIPTION ORDER POLICY WITHOUT EXCEPTION – SEE LINK ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARDS ALL STAFF – NO ABUSE WILL BE ACCEPTED UNREASONABLE DEMANDS ON SPECIFIC CLINICIANS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS PER PRACTICE POLICY
The amount of ear wax produced varies from person to person. You are more likely to develop a blockage of wax in the ear canal if you:
Ear wax only becomes a problem if it causes deafness, discomfort or if your Health professional requires a clear view or your ear drum.
Please seek advice from your GP or nurse, and do not attempt to self–treat if any of the following apply to you:
We recommend the following ear drop regime, and if you remain symptomatic you may also wish to consider using an ear bulb syringe which can be bought at a pharmacy (search for your nearest community pharmacist)
Olive Oil Drops
The following needs to be done 2-3 times daily for 14 days.
Your hearing problem may initially worsen after first starting to use the olive oil drops; this is why we advise you to concentrate on treating one ear at a time.
In most cases, after 14 days, the wax will have softened sufficiently to encourage the wax to come out without further intervention.
If your ears are regularly becoming blocked with wax, after clearing the blockage we will usually suggest you use olive oil drops as above around once per week to keep the wax soft and encourage the natural process of wax expulsion.
Unfortunately the NHS does not fund ear syringing so we are no longer able to undertake this work. Ear syringing is also one of the most common areas for litigation involving practice nurses.
Private providers are available who can carry out microsuction to clear impacted wax. We have been advised by the Northern Trust that NHS referral for microsuction for impacted wax is only available for patients with a history of perforation, previous ear surgery or a mastoid cavity – if you fulfil these criteria, the GP can refer you to the microsuction clinic – unfortunately, patients who do not fulfil these criteria will have to seek private treatment.