Ear Syringing

What is Ear Wax?

Ear wax is a normal part of our body and is produced by the cells in the ear canal. It is produced and slowly moves outwards. Dirt, dead skin cells and micro-organisms which might cause infection get trapped in the wax and are removed from the ear canal with the wax as it moves outwards.

Sometimes this wax can build up and cause blockage of the ear canal. When this happens symptoms can occur such as earache, reduced hearing, tinnitus (ringing) in the ear or a sensation of fullness or blockage.

Some people naturally produce more wax than others and are more prone to getting a build of wax in the ear. Some other features which might increase the likelihood of this happening include having narrow or hairy ear canals, overzealous cleaning with cottons buds or fingertips, certain skin conditions or working in very dusty environments.

There are things you can do to treat wax and to help prevent the build up of wax:

• Using a few drops of olive oil in each ear once per week can help soften the wax and allow it to move outwards naturally

• Avoiding using cotton buds and only cleaning the external part of the ear

If wax does build up you GP can have a look and see if there is a build up of wax. Sometimes if the wax has blocked the canal and drops haven’t helped, people choose to have the wax removed. Two common ways to do this are microsuction or ear syringing.

Ear syringing involves gently syringing some water into the ear canal to flush out the wax. You cannot have your ears syringed if you have deafness in one ear, have Grommets in place, have had previous ear surgery, have had a cleft palate, have had a perforated eardrum or if you have an infection in the ear.

The following doctors offer ear syringing at Maxwell Medical Group:

• Dr Bernie O’Connor

• Dr Ivana Matic-Stancin

• Dr Fang Chen

There is a $30 consumables fee in addition to the price of a standard consultation for ear syringing.