HWN Suggests

Put down the cotton buds – a quick guide to cleaning earwax

Ears that are blocked with wax should not be syringed. For thousands of years, the syringe has been the ear doctor’s tool of choice (Roman author Celsus wrote about it in De Medicina), but now the health watchdog Nice says a syringe pumping water into the ear is “potentially harmful”. Why?

“You can’t control the pressure; you don’t know how hard it is blasting water into the ear,” says Prof Tony Wright of the UCL Ear Institute... “ENT surgeons all believe the best way to remove wax is under direct vision with a little suction device,” says Wright...

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Featured

 Home ear irrigation: Is it really more harmful than good or is it really good?

Some say that home ear irrigation is good since it is preventive maintenace on the human ear. But some say that the same stream of water can also damage the ear drum.

 Trick of the Trade: Ear Irrigation in the Emergency Department

This set up for irrigation has been evaluated in the literature. Kumar et al looked at the pressures generated using this technique in vitro and found it appropriate for use in patients without increased risk of tympanic membrane perforation.4 The pressures generated do not exceed the pressure needed to cause perforation.

 What’s wrong with traditional ear irrigation or syringing?

Syringing and ear irrigation aim to remove wax blockages by squirting water into the ear canal and behind the blockage, in the hope that the water will build up enough pressure behind the blockage to push the wax out. It’s a slightly counter-intuitive process because to get the wax out; you have to push water in, and this has many risks, including the risk of pushing the wax further into the ear canal. As the nurse cannot accurately see deep inside the canal, it is also not possible to perform an ear examination behind the blockage first. If water is squirted into an already-perforated eardrum or a middle-ear infection, there is a risk of re-perforation.

Articles of Interest

Microsuction Vs Ear Syringing Ear Wax Removal Methods Explained

Even though both microsuction and irrigation are effective it does have some possible side effects and risks.

The Pros And Cons Of Irrigation Ear Wax Removal

There are now two popular methods of ear wax removal undertaken in Ireland, micro suction ear wax removal and irrigation earwax removal. Ear wax removal by irrigation has completely replaced ear syringing. Ear syringing as a method of ear cleaning is pretty much discredited, it could cause more problems than it cured and often it didn't remove the ear wax. Irrigation is safer and more effective because it uses a controlled flow of water. The process is undertaken using an electronic ear irrigation machine, which is basically a water pump.

What Is Ear Vacuuming And How Can It Help?

Thanks to modern medicine, an ear wax removal treatment these days involves a special ‘vacuum’ machine and an ear micro-suction procedure that is efficient, hygienic and relatively pain-free.

Resources

StatPearls

Irrigation of the external auditory canal is one of the many options in treating cerumen impaction and a method that is readily available to the likes of general practitioners and emergency rooms.