Information Sheet for Patients
The earhole is a 3 cm tunnel which ends at the eardrum. The wall of this tunnel is
covered with normal skin and hairs, and has small glands that produce wax. The
wax waterproofs and protects the skin. A self cleaning action usually clears the
wax away.
Sometimes too much wax is produced or the old wax is not cleared away by the
body. The wax may block the tunnel and make you feel deaf or uncomfortable.
The usual way to get rid of the wax is either to syringe the ear (flush out the wax
with a fast stream of water), sucking out the wax with a special suction device, or
carefully extracting it with a special instrument.
If your ear is usually healthy, we will syringe the wax, but like to soften the ear
wax first.
If the doctor or nurse finds wax in your ear we suggest you:
Use warm olive oil or sodium bicarbonate drops (available from your
pharmacist)
Lie on your side, insert 6 drops into the ear
Stay on your side for 10 minutes, then insert cotton wool to stop the drops
running out
Repeat on the other ear, if necessary
Do this 3 times a day for 3 days
And make an appointment with our Practice Nurse to have your ear
syringed.
If you continue to get build ups of wax in your ears then you may find that using the ear drops regularly helps the wax drain out.
Do not put things in your ear (like cotton wool buds or bits of tissue). These can damage the ear.
Further Information: For the latest information on this condition and support or selfhelp Groups call the Health Information Service on 0800 665544
