Lockdown has made it extremely difficult for people to visit GP surgeries and clinics for very routine procedures. Even as lockdown eases and clinics begin welcoming patients again, people are still apprehensive about venturing out. This has led to many thousands of people going untreated for things that they would normally have had sorted much quicker. Routine procedures such as dental fillings, eye tests, hearing tests, wax removal and many more have been missed to ensure the rules are adhered to and no unnecessary risks are taken.
A buildup of wax can lead to a range of frustrating and debilitating problems such as deafness, dizziness and pain. It can make it difficult to hold conversations and it’s common for people to avoid doing things they enjoy, so getting it treated is important.
GP surgeries are offering less and less wax removal clinics for various different reasons and so some people are tempted to take matters into their own hands.
There are various different products available that promise to help you clear out your wax buildup from the comfort of your own home. Some of them involve pouring hot wax into your ear whilst others require you to push a spiral shaped ear plug into your ear and twist so that it spirals into the wax and you can pull it out.
Another very common method is using the famous q-tip cotton swab device. This is much more of a free for all and involves digging the wax out by shoving the q-tip inside the ear canal.
There are many inherent risks with tackling a build up of ear wax using any of the methods mentioned above (and any others you can think of). One of the main risks is pushing the built up wax further into the ear as you try and get it out. It’s extremely difficult to get any sort of device into the ear and gain enough leverage to release any wax. Trained audiologists need highly specialist equipment to perform this very skilful procedure, so the chances of you being able to tackle it with a small piece of plastic is minimal.
You also risk perforating the eardrum if you go too deep into the ear canal.
So what should you do?
It can be extremely tempting to try and get some relief from wax build up by trying to clear it yourself but you will invariably end up making it worse and could end up doing some serious damage.
Find a local audiologist with good reviews on Google and let them take care of it. They have the most up to date equipment and will have you back you to your normal self within 45mins. You’ll be seen quickly and they’ll be taking all of the necessary precautions to keep you safe in these uncertain times.
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