Ear wax removal is a safe and effective procedure with minimum side effects. However, you may notice some temporary changes to your ears – especially if the wax has been building up for some time. These may include being more sensitive to sound, ears feeling cold and slight soreness. Most of these go away within [...]

This can be done by: flushing the wax out with water (ear irrigation) suck the wax out (microsuction) These treatments are usually painless. The clinician will decide but we mostly use microsuction. You may have to use drops 5-7 days before treatment such as olive oil or sodium bicarbonate. Not all GP practices remove earwax.

You can't prevent earwax build-up. It's there to protect your ears from dirt and germs. You can keep using eardrops to soften the wax. This will help it fall out on its own and should prevent blocked ears.

You may have symptoms such as: difficulty hearing earache itchiness dizziness an ear infection sounds such as high-pitched tones coming from inside the ear (tinnitus) Once the earwax is removed, these symptoms usually improve.

You might have earwax build-up because: some people produce more wax naturally you have hairy or narrow canals (the tubes that link the eardrum and outer ear) age – wax gets harder and more difficult to fall out with age cotton buds, earplugs and other foreign objects used to remove earwax can push wax further [...]