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Conditions

Earwax

Examination inside the ear

You might think that earwax is just useless icky stuff that you have to constantly remove from your ears. But it’s a natural secretion that actually performs a number of functions. Earwax cleans, lubricates, and protects the lining of your ear, by trapping dirt and repelling water. Without it, the skin inside your ear may become dry, cracked, infected, or waterlogged and sore. But this newfound respect for your earwax shouldn’t prevent you from conducting a little ear maintenance every now and then. The wax should naturally migrate towards the opening of the ear canal, so you shouldn’t have to go ramming a cotton bud deep inside (until you reach the brain). However, every year in the UK, an estimated 2.3 million people have problems with excessive earwax, which can sometimes cause the ear canal to become blocked, leading to pain, or temporary hearing loss. In these cases, the earwax will need to be removed by a GP or specialist.

What the Men in White Coats Say

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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out the Channel 4 Health site or NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.

hi
i have a really bad earwax and it iches like hell what can i do about
thank you .

i have wax discharge, i have had mastoid surgery and other things like tubes, and ear drum reconstruction done. i always have what seems like water but isnt coming fromy ear eevryday 24 hours, it not only annoying and embarrising it stinks as well what can i do.

i am only 14 years old and my left ear is blocked with wax and my ear also my cheek and neck is numb, i cant hear out of it fully, and can hear it boinging when i walk. i wentto the doctors and they said to use olive oil this helped but didnt get rid of the wax. so i went back and they said to try earex, again this helped but didnt work. i went back again and siad to try otex it helped alot but didnt get the wax out.please tell me what i should do..should i get it syringed is this ok? or is it dangerous? please help.

I have very itchy ears inside and out and suffer from it constantly, i have tried everything including vaseline and e45 cream. I know that this itching is caused by dried skin as my mum suffers from the same. Is there any thing that i can do or use to prevent me from scratching my ear to peices? as sometimes i scratch to much and i have an ear ache for about a week.

syringing is nt the only thing doctors can do, suction is something ive had done, its pretty much painless, and over in no time, and feels great once that hard deep wax is gone. try it!

i have had earwax for a long time now and its been stuck right at the back of my ear and its just annoying i want to get rid of it

Just to put people at ease… Having your ears syringed doesnt hurt! I had to have it done when I was 5 and it didnt hurt, it was just uncomfortable. It's over and done with really quickly though. Mine took no more than 10 seconds for each ear and fixed my hearing problems straight away. So there's no need to avoid it if it's what you need done. If a 5 year old girl can have it done, then you can!

I have been using ear candles for about 3 years now as i suffer with the same 'fullness' feeling, tinitus, and sometimes feel like my ears need 'opening up' as they feel so blocked!!

The candles relieve the tinitus and help soften any wax.

You can get them fairly cheaply on the internet ( £15 for 3 pairs)-quite expensive to have the treatment done as many salons offer it at around £20-£30 a treatment.

Has anyone tried Hopi ear candles? They are really good and draw the wax out very gently. You should see what I get out of mine. the best thing for excess was though is warm olive oil to soften it up and then it should come out naturally.

I once got my ears so full of wax that I went deaf.But one day on the bus my ear popped and yellow wax came running out. It was disgusting. I am really scared incase my problem returns.




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