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Comment by fergie | Hacker News Reader

I'm sorry that you had that experience. My NHS practice has a nurse that "syringes" ears, and its fairly straight forward to set up an appointment. They do ask that you apply oil to your ears in the days leading up to your appointment, but this is just so that the earwax comes out more easily.

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This was also exactly my experience. It's what NICE recommends:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/earwax/management/management/

https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/remove-earwax-if-a-buil...

So it's odd that there are doctors refusing to do it.

That NICE guideline says not to use a syringe as it can be harmful. The other commenter used quotes so maybe it was a loose reference to the irrigation devices that they do recommend.

Oh, interesting. I once lost hearing in one ear due to wax blockage and finally got annoyed enough I went to an urgent care clinic. They used a wax softener and then a big syringe with warm water (and maybe something else mixed in) to irrigate my ear canal. That did the trick and cleared it out. I wonder what about using a syringe can be harmful?

> what about using a syringe can be harmful?

Pushing it too far in, using water that is too hot, pushing the water in too fast. All can damage your ears.

I have had my ears syringed twice. In both cases at my doctor's surgery by a nurse. I visited my doctor because I started to notice that I was going deaf in one ear and ear drops didn't seem to work. Syringing worked perfectly and removed a surprising large amount of wax.

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