Hopi, or not hopi?... Why shouldn’t my beautician or barber remove my ear wax with ear candling, or anything else?

When the ear wax, which naturally protects our ears from bacteria and dust or dirt, builds up and becomes excessive, for some people, this can block their ears causing discomfort, dulled hearing, ringing sounds, and even a feeling of unsteadiness.

This is all very unpleasant, and anyone suffering this will clearly want quick relief. So, where do you go for help?

We used to book in to see the nurse at the local GP where they would use water to wash the wax out (historically with a syringe - rather risky - and more recently with an irrigator machine - significantly less risky). But, surgeries have reduced and, in many cases, totally removed ear wax removal from their services on offer.

So now where do we turn? Well, if an awfully long wait to see NHS staff in the ENT department is not what you are after, the only option is to look at services being offered privately elsewhere.

And that is where it can all start to get a bit tricky!

Who is qualified to remove ear wax and how can I tell if they really are safe and knowledgeable?

Unfortunately, at this current time, there is no regulation on who can or cannot remove ear wax. Anyone is able to book onto a short course, buy the equipment and sell their services for ear wax removal. We are seeing an increase in wax removal services being offered by beauticians, health care assistants, and even barbers, all offering to remove your ear wax for a small fee, and all of whom have no experience in ENT.

Would you risk your hearing or the health of your ears with someone who has done a course for a day? Is it really sensible… when the risks associated with ear wax removal can range from an ear infection right the way through to perforating an ear drum and losing hearing? These are not risks that should be taken lightly.

Your ears deserve better!

We need the practitioner to have the training and experience to know what they are looking at when they look into our ears and, after the wax is removed, the practitioner must be able to identify any problems that require further investigation. Find someone who has experience, knowledge, and qualifications.

“Don’t be afraid to ask someone’s credentials,” says Madeleine Benson, from our team of highly qualified audiologists. “I favour honesty and transparency and would always be more than happy to explain my qualifications to a client. Check the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) register or the CQC (Care Quality Commission) register to find a listed practitioner. Hearing aid dispensers, audiologists, ENT doctors, and nurses are experienced at looking into ears and can identify a normal or an unhealthy ear. We undergo years of training, courses, and supervision to be able to confidently remove ear wax.”

You may know that we sponsor Hearing Dog George with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Stories like Lucy’s are why…

“My life changed dramatically when I became deaf aged just 18. 

I really struggled to cope.

During my A levels, I became aware that I couldn’t hear my teacher. This was just the beginning. My ears became increasingly painful, my breathing deteriorated and then the cartilage in my nose collapsed. Eventually, I was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease.

After my diagnosis, I was in and out of hospital, but I wasn’t offered any support with my deafness or mental health. Hearing loss affected my life so much. I had gone from being a healthy happy college student to barely leaving my home.

It felt like I was watching everyone else move on and I was stuck in the same place.

I live on my own and I felt incredibly lonely a lot of the time. I used to sleep a lot and wake up late so there were less hours in the day that I would be awake. I would get up and just count the hours down until bedtime. But even then, at night when I couldn’t hear and I couldn’t see in the dark, the loneliness was overwhelming.

I’m so grateful that life no longer feels like this because of my hearing dog Wilbur. But, I know there are so many other people still struggling like I was.

With Wilbur by my side, I’m no longer sat on the sidelines.

Thank you so much for reading my story.”

Lucy

If you would like to look at sponsoring a Hearing Dog this Christmas, here's the link to help you https://tinyurl.com/2u6apvmf.

The best things in life are often free, but definitely not when it comes to your hearing test! Free Hearing Tests and why Lakeland Hearing doesn’t offer them.

You will have seen plenty of adverts for free hearing tests from various companies, but you might not have stopped to ask why they offer these? Mainly, this is to get as many people through the door as possible. In a conveyor belt of appointments, the more people they see, the more chance they have that one of those people will go on and purchase hearing aids from them. A business cannot offer services for free without needing to recoup the cost somewhere else. Often appointments are rushed in a rapid turnaround of clients and the time needed to thoroughly examine your hearing and explain the results is not available. Your unique needs and lifestyle are not taken into consideration.

These companies perform an audiogram – a single test to define your levels of hearing: no battery of tests to assess the whole hearing system and no speech testing to provide a realistic outlook.

Listening to speech against background noise, and being scored on what you can hear, can seem more relevant to a client’s lived experience than an audiogram with beeps, and when a client who is complaining of difficulty hearing background noise visits Lakeland Hearing for a hearing assessment, we test and feedback on this aspect.

The diagnostic hearing assessment performed at Lakeland Hearing, is a fully comprehensive battery of tests which, when performed by a qualified and experienced audiologist or hearing aid dispenser, can identify issues with hearing and across the wider hearing system.

A screening test can quickly give an estimation of hearing levels across 4 different pitches and should be used as an indicator for whether further investigations need to be done. Screening tests can be performed online – you will find one on our website and there is also one on the RNID website. Diagnostic testing needs to be done in a controlled environment with limited background noise and requires extensive equipment.

At Lakeland Hearing we believe in honesty and transparency; you will not find us offering hearing tests for free. We will allocate enough time during a consultation to get to know each and every client and what their needs and difficulties may be. We can thoroughly test the hearing system to identify hearing loss, middle ear disorders and other conditions that need further investigation by Ear Nose and Throat consultants, such as acoustic neuromas. These conditions need to be identified and referred to ENT, and the first point of contact with an audiologist in our clinic can allow for the appropriate referrals to be undertaken.

Why should you pay for a comprehensive hearing assessment? Because we are a team of highly trained clinicians. We have a level of experience and training that should not be dismissed. A hearing assessment with a highly trained, experienced audiologist such as Vicky or Madeleine will allow us to evaluate your hearing and accurately diagnose your hearing loss. 

Booking an appointment with us is an investment in your hearing care and wellbeing. Choose to be fully informed and have an in-depth accurate assessment. Call us now or email to book your hearing assessment.