A recent article on the RNID website about the provision of ear wax removal services within the NHS caught our eye, it makes for interesting reading and we added our own thoughts as a company providing private ear wax removal services right after the RNID article excerpt below;
“People are risking their hearing due to axing of ear wax services
A new report from RNID has revealed the difficulties faced by people who need their ear wax professionally removed.
Ear wax is a normal substance that helps protect the outer ear. For most people, it moves out of the ear naturally over time, however 2.3 million people a year in the UK require their ear wax to be removed by a professional. If left untreated, ear wax build-up can lead to temporary hearing loss, earache, a greater risk of infections, social isolation, and depression.
RNID surveyed more than 1,400 adults who have experienced ear wax build-up to find out about their experiences accessing ear wax removal on the NHS, what advice they were given, and what happened next.
Our report found:
73% of respondents with ear wax build-up experienced hearing loss, and 37% experienced tinnitus. Half of respondents experienced earache or discomfort, and a quarter experienced dizziness.
26% of survey respondents could not afford to get their ear wax removed privately, which can cost between £50-£100.This was especially problematic for hearing aid wearers, who need ear wax removed more regularly.
Cost for private treatment and long waits for ear wax removal at hospital led many respondents to attempt to remove ear wax themselves, although two thirds did not feel confident doing this.
Many of the methods people described to remove ear wax were dangerous, including hair clips, paper clips, toothpicks, cotton buds, and Hopi ear candles.
After trying to remove ear wax themselves, only 20% of respondents said their problems went away, whilst 55% of people noticed no change in their condition. 1 in 10 said their symptoms got worse, or they caused themselves injury which required medical attention.
Historically, most people could access ear wax removal services on the NHS, often through a practice nurse. However, many are now being told to pay privately or remove ear wax themselves. Some people told RNID they were quoted up to £400 for private removal.”
Our thoughts;
RNID are actively campaigning for ear wax removal services to be made much more regularly available within GP surgeries and free of charge to those that need it. We think that is a noble cause and would be a good service to offer more widely once again.
In reality we can’t see anything changing with the situation any time soon, a lot has changed in society in the last few years, including the negative effects of Covid and Brexit as well as a poor economic outlook, all massive upheavals.
The NHS as a whole is under immense pressure in many ways, and the provision of ear wax removal services (and the lack thereof) is just one of many areas of stress within the organisation.
At HAB Hearing we offer what we consider a professional, fast, efficient and cost effective alternative of ear wax removal to what the NHS and GP surgeries were offering routinely up until a couple of years ago.
We charge much less than what is being quoted by some providers in the RNID article, our fees are £39 to clear one ear and £59 to clear both ears.
Some GP surgeries are offering ear wax removal services but with long wait times (weeks and sometimes months is quite typical), some are not offering the service at all.
At HAB Hearing we try to offer appointment availability within a few days and run full day clinics 5 days a week. Sometimes due to excessive demand the wait can be a little more extended but we do our best to offer availability within a relatively short period of time.
From experience we appreciate having blocked ears is not a very nice experience to have to deal with even for a few days and we will always try to help out as quickly as possible and with a reasonably priced service.
If you would like to support the RNID in their efforts to change the provision of ear wax removal within the NHS, or any other campaigns they are involved with just click the RNID logo above to be redirected to their website, you can find all the links there to contribute to the RNID’s endeavours.
For more information on the ear wax removal service we provide please click here.