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Ear Syringing

The Surgery no longer offers ear syringing for patients.

Patients suffering from a build-up of ear wax are no longer entitled to have their ears syringed on the NHS in England.

Earwax normally just falls out on its own.

How you can treat earwax build-up yourself

Earwax usually falls out on its own. If it does not, and builds up and blocks your ear, you can try to remove it.

To remove earwax build-up:

Lie on your side with the affected ear facing up.
Put 2 to 3 drops of olive or almond oil in your ear - do not use almond oil if you're allergic to almonds.
Continue to lie on your side for 5 to 10 minutes after putting in the oil.
Repeat 3 to 4 times a day, for 3 to 5 days.
Over about 2 weeks, lumps of earwax should fall out of your ear and your symptoms should improve.

Speak to your local pharmacy team about earwax build-up. They can give advice and suggest treatments.

They might recommend medicines to dissolve the earwax. The earwax should fall out on its own or dissolve after about a week.

Published: Jun 2, 2025