Impacted Earwax

One common cause of transient hearing disorder is the accumulation and impaction of earwax in the external auditory canal.

The ear canal naturally produces earwax as a mechanism for protecting the ear canal and eardrum.

Hearing Loss due to Earwax

Impacted earwax can cause mild conductive hearing loss.

Impacted wax may push down into the ear canal and onto the eardrum without blocking the ear canal. This may cause increase in the mass of eardrum, and you my experience high-frequency conductive hearing loss.

Management of Earwax

Use of eardrops to soften the earwax, followed by micro-suction or irrigation of the ear canal to remove it.

Microsuction for Earwax Removal

Microsuction is the most commonly employed technique for manual removal of wax. The main advantage of this technique is that it is performed under direct vision, and so can be used in clinical scenarios where irrigation would be contraindicated. It is also usually quicker than irrigation, and does not expose the ear canal to moisture. A recent study by Prowse and Mulla looked at the efﬁcacy of microsuction, and found that in a study population of 159 patients, the procedure was successful in clearing the wax in 91% of cases.

References 1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Earwax [Clinical Knowledge Summaries]. 2012; http:// cks. nice. org. uk/ earwax (accessed 25 Mar 2020).

Alternative earwax removal treatments

Earwax softeners. You can buy ear drops over-the-counter (OTC) to soften your earwax at home.
Ear irrigation is the process of using water or a saline mixture to flush out earwax. A doctor can perform an ear irrigation in their office or you can buy a home bulb syringe and water kit.
Manual techniques. Your doctor may use a small, curved instrument called a curette to remove earwax manually.

Risk Factors for Cerumen impaction

Ref: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340366957_Treatment_of_impacted_ear_wax_a_case_for_increased_community-based_microsuction