The Cl-ear Healthcare Professional Community

As we know, DIY ear care is never recommended. Cotton buds et al are more likely to push wax further into the ear than to help the transition out, and prolonged ear bud usage can cause excessive wax build up. We’ve produced an educational infographic, highlighting the dangers of DIY ear care and other hearing health habits which is freely available as a patient education tool.

Download: The Cl-ear Patient Education Infographic

New Demographics

With the advent of social media, especially YouTube, earwax is no longer a taboo topic of conversation and there is a lot more awareness amongst the general public. I also see lots of people in my clinic for whom menopause is the trigger due to hormonal changes causing skin dehydration, and dead skin collecting in the ear. In addition, I am starting to see an ever growing number of patients for whom the current trend for earbuds is also causing issues, blocking the natural migration of earwax and causing infection. In fact ear bud cleaners to remove earwax are now available to buy, so we know this is potentially an even larger problem.

Olive Oil and Microsuction Working Together

My clinic’s primary role is earwax removal and I use the Cl-ear Olive Oil Ear Spray as part of the treatment process. I always advise newly trained and qualified ear wax removal specialists to ask their patients to use olive oil ear spray for a few days to a week prior to microsuction; it softens the earwax and makes it so much easier to remove. I quite often use the spray during treatment on very hardened earwax and it can also be recommended post microsuction, to be used on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis to help prevent another earwax build-up and to also help moisture the delicate skin lining the ear canal. It’s a matter of personal preference but my patients tend to much prefer spray to drops for easier application.

Similarly, when a patient presents in pharmacy with suspected earwax, the pharmacist can safely recommend Cl-ear Olive Oil Ear Spray or Drops, on the understanding that further treatment, ie microsuction might also be necessary. I am training increasing numbers of pharmacists who are now offering microsuction in their pharmacy.

The Future for Hearing Health

I believe that the hearing health landscape will continue to evolve, as general awareness of earwax removal methods brings more patients into clinics and pharmacies, and healthcare practitioners will play an increasingly important role in the treatment process. Olive oil also plays its part. Our ears secrete their own natural oils to moisturise the ear and prevent bacteria and infection occurring, and olive oil ear spray or drops are literally more of the same. In the same way that people regularly use eye drops, I would like to see everyone (unless you have a perforated eardrum) using olive oil drops or spray once a week to keep their ears in good working order.

Types of earwax are genetically determined by one gene, the ABCC11 gene:

Wet earwax – BCC11 that contains the dominant DNA sequence Guanine allele resulting in the production of more ceruminous glands, so the cerumen has a higher fat content and less keratin. Wet earwax is more prevalent in Africans and Europeans, and goes hand in hand with wet armpits and body odour

Dry earwax – BCC11 that contains the recessive DNA sequence Adenine allele resulting in no ceruminous glands so the cerumen has a lower fat content but more keratin. It is more prevalent in East Asians and Native Americans, and older people who are more likely to have dry skin

Earwax Function & Benefits

Epithelial skin cells in the ear have evolved in the human ear to migrate sideways and laterally out of the ear canal in a ‘conveyor belt motion’ at a rate of between 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm a month. Earwax is naturally expelled out of the ear as part of this process, alongside any foreign particles and dust that may have entered the ear and stuck itself onto the earwax. Earwax is naturally acidic so has anti-microbial properties, and also has evolved to act as an insect repellent.

For best results Mr Raithatha recommends that patients Soak & Drain:

• Always apply spray or drops at room temperature or the patient may feel dizzy
• Apply the spray then tilt the ear towards the ceiling for 5 minutes
• Drain holding a tissue underneath with the ear to the floor

This product can be recommended as a pre-treatment prior  to professional microsuction or irrigation. It can also be used once a week to prevent a further wax build-up.  

Ingredients: 100% Olive Oil BP