• Experience: we have been safely removing wax for years
• Effective: microsuction is considered the most efficient and effective way of removing wax
• Hygiene: we only use ‘single-use’ sterilised equipment
• You get to see before and after photos of the ear canal
• We allow plenty of time to perform the microsuction procedure

It is important to remember that a small amount of wax (the technical term is ‘cerumen’) in the ear canal is actually a good thing. Wax helps trap dust and debris from reaching the eardrum, and it has also been shown to have a antibacterial effect.

Ears are generally self cleaning, that is, if left alone small amounts of wax will migrate out of the canal where you may see it and be able to remove with your finger. But this does not mean that you have an ear full of wax or that your ears are “dirty”.

But if you then try to remove the wax by sticking something down the ear canal (the most common being a cotton tip), you will simply push the wax further into the canal despite thinking you are cleaning it because you saw some wax on the end of the cotton tip. By doing this you are disrupting the self-cleaning action of the ear.

Some people need to have wax removed from the ear canals for a number of reasons

• excessive production of wax which can cause hearing loss and ear infections
• very small ear canals, therefore they may not produce any more wax than the average person but because there is less volume in their ear canals they block up quicker
• ear canals are not straight, all ear canals have slights bends and turns but if an ear canal has a very tight bend it can make the self cleaning process described above less effective
• if a person wears hearing aids then it is important to have clear ear canals for optimal hearing aid performance. Furthermore the presence of the hearing aid in the ear canal disrupts the self cleaning process

Microsuction is the preferred method of wax removal for audiologists and ear specialists (ENT’s) around the world due to it’s safety and effectiveness. It uses gentle suction to remove the wax from the canal with no messy liquids (as is the case with ear syringing) or discomfort

The audiologists at Focus Hearing in Sydney are highly trained in wax removal and have been doing so for over 20 years.

In order for the ear wax removal to be successful, we recommend you use wax softening agents (such as Waxsol, Cerumol) which are available from your local pharmacy. You should use these agents each evening for a few days prior to your appointment with Focus Hearing. EXCEPTION: Do not use wax softening agents if you knowingly have a perforation of the eardrum

Microsuction involves a visual inspection of the ear canal to determine:

• whether, in fact, the ear canal needs clearing
• the exact position of the wax build up in the canal
• the type of wax (is it dry, flaky wax or soft, sticky wax)

Then once the initial check has been completed, the audiologist gently places the microsuction tip up against the wax and the gentle suction allows the wax to be easily removed from the canal. Sometimes the wax comes out in one go, but other times the process is required to be repeated.

We perform earwax microsuction at our Crows Nest and Central Coast (Erina) and Mona Vale Focus Hearing clinics and we allow 30 minutes for each wax removal appointment. This allows enough time to discuss your requirements, visually inspect the canals and remove the wax.

The initial wax removal consultation is $115 and in most cases this is sufficient to remove all the wax.

However if you need to return for a further appointment the cost for a subsequent appointment is $75. This may be the case if the wax was not sufficiently softened prior to the appointment.

In the event that there is no wax found on inspection then the cost for the appointment is $45