10 million people lack access to NHS ear care services in ‘postcode lottery’, charity warns
Around 2.3 million people need ear wax removal services every year in the UK, especially older people, hearing aid users and people with a learning disability. Without treatment, ear wax build-up can cause symptoms including hearing loss, tinnitus and earache.
Almost 10 million people in England do not have access to NHS ear wax removal services, in what a hearing loss charity has called a “postcode lottery” of care for patients.
Charity RNID – which supports people who are deaf and with hearing difficulties in the UK – says people are being forced to pay for private health care – which can cost up to £100 – or risk using “dangerous self-removal methods”.
The common cotton bud, for instance, is deemed dangerous to insert into the ear as it could push wax further down the canal or, if pushed too far, could perforate the eardrum.
Around 2.3 million people need ear wax removal services every year in the UK, especially older people, hearing aid users and people with a learning disability.
Without treatment, ear wax build-up can cause symptoms including hearing loss, tinnitus and earache.
Less than half of local health bodies were providing these services to patients, an RNID Freedom of Information request found, against guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which state they should be available in GP surgeries or other local ear care services.
“GPs can also refer patients where a build-up of ear wax is linked with hearing loss.”
