Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice his Department has provided to (a) patients and (b) health professionals on the most appropriate alternative forms of treatment and support available in CCG areas where a decision has been made not to provide wax removal services on the NHS.

Provision of ear syringing is an example of an enhanced service. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) make decisions about which enhanced services to offer based on the needs of the local population or value for money.

If build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss, then general practitioners (GPs) can consider referring the patient into audiology services.

In areas where CCGs don’t provide wax removal services on the National Health Service, GPs are increasingly recommending self-care methods in the first instance as this avoids the risks associated with syringing, for example trauma to the ear drum/infection.