Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support integrated care boards to offer ear wax removal services for patients when the ear wax is contributing to (a) hearing loss and (b) other symptoms.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal.

Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.

However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.

ICBs should therefore arrange for the provision of ear wax removal services when a patient has a clinical need for ear wax removal beyond home treatments.