When your ear feels blocked.

Muffled hearing, a feeling of pressure that will not go away. Often there is a plug of earwax behind it. We take a look, and if it is safe, we flush it out straight away.

Appointment: recommended
Duration: 15 to 30 minutes
Where: separate consulting room

Request an appointment Call 041 780 39 19

The consulting room at Anklin Apotheke where otoscopy and ear irrigation take place

Ear check and ear irrigation in Cham

Two steps

First we look, then we flush

You can book each on its own. We only flush if the look into the ear shows it is safe.

OtoscopyWith the otoscope, a small light with a magnifier, we see into the ear canal and onto the eardrum. Afterwards you know whether there is a plug, or whether something else is behind it.

Durationa few minutes

Ear irrigationWe gently flush out the earwax with water at body temperature. If the plug is very hard, we give you drops to soften it for a few days and flush it afterwards.

Requirementintact eardrum

Earwax is not dirt

Earwax protects the ear canal and normally makes its own way out. Some people produce more, others have a narrow ear canal, and for many a cotton bud gives it a firm push in the wrong direction. That is how a plug forms and blocks the ear.

You notice it as muffled hearing, a feeling of pressure or a whistling in the ear. Often after a shower or a swim, when the plug soaks up water and swells. It is not dangerous, but it is annoying, and it rarely clears on its own.

Why we look first

The same symptoms can have other causes: an inflamed ear canal, a hole in the eardrum, fluid behind it. That is why we never flush blind. First we look into the ear with the otoscope, then we decide.

If it is a plug, we flush it out. If not, we tell you what we see and whether you should take it to your GP or an ENT practice.

When to go straight to a doctor

With severe earache, with fever, if fluid or blood comes out of the ear, after a blow to the ear and with sudden hearing loss for no obvious reason. That is not a matter for the pharmacy.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about otoscopy and ear irrigation

Does irrigation hurt?

No. The water is at body temperature so that you do not get dizzy. Most people only feel a gurgling and a little pressure.

When do you not flush?

If the eardrum is or was perforated, after ear surgery, with grommets, and if the ear hurts, is discharging or you have a fever. Then your ear belongs in a doctor's practice, and we tell you so directly.

Should I clean my ear with cotton buds beforehand?

Please do not. Cotton buds push the earwax further in and are often the reason a plug forms in the first place.

Can you look into children's ears too?

Looking, yes. But with earache, especially with fever, a child belongs with the paediatrician. We clarify that right at the start.

Does it help with a middle ear infection?

No. A middle ear infection is behind the eardrum, where irrigation cannot reach. If we see signs of one when we look, we send you to a doctor.

Related services

Wound careCleaning grazes, changing dressings, dressing material for home. In the consulting room, not at the counter.

Appointment: not needed
Duration: 10 to 20 minutes

For children and familiesFrom infant formula to the start of school. Dosage by weight, not by age.

Advice: no appointment
Tick bite: treated straight away

Pharmacist consultationPrivate advice by appointment, in a separate room. For anything you would like to discuss in peace.

Appointment: by arrangement
Referral: not needed

By appointment

Book an appointment.

Call us or write to us through the contact form. It usually works out within the same week.

Request an appointment Call 041 780 39 19