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Earwax Removal in Tasmania: 3 years in the making

2/25/2019

Reflecting back over the last 3 years of how we (Comfort Clean Ear & others) have been able to transform the management of earwax removal for many Tasmanians, and you can only smile and feel happy with yourself.

3 years ago, Tasmanians did not have much choice when it came to having their ears cleaned or dewaxed. They could either risk getting their ears damaged by self treatment and pharmacy options, risk getting their ears syringed at their GP clinic often after having to come back for multiple appointments or having to wait months upon months for an ENT appointment for safe microsuction to be administered. As an Audiologist working at a Audiology Clinic in Devonport back in 2015 having come across from Melbourne, I was aghast at the lack of options my patients had. What hit the nail on the head for me was when one of my patient refused to wear their hearing aids due to a desire not to have his ears syringed by his GP. I felt bad for him and other like him that there wasn't really any practical alternative to syringing which I already knew was not the safest procedure around (read my blog about this here). Being the kind of clinician that goes above and beyond the normal call of action, I decided to bring Microsuction Earwax Removal to Tasmania.

The Birth of Comfort Clean Ear

In February 2016, I took my young family across to Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania and embarked on a 3 week odyssey getting trained in the microsuction way. It was rigorous training and at first I felt that it was a mistake to have come all this way and how I was not going to be able to learn this skill. But with a bit of grit and determination, having practised on over 100 REAL "brave" patients, the skill was cemented. A few weeks later, Comfort Clean Ear was born in Devonport - the first Microsuction Earwax Removal Clinic in the whole of Tasmania in the history of Tasmania. The first patient I saw was at a home visit in Ulverstone. Since then, Comfort Clean Ear has serviced the needs of almost 1500 Tasmanians from all over the apple isle.

A New Nurse

In May 2017, well respected Registered Nurse Heather Grainger came on board to help see patients in Launceston at the Launceston Medical Centre (aka Launceston Health Hub). Being a very caring human being, Heather approached me to see if it was possible for her to see patients in St Helens. She noticed that we had a lot of patients driving huge distances to get their ears cleaned and she wanted to make it easier for them. I agreed and Heather now conducts appointments in at St Helens GP Clinic every 5-6 weeks.

Heather also noticed that not everyone can or is able to physically come to an appointment at a GP clinic due to physical limitations. Heather therefore conducts home visits as well as nursing home visits for all patient in Devonport and Launceston. Our patients have been very grateful for this service.

Microsuction earwax Removal Clinics in tasmania

If you need your ears cleaned and are living in Tasmania, then you now can go to professional earwax removal clinics in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport, Ulverstone, St Helens and now........wait for it..........

Heather will now be seeing patients at Somerset Medical Centre. That's right, if you are living in the north-north west of the state, you will be able to be seen in Somerset for all your earwax removal and outer ear infection needs.

Outer Ear Infections - Otitis Externa

At Comfort Clean Ear, we don't just clean ears with wax build up. We often see patients with infected debris either bacterial or fungal. When this is the case, quick and decisive treatment is recommended which includes cleaning the ear and applying topical drops prescribed by your doctor. When cleaning is not administered first, the medication is not as effective which is why microsuction ear cleaning clinics like Comfort Clean Ear are really providing amazing help for patients with these infections. Waiting times to see an ENT can be up to 6 months if not longer. Waiting times to see our clinician is sometime only a few hours and at most a few days. We are extremely flexible and also work out ways to see you sooner if necessary and wanted.

Conclusion

Tasmanians have heaps of choice and options now for save earwax removal when only 3 years ago, this was definitely not the case. If you would like quick and effective ear cleaning without the mucking around of going to your GP or waiting months to see an ENT, give us a call on 1300 380 060 or book an appointment online today. Let us rejuvenate your ears and provide the gift of hearing.

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Will the Fireworks this NYE damage my hearing?

12/30/2018

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With 2019 only hours away, millions of people around Australia will be converging on the major cities to get the best vantage point to see the amazing fireworks display their city has to offer. If you've ever experienced this, time stands still and seconds last for minutes while the ever present fireworks displays pierce the night sky. Sound Amazing?

Well as far as looks are concerned, fireworks definitely look amazing. Sound is a different kettle of fish and is what this article is concerned with. In recent times, researches and Audiologist alike have raised the profile of the need to protect one's ears from excessive loud noise. If you have ever been to a rock concert you will know what I'm talking about.

In fact research shows that any sound from about 85 decibels and above will start to damage our ears. As the level of sound increases above this level, the accumulative damage occurs over a shorter period of time. In other words, 100 decibels of noise exposure will do the same damage as 85 decibels over a shorter period of time. So the question I hear you asking yourself: will the fireworks display damage my hearing?

Well firstly, if you are concerned, the easiest way to still enjoy the night's festivities is to bring along some plugs (which you can get from the chemist) or to put in your ears just before the strike of midnight.

The best thing to do (too late for tonight) but to get custom ear plugs made from an Audiologist which can attenuate sound by up to 30-40 decibels across all frequencies.

The truth of the matter is yes, fireworks are loud enough to do damage to the fine structures of your inner ear including the finite number of inner and outer hair cells within the cochlear. Distance is a HUGE part to play and the greater the distance the less damage you can expect.

The World Health Organization says that hearing loss from loud noise (or noise induced hearing loss) is reaching epidemic proportions in wealthier nations and recommend that adults avoid sounds louder than 140 decibels of maximum sound pressure.

Fireworks and firecrackers can exceed 150 decibels. As we just mentioned, sounds from about 85 decibels will start doing accumulative damage although louder sounds will do instant irreversible damage to your ears.

Here are a few more tips to protect your hearing tonight:

Try to find a vantage point that is at least 100m from the fireworks display (the greater the distance the better).
Wear hearing protection throughout the fireworks display (and at the night club afterwards).
Protect children's' ears including young infants (for the earlier fireworks displays).

For more information about hearing loss, please visit this website here. There is also a website that can tell you if your current lifestyle is doing damage to your hearing at knowyournoise.nal.gov.au

Wishing everyone a healthy and awesome 2019,

keywords: noise induced hearing loss, custom ear plugs, fireworks, tinnitus, ringing ears, unsafe noise, NYE

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Earwax & Water: Friend Or Foe?

12/26/2018

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Water and wax have had a love hate relationship over the years. Many people believe including the Harvard Medical School that even a few drops of water directed inside the ear canal can help budge problematic wax.

Related: Why Microsuction is The Best Way To Remove Earwax

This might be the case for say soft wax. But what happens when the earwax is like a hard rock which is often the case when we see our patients? In our humble opinion, water could be more destructive than beneficial. Why I hear you ask?

Well let's take two recent examples of patients in the last two days. Everyone knows that in the Summer the perfect place to go is the swimming pool to cool down. In Australia, swimming pools are packed to the rafter on hot days not to mention our beaches.

In the last two days, we have had 2 patients that went swimming and only after after going swimming did their ears become blocked and the need for treatment become necessary. In both cases these patients had dry hard rock-like wax in their ears. So what's going on?

My hypothesis is that despite the excessive wax in each of these patients' ears, there was probably still a (ever so small) gap between the earwax and the wall of the ear canal. Large enough for even a small drop of water to block. Hence the instantaneous blocked feeling these patients felt upon immersing themselves in the swimming pool.

Back-up a minute. You're probably asking well if water is so bad for the ears, why do GPs use water syringing to dislodge earwax? Well the simple answer is they shouldn't. A study published by the RACGP (Australia's Head GP Association) admitted that syringing carries several risks and should only be administered under certain conditions several of which that will be mentioned below.

It also mentioned the astonishing fact that 1 in 5 medico-legal cases involving GP malpractice is do to problems arising from water syringing. If this no warning signal to the dangers of water syringing then you are braver than me.

Water that can become trapped inside the ear canal can give rise to outer ear infections that can be both bacterial and fungal in nature. For some, this can mean months of prescribed ear drop use, avoidance of water in the ears (so no swimming :( ) and hearing problems that can make anyone lose their mind.

In summary, use water in your ears for earwax at your own peril. Whilst for some this may be a quick way to remove wax, for many, it will just push the wax further in or even worse, give birth to an infection. We can never be too sure of the sterility of the water.

If you would like to have your ears Professional Cleaned using Quick, Safe, Precise & Gentle Microsuction Earwax Removal, then look no further than Comfort Clean Ear, your Tasmanian Earwax Removal Specialists.

keywords: microsuction, earwax removal tasmania, earwax removal devonport, earwax removal launceston, safe earwax removal, water syringing