Help us demand an urgent review of ear wax removal services

RNID recently submitted Freedom of Information requests to the 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICB) in England, to ask them if they are commissioning ear wax removal services in line with public health guidelines.

Our results show that less than half of ICBs are meeting recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Many don’t make ear wax removal services available to everybody, and some don’t commission the service at all, leaving thousands of people totally without access. This needs to change! 

Ear wax build up can cause painful and distressing symptoms, so access to removal services must be based on a person’s need, not on where they live, or their ability to pay for it. 

"If I did not have wax removed it would build up so much that I would be completely unable to hear. ( I am completely deaf in my right ear due to illness in childhood, and have only about half of normal hearing in my left ear, for which I have my hearing aid.) Consequently my life would be affected and I would be unable to mix socially at all." – Monica

RNID is calling for:

Urgent Government intervention to ensure that patients with a medical need for ear wax removal have access to the service on the NHS, regardless of where they live.
Health commissioners to examine different ways of delivering the service through primary and community care, and ensure that where the service is commissioned, ear wax removal providers are delivering the service as contracted.
NHS England to improve its information about how patients can manage ear wax build-up, and ensure that GP surgeries share consistent, safe and evidence-based information with their patients.

Let’s take action and call on the Government for an urgent review to make sure everyone who needs professional ear wax removal can get it on the NHS. Email the editor of your local newspaper to highlight our campaign and share your experiences.  

Email your local newspaper.

Join us in calling for an urgent review of ear wax removal services for people who are failing to get the care they need on the NHS.

Please personalise your message and make it your own - tell them what problems you’ve faced and how it has affected you. This will mean it is more likely to be picked up in the 'Letters to Editor' section of your local paper.

Enter your details below and click ‘submit’. On the next page you will be able to see and review your email before you send it. If you have multiple local papers you will see each version, click the arrows to see the body text of each message.

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If you have been denied wax removal or forced to pay for removal privately, then please use the text box below to write a sentence or two about your experience. How has this issue impacted you, or your family, and why do you want this essential service to be reinstated by the NHS. We’ll include this in your letter to your local newspaper.

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