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Comparison of Effectiveness of Ear Syringing With or Without Pre-Ear Oil Application , Non-randomized Control Trial.

Not Applicable
Conditions
Cerumen Impaction of Both Ears
Interventions
Procedure: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment
Registration Number
NCT04094116
Lead Sponsor
Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
Brief Summary

Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. On the other hand, patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. We will compare the respective success rates of ear syringing from these 2 groups, the mean numbers of syringing attempts , as well as any complications such as ear canal abrasion, ear drum perforation, any pain or vertigo reported by patients. For those cases who fail ear syringing , olive oil will be prescribe and arrange 1 week follow up for ear syringing .

Detailed Description

Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. On the other hand, patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. We will compare the respective success rates of ear syringing from these 2 groups, the mean numbers of syringing attempts, subjective improvement in hearing , as well as any complications such as ear canal abrasion, ear drum perforation, any pain or vertigo reported by patients. For those cases who fail ear syringing , olive oil will be prescribe and arrange 1 week follow up for ear syringing .

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
120
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients >18 years old, who complain about blocked ear found to have ear wax which impacts ear drum and able to sign consent.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients who are contraindicated to ear syringing will be excluded : otitis externa , otitis media , history of tympanic membrane perforation , history or ear surgery , unilateral deafness , in-co-operated patient (eg. Children ) , history of vertigo after ear syringing .

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatmentear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatmentPatients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application.
ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatmentear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatmentpatients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The mean number of syringing attempts (50 ml syringe)1 day

For both groups the mean number of syringing attempts (and 95% confidence interval) is calculated and compared by testing the difference between the means, using a t test for independent samples. For patients with persistent earwax in both ears , the mean number of syringing attempts needed for both ears in one patient is used for the calculations . All ears in which the wax is still persistent after another 10 syringing attempts are given a value of 11 in the calculations . Data for this study is analyzed using SPSS version 26 .

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The presence of ear canal abrasion,1 month

The presence of ear canal abrasion,

Trial Locations

Locations (3)

Fanling Family MEdicine Centre , 1/F , 2 , Pik Fung Road , Fan Ling

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Wong Siu Ching Family Medicine centre . 1 , Po Wu Lane , Tai Po

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Tai Po Jockey Club Clinic , 37 Ting Kok Road , Tai Po , Hong Kong

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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