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Sixteen years' worth of earwax was removed from a United Kingdom man who had not cleaned his ears in more than a decade and a half. An online Caters News clip of the nauseating removal and the “dig” findings has since gone viral.
The video shows Neel Raithatha, a British audiologist of the Hear Clinic practice based in Leicestershire, removing clumps of wax and dead skin from a single ear of a patient.
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Raithatha, who refers to himself as “The Wax Whisperer” in an online video, addressed the ear blockage in the patient that Caters News reported was experiencing severe ear pain and vertigo for several weeks.
The patient also had a previous history of surgery that removed a bone in the back of the ear due to an infection, the report said.
“It was comfortably the largest haul of earwax and dead skin I’ve ever removed from a single ear,” Raithatha said in a report in the New York Post.
The video showed the specialist excavating pieces of wax and dead skin. The procedure typically takes about 10 minutes, but the man's lasted an hour, according to multiple reports.
Sixteen years worth of wax on display from a patient who hadn't cleaned his ears in over a decade and a half. (Neel Raithatha / The Hear Clinic & Clearwax /CATERS NEWS)
“I was shocked by just how much earwax and dead skin I removed,” Raithatha said, according to the Post, which noted the audiologist admitted to becoming “slightly nauseous” after seeing the pile of residue successfully removed.
“It was a very difficult and complex case,” Raithatha said in the article.
Impacted ear wax can cause a number of symptoms including ear pain, vertigo, a “blocked ear” sensation, hearing loss, tinnitus and occlusion in which sounds such as chewing, breathing and heartbeat can be heard louder inside your head, according to Raithatha’s website.
Other than removal by a healthcare professional, there are also some over-the-counter home irrigation methods and ear drops that can be used to help break up excessive buildup in the ears, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery told Fox News. However, it's important to check with your physician first.
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Your body makes earwax to protect your ear canal skin and kill germs. It is normal to have it," the information provided by the academy. "Prevention is best for certain groups of people, but not everyone needs it. Among those who may be helped are the elderly, people with hearing aids, and those with a history of too much earwax. Discuss with your health care provider to determine if you need to have earwax removed.”
The Mayo Clinic warns to not try to dig it out yourself.
“Never attempt to dig out excessive or hardened earwax with available items, such as a paper clip, a cotton swab or a hairpin. You may push the wax farther into your ear and cause serious damage to the lining of your ear canal or eardrum," the clinic states on its website.