A Study to look at the efficary of Almond Oil and Cerumol Ear Drops in the removal of ear wax

Abstract

To compare the efficacy of almond oil ear drops and Cerumol ear drops in dispensing ear wax without syringing, 40 elderly patients in continuing care with excessive amounts of ear wax which warranted syringing, were given almond oil or Cerumol in a randomised observer-blind fashion. After five days, 13 out of 35 ears (37%) in the Cerumol group had significant reduction in the amount of ear wax this avoiding syringing. Seven out of 34(21%) in the almond oil group had similar reduction. There is no significant difference in the results between these two groups. Proprietary preparations of ear wax solvents, which are nine to 15 times more expensive than almond or olive oil ear drops, have never been shown in any standardised trail to be conclusively superior than these simple, non0toxic and cheap agents.