EAR WAX REMOVAL: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFICACY AND ASSOCIATED COMPLICATIONS OF DISTILLED WATER, NORMAL SALINE AND 2% PARA DICHLOROBENZENE.

Excessive ear wax can lead to symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, itching, vertigo, and pain. There are many treatment options available for removal of impacted ear wax. The ceruminolytic effect of distilled water and 2% para-dichlorobenzene ear drops has been compared in this study. Aims & Objective: (1) To compare the ceruminolytic effect of distilled water,normal saline and commercially available 2% para-dichlorobenzene ear drops; (2) To observe and analyze the complications during the usage of these agents. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients who attended the ENT OPD and were diagnosed to have impacted ear wax completely occluding the ear canal were included in the study. They were divided into three groups ? Group A,Group B and Group C. Group A patients were advised to use distilled water as ear drops, Group B patients were advised to use normal saline as ear drops and Group C were adcised to use comercailly available 2% para-dichlorobenzene ear drops. Results: From the results it is clear that using distilled water and normal saline as ear drops does lead to significantly more complications and pain during removal than 2% Para dichlorobenzene ear drops. The results also point that removal becomes significantly easier when distilled water and normal saline is used compared to 2% Para dichlorobenzene. No statistically significant difference has been noted in the number of attempts required to achieve complete removal between the two groups. Complications included perforation, canal lacerations, and failure of wax removal. The removal of occlusive wax improved hearing by a mean of 5 dB over the frequencies analysed. Conclusion: The results indicate that the usage of distilled water and normal saline on a regular basis as a ceruminolytic ear drop cannot be recommended.