Using The ‘Earways Pro’ Tool To Address the Earwax Crisis

This is the final part of a 4 part mini-series about the UK’s earwax crisis.

Throughout the series industry experts have been talking about the innovative ways their clinics have for addressing the earwax problem.

In this episode, we’re finding out first hand what it’s like using the Earways Pro tool. It’s been put into practice at the Southeastern Health and Social Care Trust. Nora McDonald is the Acting Adult Lead Audiologist at the trust and is Julia’s guest.

For more information about Earways Pro head to their website

Contact Nora at [e-mail]

Got a topic you think we should be talking about? Get in touch here: [e-mail]

For more information about Signia UK and Ireland, visit their website

Sounding it Out by Signia, is produced by Annie Day from Fresh Air Production.

 

FULL TRANSCRIPT 

[00:00:00] Julia: Hello and welcome back to Sounding It Out, the podcast dedicated to audiology, brought to you by Signia UK and Ireland. I'm Julia van Huyssteen, your host and Head of Audiology at Signa. This is the fourth and final episode of the miniseries about the wax management crisis we are facing here in the UK. All the guests in this mini- series have found new and inventive ways of tackling the issue in their trusts, and are sharing their experiences and expertise with you.

Last time we heard from Nicola Phillips, who is the Principal Clinical Scientist and Head of Primary Care Audiology at Swansea Bay University Health Board. Nicola talked to us about how her trust implemented an audiology led primary care earwax removal service.

[00:00:52] Nicola: All our patients access primary care audiology through their GP surgeries. In some practices, patients get triaged by the receptionist and book directly into audiology slots, or the wax removal slots. In other practices GPs will triage over the phone and then book them directly into clinics using a shared booking system.

[00:01:10] Julia: If you've missed the first three episodes, you can go back and download them for free wherever you get your podcasts.

Today, let me introduce you to Nora McDonald, who is the Acting Adult Lead Audiologist at the Southeastern Health and Social Care Trust. She is going to be sharing her experiences of using the Earways Pro Tool. Hello Nora.

[00:01:34] Nora: Hi, good morning Julia, thanks for having me.

[00:01:38] Julia: Nora, thank you for joining us as guest speaker.

Although you've only recently started using the Earways Pro tool, you have some great experiences you can share with us today. Before we start getting into the nitty gritty, where did you first hear about the Ear Earways Pro tool and what about it made you pay attention?

[00:01:55] Nora: Our Audiology and ENT manager, Barbara Greg, had noticed it at the 2021 BA conference. We had long ENT waiting lists after covid and more and more patients were presenting to the audiology appointments with obstructive wax. Of course, we're always interested in exploring any wax management options including alternatives for microsuction.

[00:02:20] Julia: So it sounds to me like the impact was both on ENT and audiology. Of course that would be something that makes you pay attention to an alternative method that could actually ease the service. Now, what did the ear removal service exactly look like in your trust before introducing the Earways Pro tool?

[00:02:39] Nora: So the ENT specialist nurses manage the wax removal service. They manage their own waiting lists, reviewing patients as and when required, and accepting new referrals from audiology or ENT as indicated. The audiology service in our trust works across four individual sites and we don't always run alongside the ENT microsuction nurse. So if we were faced with obstructive wax within an audiology appointment and didn't have access to a nurse to remove it, the majority of patients would've been advised to contact their GP for wax removal locally, provided obviously that they had no contraindications for local management. We tried to limit referrals to the nurse-led microsuction clinics to those who warranted that specialist ENT attention. For example, the atypical ears perforations, mastoid cavities, history of otitis, surgery, collapsing ear canals, et cetera. But obviously due to a combination of the Covid pandemic and the withdrawal of many local GP wax removal services, our ENT waiting list for microsuction was just... grew longer and longer, so it became quite a big