Ear Wax Removal by Microsuction in Melbourne

Written by Mini Gupta, Principal Audiologist and specialist in tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia. TRT-certified twice under Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff. Fellowship in Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Studies (Salus University, USA). MAudA (CCP). Last updated: 5 July 2026

We look at the ear canal under magnification first, so nothing is done blind, and you can see what we see, before and after.

Tinnitus and sound sensitivity are our main areas of work, so we take particular care with patients whose ears are already sensitive. If wax is sitting against the eardrum and adding to ringing, fullness or discomfort, we know how to work with that rather than around it. That clinical background is also why we don’t stop at the wax: we check that nothing else is behind your symptoms.

We take a medical approach to ear wax removal. This isn’t only about clearing a blockage. It’s about assessing your ear canals, working out what is driving the symptoms, and understanding why the wax keeps coming back or your ears keep getting blocked. From there we work with you and your doctor to get your ear canals back to a normal, healthy state.

Our ear wax and ear care appointments at a glance.

GP report: if you book the standard $93 appointment and we need to write to your doctor for further treatment, a report is $39. The extended appointment already includes a GP letter where needed.

If you have tinnitus or sound sensitivity, please book the extended appointment. A 15-minute visit is often not enough, and there is a clinical reason for that, explained below.

Need to be seen today? For ear pain or a foreign body in the ear, we offer same-day emergency appointments. See Emergency ear care below.

Full detail on the extended appointment is further down the page.

A blocked feeling is often wax, though it can point to something else in the ear. Book an appointment if you notice any of these:

• Fullness, blockage or pressure in one or both ears Reduced hearing or muffled sound
• Pain or aching in or around the ear
• Itching or irritation in the ear canal
• Clicking, popping or ticking sounds
• A constant urge to “pop” your ears, or trouble equalising pressure
• A sensation of fluid moving inside the ear
• Discharge, whether fluid or wax
• A sudden change in your hearing
• Dizziness or imbalance
• A sudden rise in tinnitus (ringing)

Cotton buds tend to make things worse. They push most of the wax deeper and can graze the canal or the eardrum. The old advice still holds: nothing smaller than your elbow goes in your ear.

A GP or a nurse can remove wax, and for many people that is fine. An audiologist brings something extra: we assess the whole ear while we are in there, not just the wax. If your hearing still seems muffled once the canal is clear, we can work out why. Where symptoms don’t fit the wax, we carry out middle ear testing such as tympanometry to look for fluid behind the eardrum, Eustachian tube dysfunction, or reduced movement of the middle ear bones. If we see signs of an outer ear infection, we write to your GP with our findings so you can be treated.

Yes, it can, and there is more than one way it happens. The encouraging part is that tinnitus linked to wax or an outer ear problem is often the most treatable kind, because we can deal with the cause rather than only the symptom.

When the ear is fully blocked. If wax blocks the canal completely, less sound reaches the hearing centres of the brain. The brain can react to that drop by turning up its own internal volume, and tinnitus appears as a compensatory response. Once the ear is unblocked and sound flows again, many people find the tinnitus settles quickly, sometimes the moment the wax is cleared.

When the nerves in the ear canal are irritated. The skin of the ear canal is supplied by nerve endings, including branches of the vagus nerve. Inflammation or infection can irritate these nerves and narrow the canal, which tells the brain something is wrong with the ear, and that can produce tinnitus. Treating the outer ear condition often brings real relief, particularly when the tinnitus is recent and comes with itching in the canal or an aching ear.

When the jaw joint (TMJ) is involved. The jaw joint sits right beside the ear canal. Wax blockage and outer ear conditions can affect how that joint moves, which can set off tinnitus or make it worse. If you’re having TMJ treatment or wearing a splint, keep it up, but be aware that if the ear canal itself isn’t treated, the tinnitus may not fully settle. The two usually need to be sorted together.

Please tell us if you have tinnitus along with your wax. It changes how we run the appointment, and it means we can give you far more useful feedback while we’re looking in your ear.

If your tinnitus continues once the wax and any outer ear issue are dealt with, you are already in the right place. Tinnitus retraining therapy, hyperacusis and misophonia are what we do every day, so we can assess and treat what’s left, rather than telling you your test was normal and sending you on your way.

If you live with tinnitus or sound sensitivity, the noise of the suction itself matters. Rushed microsuction can flare your symptoms, because the ear is being exposed to the very thing it reacts to. So we don’t rush. We use a slow, gentle technique, with pauses and lower exposure, to clear the wax while protecting you from a setback. A quick 15-minute appointment is often not the right fit for this, which is why we ask sensitive-ear patients to book the longer visit. As specialists in tinnitus and sound sensitivity, we understand these safety measures the way few clinics do.

The 30-minute appointment runs in four parts:

1. Videoscopy. A magnified video examination of both ear canals and eardrums, so we can see wax, infection or anything structural, and you can see it on screen.
2. Microsuction, if needed. If the ear is blocked, we remove the wax gently and dry. This appointment is well suited to an active outer ear infection with wax build-up, or a canal partly blocked with mucus or fungal debris, since we clear the infection-related debris along with the wax to help recovery.
3. A second videoscopy. We check the clear canal for any sign of infection. If we spot something, you go home with a letter for your GP.
4.  If symptoms persist or the wax didn’t explain them, we can advise on further referral or testing, or a plan tailored to you.