Comparison of Effectiveness of Ear Syringing With or Without Pre-Ear Oil Application , Non-randomized Control Trial.

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. On the other hand, patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. We will compare the respective success rates of ear syringing from these 2 groups, the mean numbers of syringing attempts , as well as any complications such as ear canal abrasion, ear drum perforation, any pain or vertigo reported by patients. For those cases who fail ear syringing , olive oil will be prescribe and arrange 1 week follow up for ear syringing .

Detailed Description
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Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. On the other hand, patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. We will compare the respective success rates of ear syringing from these 2 groups, the mean numbers of syringing attempts, subjective improvement in hearing , as well as any complications such as ear canal abrasion, ear drum perforation, any pain or vertigo reported by patients. For those cases who fail ear syringing , olive oil will be prescribe and arrange 1 week follow up for ear syringing .

Official Title
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Comparison of Effectiveness of Ear Syringing With or Without Pre-Ear Oil Application , Non-randomized Control Trial.

Conditions
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Cerumen Impaction of Both Ears

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Patients >18 years old, who complain about blocked ear found to have ear wax which impacts ear drum and able to sign consent. Exclusion Criteria: Patients who are contraindicated to ear syringing will be excluded : otitis externa , otitis media , history of tympanic membrane perforation , history or ear surgery , unilateral deafness , in-co-operated patient (eg. Children ) , history of vertigo after ear syringing .

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 100 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: non randomised control trials
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatment<br>patients in Fanling Family Medicine Centre with ear wax will be given ear oil one week before performing ear syringing. | Procedure: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment<br>* Active Comparator: ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatment Sham Comparator: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment<br>* Other names: ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatment;|
| Sham Comparator: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment<br>Patients in Wong Siu Ching Clinic and Tai Po Clinic who are found to have ear wax after physical examination will have ear syringing done, without pre-ear oil application. | Procedure: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment<br>* Active Comparator: ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatment Sham Comparator: ear wax syringing without pre ear oil treatment<br>* Other names: ear wax syringing with pre ear oil treatment;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The mean number of syringing attempts (50 ml syringe) | For both groups the mean number of syringing attempts (and 95% confidence interval) is calculated and compared by testing the difference between the means, using a t test for independent samples. For patients with persistent earwax in both ears , the mean number of syringing attempts needed for both ears in one patient is used for the calculations . All ears in which the wax is still persistent after another 10 syringing attempts are given a value of 11 in the calculations . Data for this study is analyzed using SPSS version 26 . | 1 day | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The presence of ear canal abrasion, | The presence of ear canal abrasion, | 1 month |