Earwax Removal Terms and Conditions
Welcome to our Clinical Ear Care (CEC) service. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before booking your appointment. By booking and attending an appointment, you agree to be bound by these terms.
Please Note: These terms are designed to ensure the safety, efficiency, and fairness of our service for all patients. If you have any questions regarding these terms, please contact our clinic team prior to your appointment.
Per-Appointment Fee: The advertised price is charged per individual appointment.
No Wax Policy: In the event that the CEC Clinician examines your ear canals and finds no ear wax present, the appointment fee remains non-refundable. This fee covers the clinician's time, advice and the clinical assessment provided.
To ensure we provide the safest and most effective care pathway for you, we require a medical history questionnaire to be completed.
- Online Completion: We request that you complete this questionnaire online in advance of your visit.
- In-Clinic Completion: If you are unable to complete the questionnaire online, you must arrive 10 minutes earlier than your scheduled appointment time to fill it out at the clinic. Late arrivals due to uncompleted paperwork may result in a shortened or rescheduled appointment.
- Clinician-Initiated Review: If your CEC Clinician determines that a follow-up review is clinically necessary (e.g., if wax cannot be safely removed in a single session), a single, additional appointment will be provided at no extra cost.
- Timeframe: Any such follow-up appointment must take place no later than 4 weeks after your initial consultation.
- Care Advice: A key outcome of your appointment will be personalised advice on how to care for your ear canals.
- Routine Care: Where this clinical advice is followed, we can discuss and agree upon a routine program of maintenance appointments to support your ongoing ear health.
- Conflicting Advice: If any advice given by our CEC Clinician conflicts with advice you have received from another healthcare professional, please discuss this openly with your CEC Clinician so we can coordinate your care safely.
- Referral Service: Your appointment includes onward referral to appropriate specialists where clinically necessary. More specialist referrals may incur a further charge and your CEC Clinician will provide those details at the appointment.
- Hearing Assessments: This includes referrals to an audiologist who can formally assess how well you are hearing.
- Hearing Management Advice: If there are any concerns regarding your hearing levels that extend beyond simple ear wax removal, advice on how to manage your hearing is readily available through our service.
- Program Governance & Leadership: Our Clinical Ear Care (CEC) training and education program has been developed and is overseen by Melanie Jackson, our Head of ENT Nursing and National Clinical Lead. Melanie is an ENT-trained Nurse Practitioner with extensive specialist experience, including past roles delivering specialist clinical ear care training on behalf of the NHS Rotherham Ear Care Centre.
- Competency-Based Sign-off: All House of Hearing CEC practitioners must successfully complete this rigorous, structured training program. Practitioners are strictly prohibited from treating patients independently or unsupervised until they have met all clinical criteria and have been formally signed off on all core practical and theoretical competencies.
- Ongoing Clinical Support & Second Opinions: Once signed off, our practitioners do not work in isolation. To support patient safety and clinical excellence, all active CEC practitioners have access to robust clinical escalation paths: On-site/Local Support: Direct, local access to our qualified Audiologists. Remote Specialist Support: Direct, remote clinical support and second opinions from our experienced Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) nursing and clinical leadership team.
Association Membership: House of Hearing is a registered member organisation of the National Community Hearing Association (NCHA), the leading professional representative body for community hearing care providers in the UK.
Insurance Coverage: Through our active membership with the NCHA, House of Hearing maintains a comprehensive, tailored medical malpractice and professional indemnity (PI) insurance scheme. This tailored cover is specifically designed for primary audiology and clinical ear care providers, ensuring that:
- All clinical ear care activities, including micro-suction, irrigation, and manual instrumentation, are fully indemnified.
- All employed clinical staff and practitioners operating under our governance are fully insured while acting on behalf of House of Hearing.
Clinical Assessment and Right to Refuse Treatment: Prior to any wax removal procedure, a thorough otoscopic examination and medical history check will be performed. If a CEC practitioner identifies a contraindication (such as active infection, perforation, or structural abnormality), or feels that a procedure cannot be safely carried out, we reserve the right to refuse or halt treatment and direct you to an appropriate medical path.
Specialist Escalation: Where a complex ear health issue is identified during your appointment, our clinical team has established direct, private pathways to escalate your case to an ENT specialist or coordinate with your GP for NHS referral.