Quick answers
Olive oil does exactly one job: it softens. In an ear with a light, recent build-up, that can be enough — the softened wax rides the canal's natural self-cleaning conveyor and works its way out on its own. But wax that has become impacted — pressed into a firm plug that fills the canal, often over months or years — usually has nowhere to go. The oil coats and softens the outer surface while the plug itself stays put, wedged in place.
Hearing aid wearers and earbud users are especially prone to this, because moulds and buds press wax deeper with every insertion. No amount of oil dissolves a plug that is physically wedged; it has to be lifted out.
Here's the part nobody warns you about: oiled wax often swells. As the plug absorbs oil it expands and slumps, and a partial blockage you could half-hear through can become a complete seal. If your hearing dipped after a few days of faithful dropping, you haven't damaged anything and the drops haven't "failed" — the wax is simply softer and fatter than it was. In fact, that softened plug is now much easier for a clinician to remove.
A sensible rule: if you've used drops twice a day for around a week and the ear still feels blocked, more oil is unlikely to finish the job. At that point the efficient next step is microsuction — the softened wax is lifted out under magnification with a fine suction probe, no water involved, usually in a single short visit. At Crewe Pharmacy on Nantwich Road you don't need a GP referral and you'll usually be seen within the same week; the fee is £50 for one ear or £70 for both, with examination of both ears included.
And don't write the drops off — they remain exactly the right preparation. We ask everyone to use olive oil drops or spray twice daily for two to three days before their appointment, because soft wax comes away more quickly and comfortably. Your dropping wasn't wasted; it was step one.
Water-free microsuction at Crewe Pharmacy — no referral needed, usually seen within the same week.