Home visits

What we need from you

An ordinary chair with a back, a plug socket within reach, and enough light to work by — a table lamp is fine. That is genuinely all. The whole visit usually takes around thirty minutes including the paperwork.

Who it suits

Anyone who would rather not drive into town, but particularly people with limited mobility, wheelchair users, those with anxiety or dementia, parents with young children, and anyone whose working hours make a daytime clinic appointment impractical.

Travel and pricing

Travel is included in the price throughout the areas listed on the areas page. A visit is £75 whether one ear or both needs clearing, and always includes the full ear health check. Payment is taken after treatment by cash or card.

How to prepare for your visit

Very little is needed, but a few small things make the visit smoother. Choose the room in advance: anywhere with an upright chair, a socket within a few metres and decent light works, and a dining chair beats a deep armchair because it supports your head at a workable height. If you can, start olive oil drops two or three days ahead, especially if your ears have been blocked for weeks. Have a list of your relevant history ready, particularly ear surgery, perforations, grommets or previous problems with syringing. Pets are welcome company but are usually happier shut in another room while the suction unit is running.

Infection control outside the clinic

Working in living rooms rather than a clinic changes the setting but not the standard. Everything that enters an ear is either single-use and disposed of after your appointment, or sterilised between patients; hands are washed and gloves worn as they would be anywhere. Equipment cases are cleaned between visits and waste leaves with the clinician rather than in your bin. You will never be asked to supply anything clinical, boil anything or prepare the room beyond ordinary tidiness. The point of a mobile service is to move the clinic, not to dilute it, and the same applies to record-keeping, consent and examination standards.

After your visit

Before leaving, the clinician re-examines both ears, explains what was found and removed, and gives aftercare advice specific to what was done, since it differs slightly between dry and water-based methods. You will be told roughly how quickly your wax is likely to rebuild, which varies enormously between people, and whether a routine return in six or twelve months makes sense or whether you can simply call when symptoms return. Anything that needs a GP's attention is explained clearly, with a written summary available on request. Payment is taken only at this point, after treatment, by cash or card, and an itemised receipt is available for insurance or records.

Is a home visit as good as a clinic appointment?

It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that the equipment is the deciding factor, not the building. The magnification, suction unit, irrigation pump and instruments used at your dining table are portable versions of the same technology used in clinic rooms, and the examination before and after treatment is identical. What changes at home is mostly in your favour: no travel while dizzy or hard of hearing, no parking, no waiting room, and appointments long enough that nothing is rushed. The one genuine limitation is that anything requiring ENT facilities, in a clinic or at home, is referred on, exactly as a high street provider would.

Good to know

• Travel included across the covered areas
• Around thirty minutes door to door
• Evenings and weekends available
• Pay after treatment, cash or card