Cerumenolytic Effects of Carbamide Peroxide in Patients with Ear Wax Obstruction

Accumulated and compacted ear wax or cerumen can cause conductive hearing loss, discomfort and vertigo, and infection. This study investigates the effect of Carbamide peroxide (CP) compared with Phenol glycerin (PG) ear drops on cerumen.

This experimental study investigated the effect of PG and CP ear drops on cerumen in ex vivo and in vivo phases. In the ex vivo phase cerumen degredation was scored following PG and CP treatments. In the in vivo phase, 29 patients with bilateral cerumen impaction were randomly entered the study. PG and CP were applied 3 times a day (each time 5 drops) for 4 days by patients. After treatments, the time of cerumen removal was measured.

Instant changes showing degredation of cerumen (grade 1) was evident when it was exposed to CP, on the other hand degredation changes (grade 1) in cerumen treated with PG was only evident after 20 min incubation at 37 ^oC, while grade 3 degredation was evident in cerumen treated with CP after the same time incubation. Although the time needed for removal of cerumen was lower in CP treatment (54.10±31.77) compared to PG treatment (67.10±35.54), the difference was not statistically significant.

Based on the literature and our results, carbamide peroxide is suggested as a proper treatment for patients with EAC obstruction caused by cerumen compaction, because not only it is significantly effective in cerumen degredation, but also no side effects have been reported.