A comparative study of ceruminolytic agents.

A prospective study was done to access the efficacy of ceruminolytic agents, i.e 2% paradichlorobenzene, 10% sodium bicarbonate, 2.5% acetic acid and normal saline. All score 4 hard impacted ear wax cases in the adult population (>20 years) were accrued for the assessment of the relative efficacy. Upon analyzing the comparative efficacy of four ceruminolytic agents, by taking into consideration three parameters (post) ceruminolytic cerumen score, attempts of syringing required to extrude the cerumen mass, post-ceruminolytic use and appearance of the removed cerumen mass. 2% paradichlorobenzene emerged as the most superior ceruminolytic, closely followed by 10% sodium bicarbonate. 2.5% acetic acid fared moderately while normal saline emerged as the least efficacious ceruminolytic agent.