16/02/2026
🍔 burger chef? dog 🐶 groomer? 🍖 butcher? 💄Beautician...ear wax removal...
Who do you TRUST to do an intricate clinical procedure on yours or your loved ones ears?
I often feel like a broken record educating patients and raising awareness that the ear wax removal sector is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY UNREGULATED and ANY TOM, DICK OR HARRY (burger man, dog groomer, butcher or beautician!) can buy kit off the internet and set up a business and are answerable/governed by NOBODY! Most people I tell this to are gobsmacked and blissfully unaware this is the case. I sometimes feel that people think I'm talking a load of rubbish as it's so absurd to believe it's actually true!
Here's some snippets from fellow nurses in England on forums to highlight the sheer craziness of the situation!
PLEASE do your due diligence and check a provider's credentials, it can't be assumed that who you Google is in any way bonafide
(See my attached flowchart for questions to ask a provider to work it out-I never mind being asked for help to 'work out' if a provider is legit or not, I'm that passionate I purely wish to help people avoid the cowboys as it can sometimes be difficult to suss out as they are very good at 'pulling the wool over people's eyes'
Ways to spot an unregulated 'lay person' (cowboy) provider:
* They can get offensive/avoidant if you ask for their credentials and aren't transparent who they are and their qualifications etc
* They aren't registered and regulated by a healthcare professional body (ie a Registered Nurse is regulated by the NMC, a Doctor is regulated by the GMC, CQC (Care Quality Commission)
* They claim they are 'trained', they may have done no course or they may have done a half day to one day 'course', they are answerable to nobody so who knows! 'Courses' they can access are ran by companies who train anyone. There are many around who have no minimum requirements and so will 'train' anyone-training companies aren't regulated either and so they can essentially do what they like and 'train' whoever is prepared to pay £££
* They say their course has given them 'CPD points/accreditation' (means absolutely nothing!) or is 'NHS accredited' (absolute rubbish-the true NHS accredited courses absolutely do NOT train non healthcare people)
* They make grand claims that they are 'professional, experts, specialists, practitioners, accredited'. Again a load of rubbish, anyone can call themselves this (the words aren't 'protected' in the eyes of the law) and it means nothing without backing it up with facts why they claim to be these things!
* They may have a lovely looking flashy website, remember this is no reflection of their credentials!
* They are often cheaper than competitors (but not always), they can keep their costs to an absolute minimum as they don't have any compulsory CQC regulatory fees/healthcare professional body fees/insurance/DBS/iCO etc to pay for, which is approx £5000 per year for a CQC regulated provider
* They see children's (any age) ears.. remember nobody has any jurisdiction over them and they are governed by nobody so they can do as they please...
* They may say they are insured or not. Again they are answerable to nobody so they can choose to take out insurance or not. Also it's a question as to how 'comprehensive' this insurance actually is when the insurance company will insure any Tom Dick or Harry to do a risky clinical procedure!
* They may say they are police (DBS) checked or not. Again nobody is checking this out so they maybe or maybe not...I'd urge people to think twice who they allow in their or their loved ones' homes
Please speak to Ear For You North East if you'd like a qualified/trained/experienced/NMC Registered Nurse to care for yours or your loved ones' ears. CQC regulated. iCO registered. DBS checked and fully insured
07761 403564 WhatsApp is best, text or call please 🙏
Feel free to share to help raise awareness 🙏
