Cerumen impaction

American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery clinical definition for impacted cerumen[1]Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al. Clinical practice guideline (update): earwax (cerumen impaction). Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017 Jan;156(1_suppl):S1-29. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0194599816671491 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28045591?tool=bestpractice.com

Clinicians should diagnose a cerumen impaction when an accumulation of cerumen is associated with symptoms, prevents needed assessment of the ear, or both.[1]Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al. Clinical practice guideline (update): earwax (cerumen impaction). Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017 Jan;156(1_suppl):S1-29. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0194599816671491 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28045591?tool=bestpractice.com ​ For example, an accumulation of cerumen is considered impacted if it is causing symptoms of fullness or hearing loss, or if the accumulation of cerumen is preventing adequate visualisation of the tympanic membrane in a patient with symptoms of vertigo. A diagnosis of cerumen impaction would also be made if the cerumen were extensive enough to preclude performing a test, such as videonystagmography, for the diagnosis of dizziness; to perform that test the ear canal needs to be patent and unobstructed by cerumen. However, if cerumen were present in the ear canal, but the patient expressed no ear-related symptoms, and an unobstructed view of the tympanic membrane was not essential to good care, the cerumen would not be considered 'impacted' by this definition.