The suction used in ears is fairly weak so that the ear drum is not accidentally damaged. When the tube is held against the debris, the suction builds up in the tube and increases its effectiveness. In this procedure, the suction is being primarily used to remove loose debris and fluid from the field of view.

Ear is packed full of sticky old goo

A Jobson hook maybe???

These were the proper tools. A small hook to pull the dead skin apart and away from the ear canal, and the suction to remove fluid and loose debris from the field of view.

@@judytrimarchi2876 All you did was break the dead skin up in a very messy way. It took far too long to remove and shouldn't have. Ear forceps would have been better.

If you live in a remote village in a 3rd world country, you don't have modern medical services nearby.

I agree with you mate and it's like how people get their car serviced when something is wrong with it . I've had trouble with my ears and I've had a few operations on them too. My visits to the hospital as an outpatient are usually every year and they don't always clean out my ears. So I bought an endoscopic ear wax cleaner to keep an eye on my ears. It has a very clear camera and I can see everything in my ears and it has a handy silicone ear spoon to get the wax out. Anyone can tell and feel the sensation of wax or keratin in their ears and it's easy to get it out before your ear gets badly blocked

It’s not wax, it’s a build up of dead skin.