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There’s an old saying: “Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear,” Your ear canal and eardrum, are very delicate. Don’t use cotton-tipped swabs, bobby pins, paper clips, or twisted pieces of paper to clean your ears. These items usually don’t remove problem wax and – more importantly – can easily damage your eardrum. In fact, you may push the wax in deeper when you see these items.

Earwax is part of the body’s normal defense system. It traps dust and foreign objects, protects the ear canal, and inhibits growth of bacteria. Generally, you don’t need to remove earwax. Old earwax tends to gradually move from the ear canal to the ear opening on its own.

However, excessive wax can be a problem and you may experience hearing loss if too much wax accumulates. If you feel earwax is interfering with your hearing, see your doctor, who may be able to remove the wax by loosening it so that falls out. Or, your doctor may use small devices to scoop out the wax or suction it out.

If earwax buildup becomes a recurrent problem, your doctor may provide you with information on how to remove excess wax yourself. Nonprescription products often containing mild forms of peroxide may help, but your doctor may have other suggestions. If your eardrum does not contain a tube or have a hole in it, the following is one method of removing excess wax:

• Soften the wax. Use an eyedropper to apply a few drops of baby oil, mineral oil, glycerin, or hydrogen peroxide in your ear canal twice a day for no more than four to five days. This will soften the wax.
• Use warm water. After a day or two when the wax is softened, use a rubber-bulb syringe to gently squirt warm water into your ear canal. The water should be close to body temperature and not too hot or too cold. Tilt your head and pull your outer ear and back to straighten your ear canal. When finished irrigating, tip your head to let the water drain out.
• Dry your outer ear. When finished, dry your outer ear with a towel or hand-held dryer. Dry your outer ear canal by applying one full eyedropper of rubbing alcohol, and then tip your head to the side to drain the alcohol. Do this only if your doctor advises it. If you have a hole in your eardrum or a sore in your ear canal, the alcohol can be painful and may even damage the inner ear.

You may need to repeat this wax-softening and irrigation procedure several times before the excess earwax falls out. If your symptoms don’t improve after a few treatments, see your doctor.

written by admin \\ tags: Ear Health 101, Earwax, Hearing