Before diving deeper into the topic of safely removing excessive earwax, it is important to understand what earwax is. Earwax, also called cerumen, is more useful than you may think. It's natural and completely healthy for your body to produce it so that it can perform various essential functions. This sticky, waxy substance gets little credit for all the good it does.
For instance, it traps tiny particles of dirt, dead skin cells, dust, and filters them out and away from the eardrum and the middle ear. This protective function is called a self-cleaning mechanism. Earwax also lubricates your ear canals, preventing them from becoming dry and itchy.
It is not uncommon for some people to occasionally experience excess earwax. If your ear canal is completely blocked, you should not attempt to remove the wax on your own. In this situation, we would advise you to consult a hearing professional, your GP or an ENT. Step 1 The following suggestion is to be followed only if you're 100% sure you have no infections or perforations in your eardrum. Run warm water or saline solution into your ear canal (you can use an ear irrigation kit for that). After a few minutes, the lukewarm water will soften the earwax, so that it can drain through the outer ear. One simple way to do this is by letting a little warm water dribble into the ear canal while showering. Step 2 Dab the ear opening and the liquid very gently with a clean cloth. Be careful when using warm water. The water temperature should never be hot, only lukewarm. Another tip: You can help old earwax move out of the ear canal by chewing and moving your jaw. Once the earwax makes its way to the ear opening, it can dry up and fall out. You can also wipe it off with a cloth or a cotton ball.
When it comes to ear cleaning, there are quite a few misconceptions that float around. Not all methods are safe or reliable solutions for impacted earwax.
Although many people use cotton buds for ear cleaning, that does not make ear swabs safe. It's never a good idea to stick any objects into your ear canal. Be extra cautious, especially if you have had ear surgery in the past, have a ruptured eardrum, you have ear pain or drainage.
Refrain from using cotton swabs altogether. Imagine a narrow pipe that you want to free from dirt with a long stick. The stick you are using is only marginally narrower but much shorter than the pipe itself. Can you see why this is not an effective strategy? The same way, when you stick a cotton swab into your ear canal, you will end up pushing the plug further down. Not only you may entirely block the exit, but you also risk injury to the eardrum. Another possible complication is when the wax hardens right at the eardrum, which may lead to drastic hearing loss.
Ear candling is another popular method of DIY ear cleaning. While many tout its effectiveness, we do not recommend it. There is a real fad for Hopi ear candling at the moment. Unfortunately, the risk of injury caused by hot wax is very high, which can lead to permanent damage to the ear canal.
In summary, here are the general guidelines to make ear cleaning as safe and effective as possible:
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