These dos and don’ts of ear cleaning are simple and easy to remember. Any time you have ear pain or your ears feel warm (like the start of an infection), see your audiologist or primary healthcare provider. Your audiologist may flush your ears with a syringe or use a curette to remove the wax. They can examine your ears and determine how best to remove excess wax. If your hearing seems muffled and think you have a wax blockage, your audiologist has the tools to fix the problem. It involves placing a hollow tubular candle in your ear and lighting it, supposedly to draw out wax. Most people don’t need complex ear cleaning equipment and in fact, some over-the-counter remedies may damage your ear canal. Do the same on the other side, if necessary. Put a few drops in one ear, allow it to soak for about five minutes, then, tilt your head to remove the oil. If you need to clear earwax from your ear canal, a few drops of mineral oil or baby oil usually does the trick. Be gentle and don’t tug or push too hard on your ear, you may damage the small bones.
For most people, a simple wipe with a washcloth or tissue a few times a week will remove any earwax that’s in the outer ear. Your ears require very little care when it comes to cleaning because earwax naturally migrates from the ear canal to the outer ear where it dries and flakes.
WHEN TO USE EAR PRACTICE PROBLEMS SKIN
Lastly, the cotton may irritate the sensitive skin in the ear canal, leading to infection.Īnd it’s not just cotton swabs, don’t use keys, pen caps, bobby pins, fingernails or anything else that’s long and pointy to clear your ears of wax. Secondly, the cotton may come off and could cause an infection. First and foremost, a cotton swab can push earwax back toward the eardrum, leading to a possible wax blockage. It’s OK to clean your outer ear with a cotton swab as long as you can resist the temptation to use the swab in your ear canal. Don’t use cotton swabsĬotton swabs are not made to go into the ear canal (it even says so on the package). What should you use to clean your ears? Here are some dos and don’ts of ear cleaning. But unlike your face and teeth, your ears are self-cleaning and don’t need a lot of assistance. You wash your face and brush your teeth, so it seems perfectly reasonable to clean your ears as well.