How to Safely Clean Your Ears at Home
Even the slightest ear problem can cause pain and affect your hearing ability. In most cases earwax buildup is to blame. Fortunately, before you see an ear doctor you can try to remove the earwax at home as long as it’s done safely and effectively.
Earwax: Overview
Earwax is a naturally produced substance known scientifically as cerumen. It helps prevent pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and fungi from collecting inside the ears and potentially resulting in infection and illness. When excessive concentrations accumulate, you’re likely to experience diminished hearing, ear pain, dizziness, the feeling of fullness, ringing, or pressure inside the ear.
How To Safely Clean One’s Ears?
Medical professionals maintain that the most direct and cautious earwax removing methods include:
Softening Products
You might find relief by employing softening products designed to loosen the earwax and make it easier to remove. Typically, these materials are liquid solutions containing various chemicals and are available for purchase over-the-counter.
Damp Cloths
Occasionally, administering a warm, damp washcloth to the afflicted ear produces intended results. Moisture loosens stubborn wax and makes said substance more manageable to extract.
Syringes
For some people, syringes prove effective. These needle-like items are filled with water or some type of solution and injected into the impacted ear. Said effort provides a rinsing action that may help remove appreciable quantities of earwax.
Activities To Avoid
Healthcare providers implore patients to avoid removal techniques like:
Using Cotton Swabs
At one time or another, many people have utilized cotton swabs for ear wax removal purposes. However, reputable ear doctors argue it is the worst thing that you can do. Cotton swabs often produce the counterproductive outcome of pushing wax further down into the impacted individual’s ear canal. Such occurrences could render earwax far more difficult to remove and place one at risk for complications like infections and possibly even eardrum rupture.
Employing Removal Candles
Some might opt to administer removal candles into their ears. This particular method involves the insertion of a candle’s butt end into the therapeutic protocol recipient’s ear. The implement’s other end is then lit and the heat produced is thought to soften wax and render its extraction simpler. That said, this method often increases a participant’s chances of incurring burns and ear damage.
Visit A Specialist
The best advice one dealing with earwax buildup is asked to follow is to consult with an experienced ENT doctor such as those employed at Westside Heck & Neck!