Cleaning ears is a common practice, often driven by hygiene. While understandable, ear cleaning requires safety. The ear is delicate, and improper methods can lead to complications. Understanding its natural processes and employing approved techniques are key to safe at-home ear care.
The Role of Earwax
Earwax is a natural substance produced by glands within the ear canal. It acts as a protective barrier, trapping dust and foreign particles, preventing them from reaching deeper into the ear. Earwax also moisturizes the ear canal skin, preventing dryness and itching, and has antimicrobial properties that help guard against infections.
The ear is typically a self-cleaning organ. Natural jaw movements, like chewing and talking, help migrate old earwax out of the ear canal. However, earwax can sometimes accumulate and harden, leading to a blockage. This impaction can cause symptoms like fullness, ear pain, ringing (tinnitus), or temporary hearing loss.
Approved Home Cleaning Techniques
For routine cleaning, gently wiping the outer ear with a damp washcloth or tissue is sufficient. This cleans earwax that has naturally moved out of the canal. Only clean the visible outer part of the ear, avoiding insertion of anything into the ear canal itself.
For excessive earwax, over-the-counter ear drops can soften the wax. These drops may contain mineral oil, baby oil, glycerin, or hydrogen peroxide. To apply, lie on your side with the affected ear facing upward, and place a few drops into the ear canal. Remain in this position for five to ten minutes to allow the solution to soften the wax. This can be done once or twice daily for several days.
After softening the wax for a few days, warm water irrigation with a rubber bulb syringe can flush out loosened earwax. Fill the bulb syringe with body-temperature water; avoid cold water, which can cause dizziness. Tilt your head over a sink or basin with the ear to be cleaned facing slightly downward. Gently squeeze the bulb to release a slow, gentle stream of water into the ear canal, without inserting the tip too deeply. Allow water and dislodged wax to drain.
Repeat this process a few times. Avoid this method if you have a perforated eardrum, ear tubes, or a current ear infection.
Practices to Avoid
Inserting cotton swabs or similar objects into the ear canal is a harmful practice. These objects often push earwax deeper, compacting it against the eardrum, worsening blockages, pain, hearing loss, or eardrum damage. Cotton swabs can also scratch the delicate skin of the ear canal, creating entry points for infection.
Ear candling is another practice to avoid. This method involves placing a hollow, cone-shaped candle into the ear canal and lighting the other end, with the unsubstantiated claim that it creates a vacuum to draw out earwax. No scientific evidence supports its effectiveness. It carries significant risks, including burns to the face, ear canal, and eardrum, ear canal obstruction from melted candle wax, and eardrum perforation.
Using sharp objects like keys, hairpins, or toothpicks to clean ears is dangerous. These items can easily cause cuts, abrasions, or puncture the eardrum, leading to pain, bleeding, infection, and permanent hearing damage. Inserting any foreign object risks pushing wax further in or causing trauma. Aggressive or excessive cleaning, even with approved methods, can strip the ear canal of its protective wax, leaving it dry, itchy, and vulnerable to infection.
When to Consult a Doctor
While home cleaning can address minor earwax issues, some symptoms warrant a visit to a healthcare professional. Persistent ear pain, discharge (pus or blood), sudden hearing loss, ringing (tinnitus), dizziness, or a feeling of fullness that does not resolve indicate medical attention is needed. These could signal an earwax impaction requiring professional removal or another underlying ear condition.
Seek medical advice before attempting any at-home ear cleaning if you have pre-existing conditions. If you have a perforated eardrum, ear tubes, a history of recent ear surgery, or chronic ear infections, home irrigation or ear drops may be contraindicated, leading to complications. Healthcare providers have specialized tools and techniques, like microsuction or professional irrigation, to safely remove impacted earwax, minimizing injury.