Have you heard the saying, “Don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear?” Excessive earwax and earwax blockages, happen in about 5% of adults, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology. As a result, some people resort to using all sorts of items for ear wax removal.

Danger of Q-Tips

Most attempts to clean the ears by using cotton swabs results in pushing the wax further into the ear canal. Wax is not formed in the deep part of the canal near the eardrum.  It’s only in the outer part of the canal near the external opening. So when a doctor sees wax pushed up against your eardrum, he or she knows that it often is because you have been probing your ear with things like Q-Tips, bobby pins, or twisted napkin corners. These objects only serve as ramrods to push the wax deeper into the ear and can lead to problems.

The ear canals are self-cleaning. This means that ear wax and sloughed skin cells typically pass on their own from the inside of the ear canal to the outer opening. Old earwax moves from the deeper areas of the canal out to the opening. At the opening of the canal, the ear wax usually dries up and falls out of the canal.

Under ideal circumstances, a person should never need to have ear wax removal of his or her ear canals. Earwax works as an antifungal and antibacterial agent and it helps move dead skin cells out of the ear, so it’s there for a reason.  However, sometimes removal of wax is necessary and requires medical treatment.

When to Seek a Professional

• an earache
• sense of fullness in the ears
• hearing loss
•  ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• cough
• itching
• discharge from the ear canal.

If a doctor determines that your eardrum is intact, then it’s time to pull the wax clog out. He or she might want to dig the wax out (gently!) with a small scraping tool called a curette. But if the doctor can’t get the wax out gently with a curette, the other effective removal option is irrigation. Essentially shooting water in the ear canal. It can be done with a syringe full of water, or a more high-powered hose-like device.

If you’re one of the people who just naturally produce a lot of wax, you can visit Advanced Hearing Group for ear wax removal. Please don’t try any of the at-home formulas for removing earwax. Always get a professional to help, and keep all things smaller than your elbow out of your ears!