How to clean your ears: wax, blockages and home remedies

Symptoms of a blocked ear include:

• a feeling of fullness in the ear
• ear drainage
• partial hearing loss
• itching
• tinnitus (ringing in the ear)

If your ear canal is completely blocked, see your doctor or an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist for safe removal of the wax.
 
The ear is incredibly delicate, and excess wax can damage your eardrums. Even if there
is no rupture, we recommend visiting your doctor or ENT specialist.
 
See a hearing professional or doctor if you:

• use hearing aids
• swim regularly
• have very narrow ear canals
• have excessive amount of earwax.

There are a lot of misconceptions about ear cleaning — not all methods are safe or reliable solutions for dealing with earwax.
 

If your ear canal is completely blocked, see your doctor or an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist (ENT) for safe removal of the wax.
 
You may be able to treat a partial ear blockage at home.
 
Don’t try this is if your eardrum is showing signs of perforation like ear pain, pus or blood-stained drainage. If these symptoms are present, then see your doctor.
 

1. Run lukewarm (not hot) water or saline solution into your ear canal. You can use an ear irrigation kit or let a little warm water dribble into the ear canal in the shower. After a few minutes, the lukewarm water will soften the earwax, so that it can drain through the outer ear.
2. Dab the ear opening and the liquid gently with a clean cloth.
3. You can help coax old earwax out of the ear canal by chewing and moving your jaw. Once the earwax makes its way to the ear opening, it will dry up and can be wiped off the outside of the ear with a cloth or cotton ball.

Yes. Ignoring the signs of a blockage and letting earwax build up in the ear canal can lead to long-term hearing loss.

No. Many people use Q-tips or cotton buds for ear cleaning, but it simply isn’t safe to stick objects into your ear canal.
 
Be extra careful with ear swabs if you have:

• had ear surgery
• a ruptured eardrum
• ear pain or drainage.

Imagine a narrow pipe full of dirt. You want to remove the dirt with a long stick. But the stick you’re using is only a little narrower than the pipe, and much shorter.
 
In the same way, pushing a cotton swab onto your ear canal pushes the plug of wax further down. You may block the exit, and risk injuring the eardrum. When wax hardens right near the eardrum, it can lead to drastic hearing loss.

No. We don’t recommend this popular DIY method of ear cleaning - sometimes known as Hopi ear candling. There is a high risk of injury from hot wax leading to permanent damage to the ear canal.

• Ask your doctor or hearing professional to remove the wax
• Irrigate your ear canal with warm (not hot) water
• Gently clean the outer edges of your ear opening with a damp cloth
• Don’t insert any ear swabs into the ear canal

Book an appointment to have your hearing tested at one of our clinics today.