How To Clean The Ears Wax Properly?

Posted on Fri, 1 Feb 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 1 Feb 2013 Answered on

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I heard that It’s not a great idea to use cotton buds to clean theears. It can push the wax inside further and damage the ear drums. So how to clean the ears properly.

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (-3 hours later)

Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. Ideally, the external ear canal is self cleansing and does not require regular cleaning.

2. In case there is an ear wax build-up, you may use an ear bud to gently clean the outer ear canal.

3. To do this safely, hold the ear bud 1 cm from the tip with two fingers and gently rotate the ear bud.

4. Any cleaning beyond this, or if you cannot hear well, should be done by an ENT Specialist under magnification. The external ear canal is 's' shaped and has a narrower portion in the middle. Hence pushing in an ear bud too XXXXXXX tends to push the ear wax past the narrow isthumus.

5. There are household remedies, such as warm water or oil, however they may not be suitable you if there is any eardrum problem or infection.

6. Before using ear wax dissolving drops it is also suggested that you should have an ear examination.

I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar