How do I Get Rid of Ear Wax?

Do not under any circumstances stick cotton swabs or any other object in your ear to get rid of ear wax. There are a few things that can happen if you choose to put things in your ears. You could perforate an ear drum, causing you tons of pain and opening your middle ear up to a potential infection.

You could scrape away too much wax, also leaving your ear canal open to a possible infection. You could also shove the impacted ear wax further into your ear making the removal of ear wax more difficult than it should be. Start a safe process of removing ear wax by softening the ear wax with mineral oil, baby oil, or olive oil.

This is usually done over the course of about 5-7 days. What you will want to do is use an eyedropper to put a few drops of oil into the ear. Tip your head to one side, with the hand that isn't holding the eye dropper you will want to pull up on your ear while guiding the eyedropper into the entrance to of the outer ear canal with your other hand.

Keep your head tilted until you can feel the oil draining into your ear. Repeat this process once in the morning and once at night for about a week. Once you feel certain the wax has loosened up a bit, you're going to remove the ear wax using plain old tap water.

Go buy yourself one of those blue rubber bulb syringes they sell at drug stores. Now, you're going to fill the rubber syringe with water that is as close to body temperature as you can get. If the water is too cold, you will probably feel pain and the wax will not come out as easily.

If the water is too warm, you may end up getting dizzy or feeling nausea for a short while. Getting the temperature of the water as close to 98.6 degrees as you can is a good idea. To begin removing the ear wax, tilt your head down, pull the top of your ear up, and insert the bulb syringe just into the ear canal.

Then, squirt the warm water into the ear canal, making sure to get some pressure working, but not too much pressure that you cause yourself pain. Then, turn your head over toward the sink and allow the water to drain out of the ear. Look for small clumps of ear wax (usually called "plugs") in the sink to make sure you got the impacted ear wax out.

If nothing comes out, repeat the process until it does come out. If and when the ear wax is finally removed, you should dry your ear(s) very well. This is done in two steps.

First, you will want to wipe the outside of your ear off with a towel, or use a hair dryer to blow dry the outer ear. The second step is to put a few drops of rubbing alcohol into the ear canal. Tilt your head one way while you do this, wait a few seconds, and then tilt your head the other way to allow the rubbing alcohol to drain from your ear.

This should dry your ear canal rather quickly, making the use of a cotton swab unnecessary. Any doctor will tell you that the process outlined above is just as effective (if not more so) than any commercial ear wax removal product you'll get at a drug store. Not only that, but the ear wax removal process I've just described will cost you a fraction of what it would to purchase one of these "professional" ear wax removal systems.

Nevertheless, some people find comfort in brand name remedies. I can't say they're any worse than the aforementioned treatment, but they aren't any better, either.