Earwax
Earwax, also known as "cerumen", protects your eardrum from dust and debris. Left alone, it does its job quite nicely, migrating harmlessly to the outer ear as it dries, only to be replaced by fresh wax that forms in the ear canal.
You've heard that timeless and truthful cliche, "Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear," is one that ear doctors swear by. Never stick anything sharp like a bobby pin , a pencil tip, a paper clip or a cotton-tipped swab into your ear. The picture below depicts what happen's when you poke a "Q-Tip" too far into the ear canal - you perforate your ear drum! And even if you don't poke too far down there, you are actually ramming the wax deeper so that it acts like a plug over your eardrum.
I've had patients that complain of dizziness, ringing in the ears and even headaches because of ear wax they've crammed in on the eardrum.
How to Clean Your Ears
It's inexpensive and for the best results, try a few drops of room temperature hydrogen peroxide. Or you can purchase an over-the-counter cleaner such as Murine Ear Drops or Debrox. Whatever method you use, simply add a drop or two of the liquid into the ear. Allow the excess to flow out of the ear. The liquid left inside will bubble away at the wax and soften it. You can try this for a couple of days, several times a day if you need to.
Once the wax is soft, you're ready to rinse. Fill a bowl with body-temperature water. Then fill a rubber bulb syringe with the water and holding your head over the bowl, squirt the water gently into your ear canal. The stream of water should be under very little pressure. Turn your head to the side and let the water run out.
Don't rub your ears dry. Instead, dry your ears with a hair dryer or drop a little alcohol in each ear to complete the drying. Do this once you have rinsed your ears to clean them, and also every time you shower. Be sure that if you "blow dry" to NOT let the blow dryer too close to your ears... keep it at least a foot away.
A once-a-month ear wash is plenty for anyone. More than that, and you're washing away the protective layer of earwax that's supposed to be there.
OUCH!
You've heard that timeless and truthful cliche, "Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear," is one that ear doctors swear by. Never stick anything sharp like a bobby pin , a pencil tip, a paper clip or a cotton-tipped swab into your ear. The picture below depicts what happen's when you poke a "Q-Tip" too far into the ear canal - you perforate your ear drum! And even if you don't poke too far down there, you are actually ramming the wax deeper so that it acts like a plug over your eardrum.
I've had patients that complain of dizziness, ringing in the ears and even headaches because of ear wax they've crammed in on the eardrum.
How to Clean Your Ears
It's inexpensive and for the best results, try a few drops of room temperature hydrogen peroxide. Or you can purchase an over-the-counter cleaner such as Murine Ear Drops or Debrox. Whatever method you use, simply add a drop or two of the liquid into the ear. Allow the excess to flow out of the ear. The liquid left inside will bubble away at the wax and soften it. You can try this for a couple of days, several times a day if you need to.
Once the wax is soft, you're ready to rinse. Fill a bowl with body-temperature water. Then fill a rubber bulb syringe with the water and holding your head over the bowl, squirt the water gently into your ear canal. The stream of water should be under very little pressure. Turn your head to the side and let the water run out.
Don't rub your ears dry. Instead, dry your ears with a hair dryer or drop a little alcohol in each ear to complete the drying. Do this once you have rinsed your ears to clean them, and also every time you shower. Be sure that if you "blow dry" to NOT let the blow dryer too close to your ears... keep it at least a foot away.
A once-a-month ear wash is plenty for anyone. More than that, and you're washing away the protective layer of earwax that's supposed to be there.
OUCH!
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