There are few experiences quite as unpleasant as the internal noise from your own ear canals.
I happen to have what some might kindly refer to as “chronically dirty ears.” Every few months, my ears become so clogged with debris that not only does my hearing suffer, but my equilibrium is also affected. I can’t even use earphones to listen to music because my ears immediately produce an excess of wax. That’s why I’ve had to adapt to effectively and safely clean my ears, and it’s a surprisingly valuable skill to possess.
When dealing with wax buildup in your ears, your instinctive response might be to remove it using a cotton swab, correct? Surprisingly, that is one of the worst actions you could take for your ear health. Cotton swabs often end up pushing the wax deeper into the ear canal, potentially causing harm to the delicate skin of the canal or even to your inner ear. So, it’s best to avoid inserting objects into your ears.
Instead, gently clean the outer edge of the ear canal with a warm, moist washcloth to eliminate some of the superficial wax without irritating your skin. For deeper wax, consider applying a few drops of baby oil, saline solution, or hydrogen peroxide into the canal and maintain a sideways head position for approximately 15-30 minutes. This will help loosen the wax from the canal walls. With any luck, the wax will simply flow out when you tilt your head (preferably over a bathtub or sink). If any wax remains stubbornly lodged, you can softly flush your ear with warm water using a bulb syringe. This should help eliminate that final piece of wax.
If you head to your nearby pharmacy, you can discover specialized earwax elimination kits containing wax-softeners and bulb syringes. It’s a beneficial addition to your household medicine cabinet because, let me tell you, these wax build-ups can unexpectedly occur at the most inconvenient times.
