A Guide to Professional Ear Cleaning

Professional ear cleaning is a fairly common assignment for an audiologist to conduct. After all, cerumen impaction can occur due to a variety of reasons. When the wax buildup starts to impact your hearing or comfort, it’s vital that you seek a speedy solution.

In truth, professional ear cleaning is the only option worth considering. Here’s all you need to know to restore your ears to full health and prevent further problems from occurring.

Why you shouldn’t clean the ear canal with home products

Millions of Americans are guilty of using cotton swabs and foreign instruments to dig wax out of their ears. Unfortunately, this is the last thing you should do as it can cause more damage than good.

First and foremost, the circumference of cotton swabs is more than half the size of the ear canal. So, while you may collect some earwax, you’ll actively push some wax deeper into the ear. Wax isn’t produced this far down the canal and is one of the reasons that wax can start to cause infections and hearing loss.

Furthermore, you may damage the hair cells within the cochlea or burst an eardrum. Taking the DIY option also prevents you from gaining a professional diagnosis from the audiologist, which could be very problematic if another problem has surfaced.

Many home cleaning ideas, such as candling, are very ineffective too. If you want to achieve the best results without causing further damage, professional ear cleaning is the way to go. The only type of cleaning that needs to be handled at home is washing the outer ear when bathing.

The types of professional ear cleaning explained

When visiting the audiologist, their first job is to confirm that an earwax blockage is the cause of discomfort. In some cases, the problems may be linked to another ear-related health issue, which is why it’s always best to check.

If earwax is deemed to be the issue, there are several forms of treatment. They are:

• Home removal: If the earwax buildup isn’t excessively disruptive, you may be prescribed with a home earwax removal kit. By placing a few drops of the oil into the ear canal for a few days, the wax should become loose enough to wash out with lukewarm water.
• Professional irrigation: For more significant earwax buildups, the audiologist may opt for an irrigation process that is conducted in their office. While the basic premise is the same, the carbamide peroxide is a lot stronger while the irrigation will be stronger too.
• Curettage: It’s not overly common, but curettage is another possible solution. A curette is a curved tool that can be used to scrape the excess earwax away, with the help of a little suction, to leave the canal unblocked.

Professional ear cleaning can be used to clear earwax buildups to restore hearing and comfort. However, it’s worth noting that the ears are self-cleaning. As such, daily cleaning is not required and most people find that they do not need to give their ears any form of special treatment.

If you haven’t encountered any problems, leave the ears alone.