Our ears are funny old things as they usually take care of themselves. We produce sticky earwax which helps clean the ear canal and rid it of any dirt or bacteria. Ideally, we create just enough to do this, and then it can drain away naturally. However, some people make too much wax or stop it from naturally removing itself, and end up with ears in need of some serious cleaning.

For the most part, ear cleaning can be done by yourself at home. There are various treatments you can use that are easily accessible and don’t take too long to apply to your ears. But, there’s also the option to see your audiologist and get your ears professionally cleaned. Of course, it can be time-consuming to keep going to your audiologist every time you need your ears cleaned, so how do you know when you should see them? In this post, we’ll give you some advice on when it’s right to have a professional ear cleaning.

You feel persistent ear pain

Persistent ear pain can be a symptom of many things. For example, if you don’t wear hearing protection and you live your life around loud noises, then you can easily damage your eardrums and cause ear pain. However, it’s usually a common symptom of excessive earwax build up. Too much wax in your ear canal will block it up and push against your eardrum, hence the constant pain. See your audiologist if you always seem to have an earache, and they may prescribe a professional ear cleaning treatment.

Your hearing starts to get worse

As you can imagine, a build-up of earwax has a profound effect on your hearing ability. It stops you from picking up sounds as clearly as you normally would, which makes things sound a lot quieter to you. If you suddenly feel like your hearing has gotten worse – particularly in just one ear – then this could be a telltale sign that you need professional ear cleaning. This usually comes hand in hand with your ears feeling blocked as well. So, if you feel like your ears are blocked, and you’re not hearing things to your full potential, then it’s advisable to see your audiologist and get things sorted.

You produce way too much dry earwax

Earwax isn’t really meant to be dry. It’s supposed to have a lubricant that helps ease it along the ear and prevent all this build up. However, it’s highly common for some people to produce way too much earwax without the lubricant. This results in dry wax in your ears, which gets stuck in the canal and causes the problems already mentioned. If you’re someone that feels as though your ears are always packed full of wax, then you should have professional ear cleaning. The chances are you’ll continue to produce excessive dry wax after this, so most audiologists suggest regular professional cleaning treatments ever six months or so.

Professional ear cleaning isn’t essential for everyone. It’s only necessary if you experience any of the problems listed above, and cleaning your ears yourself hasn’t helped. Always make sure you see an audiologist if you need professional ear cleaning, don’t go anywhere else or you risk getting the wrong treatment done by unqualified individuals.