How to Remove Earwax Using Olive Oil
ADVERTISEMENT
Timely article for me this date seeing it's been around over eleven years. I have the wax problem big time. In cleaning with a Q-tip quite a while seems it pushed the wax against the drum and did render me deaf, happened over a while. Did get some wax out and often dark colored. Also have ear itch. I have to use hearing aids being around AF jet engines 3-1/2 years, KC-135 & B-52 (8 engines)
Am in the VA medical system and the Audiologist really flushed out my ears and gobs of wax came out. The warm water pressure and volume was quite uncomfortable to the point of hurting.
The aids are quite aa distance in the ear channel. They were supplied by the VA. An epoxy material hardened and made a male impression of the channel for which the custom aids were made to fit exactly. (on the fourth set now since 1984) Believe the cost was about $3-4K per for the VA, not me. Also have had many hearing tests, starting below normal and steep decline after. Without the aids, I'm deaf. One side of the story.
Question I don't see answered. 1) have the ear wax, 2) put either and all being peroxide, Mineral Oil (the VA recommends) and 3) olive oil (extra virgin???? lol). OK loaded up the ears. Articles state leave in for a while- day or two. Now all the dissolved goo is in the ear, how to do you remove that? Can't let it build up. Also that goo can plug up the aids rendering them useless. I know. There's a very small plug at the bottom of the aid and has to be changed if plugged (have a supply of them and batteries). The plug protects the aid from total plugging. Have to remove the goo, tried flushing (applying a heavy stream of warm water) over a sink with a syringe, nothing. Don't have professional equipment.
The Q-tip does reach the itch and I don't insert it far in and do get some softened wax on it ( not as far as the aids). I have read many articles and authored by MD's and medical institutions. Suggestions?
Thanks, Tom
When I was young, I’m 68 now, my mother always used warm oil for earaches. It always worked! As for ear wax, we never had any problems but my husband, who worked in the TV, industry, always had to put ear buds in his ears and, even now has ear problems. I had never heard of the garlic drops but I will try that next time.
According to my ENT doc the best ( and least messy) way of removing ear wax is by scraping it out under direct vision with a curette made for that purpose. He doesn't think that using dissolving liquids like Debrox work well; I agree.
I have tried Debrox a few times and it has NEVER worked. The last time I used it twice a day for 5 days and squirt the warm water in to get the wax out. STILL NOTHING. GOOD LUCK if you're using Debrox. It doesn't work.
This is a subject I relate strongly to. I've used olive oil for my ears, using a dropper, then flushing them with a 50ml vet syringe, for many years. It really is the best way. A doctor I had 50 years ago (back when doctors were doctors), suggested a drop or two of oil each day or so, just to keep the wax soft and easy to remove. I think it's good to put a drop or two in the ears after a syringe job, to keep a thin film of oil where the wax has just been removed....
Once in a blue moon I'd get an itchy infection and it'd hard to resist the temptation to poke around with a cotton bud; I remember being warned to never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow. But this itchy infection is easily sorted out with garlic juice; the method being to make a mix of garlic juice with a ration of 1 part juice to 5 or 6 parts pure water. Exactly what ratio one uses is dependent on one's pain threshold. A couple of mill in the ear canal and tilt the head to keep it there .... should only take a couple of minutes. The slight pain is the action of the infection being killed; once the pain stops, the infection - and that annoying itch - are gone. Garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic and has many ways of being used for all kinds of things. (Some people even eat the stuff)
That's my method of ear care - olive oil, a small syringe and a garlic juicer if needed. The trick I've never learned though is to do these things as soon as there's a need to rather than wait until I can't stand it anymore ....
Have you ever experienced of swelling in some part inside of your ear?
PUT A TOWEL OVER YOUR PILLOW WHEN YOU GO TO BED, AFTER PUTTING OIL OR PEROXIDE IN YOUR EAR !
My 2 year old had visited the Dr. for wellness check up and stated that we should add drops of olive oil in his ears due to the buildup of wax in his ear. We had tried it, but I was still not sure, but I will have to try again due to the amount that seems stuck in the canal & this blog does a better job of explanation. Also I did use hydrogen peroxide on two occasions with my 8 & 7 yr old. I had seen on true stories of ER where a man had a bug lodged in his ear and they used it to kill the bug and it was safe for ear. It was such a strange story it stuck with me and one evening my son came to me and said he had a bug stuck in his ear and I tried the method and there was a bug and the ear Dr. said I did good in using the H. Peroxide to drown the bug and keep the ear disinfected. Another occasion my 7 yr old was crying complaining of his ear and afraid of another bug repeat I did the same thing w/ the H. Peroxide, but a hug ball of wax came out and it eased his pain, but next morning Dr. said it was ear infection. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your response! Peroxide is a useful anti-germicidal agent with many uses. Great as a mouthwash, for sanitizing cutting boards, and more. Would make a good blog post--look for it soon!
The final takeaway: when the gentle, well-tested home remedy doesn't do the trick, see the doctor.
My doctor suggested a few drops of hydrogen peroxide which liquifies the wax. One can hear the mixture "boiling". When the action stops, tilt the head and the liquified wax will run out.
