How Does the Doctor Clean my Ears?

When it comes to an extensive ear cleaning, you should trust your hearing professional to perform the task. While a light cleaning of your ears at home is fine, if you’re experiencing earwax buildup or any other hearing-related issues, your hearing provider is going to be able to not only treat your issues, but help determine what the cause may be.

Should you clean your ears with cotton swabs?

It cannot be stressed enough that you should never try to clean out an impaction of wax or blockage in your ear canal on your own. Many people believe cotton swabs are the answer to removing any blockages caused by wax, but they’re actually not made to use inside your ear canal. Inserting cotton swabs into your ears actually increase the chance that you’ll push the blockage further into the ear canal, or worse, rupture an eardrum. If a blockage is bothering you enough that you’re noticing it, try calling your hearing care specialist to find out if any over-the-counter treatments will work or if you should come into the office.

What are the signs of a blockage?

How can you tell if you have a blockage or impaction in your ears? You may notice you a heavy or full feeling in your head or ears. Additionally, you may develop a ringing in your ears or hearing loss. Your ears may also ache. While a minimal amount of earwax is completely normal and healthy, an excessive amount can cause additional problems and encourage more debris or dirt to be trapped in your ear.

How do hearing care professionals clean ears?

So how does your hearing health professional clean your ears? Most hearing providers will use a form of irrigation to clean your ears. This means that your hearing specialist will insert a syringe-like tool into your ear with a water or water-saline mixture. The liquid is used to moisten and loosen up the build-up of earwax to flush out your ears. This flushing process may need to be performed a few times in order to remove the blockage from your ears. Most people find the process to be uncomfortable, but not painful, and fairly quick. Be sure to advise your hearing care professional throughout the process of any discomfort you are experiencing.

Once the hearing provider has removed the blockage and finished cleaning your ears, they will advise you on any tips and tricks you can do at home to avoid another impaction in the future. If you have any questions about your ear cleaning and maintenance routine, make sure to take advantage of this appointment to discuss them thoroughly with your hearing specialist.