Earwax---although most people view the sticky substance as an annoyance, it inhibits bacteria, dust and various other potentially harmful substances from entering your ear canal. Cleaning out earwax is generally a simple, pain-free experience, but sometimes you or your doctor may need to remove built-up wax chunks with the help of drops of liquid, a spray of water or special medical tools.
Cloth or Tissue
Ideally, earwax loosens and separates into small chunks, working its way to the outside of your ears over time and as the result of physical motions, such as chewing and talking, which promote movement in your ear canals. As the wax protrudes naturally from your ear canals, you can clean it manually using a soft cloth or tissue. Never try to manually remove wax from your ear canals using cotton swabs or other sharp, pointed objects, such as hair pins; shoving these objects into your ear canals could actually push the wax further back into your ears, often leading to wax compaction, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Oil Drops
If you experience signs of a wax blockage, such as worsening hearing or itching in your ear canal, your primary care doctor may recommend that you try to loosen the wax with oil drops. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, acceptable oil-based drops include mineral oil, olive oil and almond oil. These oil-based drops coat the pieces of hardened earwax, which makes them more likely to slip easily from your ear canal. Use no more than four drops of oil in your ear twice each day for a maximum of four days.
Hydrogen Peroxide Drops
Hydrogen peroxide provides a water-based treatment that serves as an alternative to oil-based drops for cleaning out earwax. If you opt for hydrogen peroxide, be prepared for plenty of bubbly action when you fill the ear canal of the affected ear with the peroxide, as recommended by the AAFP. The AAFP also suggests that you thoroughly clean out the wax by following up with an irrigation treatment 15 to 30 minutes after the hydrogen peroxide treatment.
Irrigation
Although you may also use water irrigation after instilling liquid drops in your ears, spraying a gentle squirt of plain water---always cooled to body temperature---into your ear may be all the treatment you need to fix certain mild cases of wax compaction. Never spray the water directly at the chunk of wax itself or else you risk pushing it further back in the ear canal. Rather, MedlinePlus states that you should point the spray of water so that it lands on the part of the ear canal located directly next to the wax chunk.
Manual Removal
In the event that liquid drops and irrigation can't budge a hardened chunk of wax from your ear canal, your doctor may need to manually remove the stubborn piece of wax. Using small, specialized instruments and a microscope---and even suction, in certain instances---your doctor will dislodge and remove the offending pieces of wax. According to the AAOHNS, your doctor will generally opt to clean out your earwax manually if you have narrow ear canals, ear tubes in place or diabetes, or if he suspects a perforated eardrum.
