{"id":841419,"date":"2026-08-02T00:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/841419\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:57:26","slug":"if-youre-going-to-clean-out-your-ears-yourself-heres-how-to-do-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/841419\/","title":{"rendered":"If You’re Going To Clean Out Your Ears Yourself, Here’s How To Do It Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our bodies produce all kinds of substances, and people have different tolerance levels for them. <\/p>\n

One that can be really bothersome is earwax. But believe it or not, this substance actually serves a purpose \u2015 and you need to be careful when it comes to removing it. <\/p>\n

Below, experts break down what you need to know about dealing with earwax and cleaning out your ears.<\/p>\n

First of all, you probably don\u2019t need to clean out your ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people do not need to remove their ear wax,\u201d said Dr. Erich P. Voigt, an associate professor in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. \u201cIt is a protective coating of the ear canal. It is a waterproofing agent and has anti-microbial properties. It helps prevent outer ear infections.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to protecting your ears from water damage and infection, earwax also lubricates the ears, preventing the area from feeling dry and itchy. And like other parts of the body<\/a>, ears are \u201cself-cleaning,\u201d so you don\u2019t really need to wash the inside area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink from an evolutionary standpoint,\u201d said Dr. Lawrence R. Lustig, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. \u201cIf Mother Nature designed an ear that had to be cleaned, that would be a poor design. We didn\u2019t have ear cleaners 500,000 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the system as a \u201cconveyer belt of skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEarwax is a combination of skin and oil,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cSkin migrates out from the eardrum to the outside of the ear canal, and as those migrating dead skin cells mix with the oil glands of the ear canal on the way out, that\u2019s where you get earwax.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people have a migration problem, produce too much wax or wax of an abnormal consistency. They might be prone to wax infections and require medical intervention to remove their earwax, which can block the ear and impair hearing. But for most of us, the wax clears out naturally as we go about our daily lives. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe body has a system for creating wax and pushing it out,\u201d said Dr. Bradley B. Block, an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon and host of the \u201cPhysician\u2019s Guide to Doctoring\u201d podcast. \u201cAs you chew and talk, the ear canal skin moves, and this pushes the wax out. Interfering with this system can lead to wax getting pushed in and accumulating, clogging the ear canal, so cleaning the ears can have the paradoxical effect of clogging the ear.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Your<\/p>\n

Jonathan Kitchen via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Your ears naturally clean themselves.<\/p>\n

But if you insist on doing it, don\u2019t use Q-tips.<\/p>\n

When you ask people what Q-tips are meant for, their answers will likely include cleaning out earwax. This practice has become so commonplace that Kevin James\u2019 character in \u201cHitch\u201d has a dance move<\/a> that mimics cleaning out the ears with a Q-tip.<\/p>\n

But pop culture fans might also remember that brutal scene from \u201cGirls\u201d when Hannah inserts a Q-tip too far into her ear and accidentally punctures her eardrum. The packaging for Q-tip products today even contains a clear warning: \u201cDo not insert inside the ear canal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, cotton swabs like Q-tips can scratch the ear canal and cause bleeding or even lead to ear drum damage. Bottom line: Cleaning out your ears with Q-tips is not a good idea. <\/p>\n

\u201cThink about diameter of ear canal and diameter of Q-tips,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t see what you\u2019re doing, you can end up sort of packing all that wax in with a Q-tips. A lot of the time it acts as a plunger. When I have someone come in with an earwax infection, half the time it\u2019s because they used Q-tips.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to packing the wax deeper and potentially causing it to get trapped in the ear, cleaning out your ears with Q-tips can lead to outer ear infections. <\/p>\n

\u201cStripping the wax out of the canal can also leave the skin dry, and dry skin can get itchy,\u201d Block added. \u201cThis leads to a cycle of using cotton swabs to clean out the wax, which makes them itch, so then you scratch with cotton swabs, which makes them itch, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

And bad news if you prefer using ear candles: In addition to causing other forms of potential harm, this method doesn\u2019t seem to work. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere have actually been studies to see the amount of wax that comes out,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem to help at all, and there\u2019s the risk of burning your ear doing it. It was trendy for awhile, but I think that trend has worn off \u2015 though I\u2019m sure ear candles will eventually arise from the dead like Lazarus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The better method for cleaning your ears is much simpler.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still wanting to clean your ears, just focus on the outside area and any wax that\u2019s already on its way out. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy general recommendation for people is let the body do its job,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cLet that skin migration with the wax come out on its own. Take a wet washrag onto your finger and clean out whatever comes to the entry point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Block and Voigt recommended simply letting the normal showering and hair washing process clean the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust wipe the outside with a soapy finger or washcloth,\u201d Block said. <\/p>\n

There are also products like Debrox drops, which contain carbamide peroxide (a combination of hydrogen peroxide and urea) to help dissolve the earwax. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll often use that or straight up hydrogen peroxide,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cHydrogen peroxide softens up those harder blocks. It\u2019s safe to use assuming you don\u2019t have a hole in your eardrum, which most people don\u2019t. Sometimes the wax is really hard and we can use these mini tweezers called alligator forceps to clear it out. Sometimes it\u2019s really soften and we suction it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

To clean out the ear with a solution like Debrox (or a similar solution of hydrogen peroxide and water, for instance), be sure follow the instructions on the product. Generally, the process involves lying on your side, administering a few drops, waiting a few minutes and then sitting up and blotting the area. You can then generally use warm water in the shower to flush out the ear. <\/p>\n

Still, as previously noted you really don\u2019t need to clean out your earwax unless there\u2019s a problem \u2015 and even then, it\u2019s best to have a medical professional handle the process. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe ear canal is sensitive and has a lot of nerve endings,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cA light touch that might feel like a tickle elsewhere can really hurt in the ear. So I wouldn\u2019t go putting things in there. And you have to be careful when irrigating the ear not to perforate the eardrum. You have to be careful to direct the jet of fluid in the correct location on the back wall.\u201d <\/p>\n

See a doctor as soon as you notice an issue<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not likely to experience issues with wax buildup, but if you do, be sure to seek professional help. When your ear canal gets blocked, you may feel like you have an earplug in all the time, experience difficulty hearing or feel like your voice is echoing when you talk. <\/p>\n

Doctors can help clear out the wax and check for other issues. Lustig noted that what some people suspect to be wax infection can actually be a bigger problem. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had patients come to see me with sudden hearing loss, and when I look in the ear, it\u2019s clear and there\u2019s no problem with the eardrum,\u201d he said. \u201cIt turned out a virus got into the inner ear and caused inner ear damage.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you ever notice a sudden change in hearing, you should make an appointment with a professional as soon as possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are several things that can arise in the ear with a change in hearing that are worrisome or dangerous,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a limited time window to treat it. Some other things that can mimic hearing loss are much more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our bodies produce all kinds of substances, and people have different tolerance levels for them. One that can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":841420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84],"class_list":["post-841419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}