Best way to remove ear wax?

Originally Posted by yachtie

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Yeesh. Maybe people should use q-tips after all...

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

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I use a metal ear wax scoop thing that you can by at a Chinese general store.

Holy ****! WTF!

+2 on the please don't put metal things or Q-tips in your ear.

Since no one else has mentioned it, this is what I do: Lay on my side and pour a little hydrogen peroxide in my ear. Wait about 5 minutes and flip over, letting the peroxide and wax drain on to a tissue. Repeat as necessary. This softens up wax and "bubbles" it out.

Also, ear candling is pretty awesome and provides a "deep clean" with immediate results. A word of caution though...please don't attempt solo or you might just catch your head (or something else) on fire.

Q-tips and "ear scoops" I suppose are fine for the outer part of the ear but many get carried away, resulting in pushing wax into the ear canal....very, very bad.

I've heard that ear candles are essentially a scam and, like cotton swabs, can potentially be quite dangerous. At the same time, though, several of my friends as well as their family members use them regularly and claim they work.

Originally Posted by trogdor

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I once had a nurse syringe my ears, and it was incredible.

Needs.

To.

Get.

Out.

More.

what about how people, depending on race, have different kinds of ear wax? I guess you'd have to adjust your ear cleaning method based partly on that.

Originally Posted by trogdor

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I once had a nurse syringe my ears, and it was incredible.

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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Needs.

To.

Get.

Out.

More.

Kind of like getting out of a pair of shoes that are 2 sizes too small? Way back when I woke up in the middle of the night with the most incredible pain I've ever had...kind of like somebody jammed a golf ball inside my ear. Went to the ER and they bring out this industrial grade stainless steel ShopVac with like a 2' "needle" attached to the hose. Sucked that infection dry and it WAS the most incredible feeling I've ever had.

And on a related note...

Originally Posted by tundrafour

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I've heard that ear candles are essentially a scam and, like cotton swabs, can potentially be quite dangerous. At the same time, though, several of my friends as well as their family members use them regularly and claim they work.

I don't know? From what was reported it seems like they didn't know what they were doing or had never even seen the procedure. They say:

The "impurities" that appear in the collected wax (usually on a paper plate or other collecting device) are nothing more than the ashes from the burnt wick and wax of the cone itself.

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My cousin owns/runs the Piedmont School of Massage (for all you DC boys) and he candled half the family one Christmas. The collecting plate is so that candle ashes don't fall on the subject...the "impurities" stay inside the candle. There's no way your ear should get hot if it's done correctly.

I don't know how it works but I can tell you from my own experience that it does. For one, my cousin knows his ****...more than anyone I've ever known, about the human body. Further, I "felt" the difference and could hear better after candling. The proof for me that it wasn't in my mind though, is when he cut the candle up and showed me some black residue and said "you had an infection in this ear". That stuff wasn't in the other ear and he went on to be absolutely 100% correct when "reading" the candles from other family members. It was pretty gross but I'm telling you he was absolutely spot on.

Originally Posted by Garage/Surf Rock

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what about how people, depending on race, have different kinds of ear wax? I guess you'd have to adjust your ear cleaning method based partly on that.
I wasn't kidding you know. Read this : "There are two distinct genetically determined types of earwax: the wet type, which is dominant, and the dry type, which is recessive. Native Americans are more likely to have the dry type of cerumen (grey and flaky), whereas Asians, Caucasians, and Africans are more likely to have the wet type (honey-brown to dark-brown and moist). Cerumen type has been used by anthropologists to track human migratory patterns, such as those of the Inuit." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_wax

This site suggests using warm baby or mineral oil: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-saf...ve-ear-wax.htm

My right ear fills up with wax until I can't hear. It occurs every few years. It's caused by the shape of my ear canal.

Don't use q-tips - at least not deep. The only people who can use q-tips and not make things worse are people who don't have a problem with ear wax.

I use ear wax drops for several days followed by an ear "syringe". It's an all-rubber bulb that you use to shoot water into your ear. The drops loosen up the wax, and the syringe flushes it out.

Or, you can go to your doc and they will stick a real syringe in your ear (not all the way) and squirt water into it to clear it out. And, they can look inside and know they got everything.

I used this kit:
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp12439_33...val_system.htm

Originally Posted by bobmcbob

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My right ear fills up with wax until I can't hear. It occurs every few years. It's caused by the shape of my ear canal.

Don't use q-tips - at least not deep. The only people who can use q-tips and not make things worse are people who don't have a problem with ear wax.

I use ear wax drops for several days followed by an ear "syringe". It's an all-rubber bulb that you use to shoot water into your ear. The drops loosen up the wax, and the syringe flushes it out.

Or, you can go to your doc and they will stick a real syringe in your ear (not all the way) and squirt water into it to clear it out. And, they can look inside and know they got everything.

I used this kit:
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp12439_33...val_system.htm

Why wait until you can't hear to clean out your ears, and please don't waste a doctors time with something as trivial as squirting water.

Q-tip immediately, after showering.

An ENT

ENT's will tell you straight up that Q-tips are bad news.

Ears are self-cleaning. Stay the hell out of there and let 'em do their job.

If you get wax buildup from earbuds, then have a medical professional clean your ears for you. It's worth it, not only because it will be safer, but also because they'll do a fantastic job.

Having a good ear-cleaning is like getting an enima for your head. And most of us shitheads need that every once in a while.