Sometimes earwax clogs the ear so badly that hearing is impaired. But what can you do to prevent it from happening in the first place?
The most important things at a glance
Many people use cotton swabs to clean their ears as a matter of course. Ear, nose and throat doctors advise against it again and again. Because this pushes the earwax further and further into the ear. It collects in front of the eardrum and forms a solid plug that can only be removed by a doctor.
Cotton buds are taboo
Cotton swabs are also not recommended because they are hard, as they can cause ear injuries, which are usually very painful. The cotton can also come loose and get stuck in the ear. Then you should definitely see a doctor. The chopsticks can cause ear injuries, especially in children.
Ear sprays an alternative?
In the pharmacy you can also get sprays and drops for cleaning the ears, which are supposed to soften the earwax. But that doesn’t always work. If the ear is already blocked and you can’t hear anything, such drops and sprays usually only make it worse.
Info: Often the liquid only loosens the surface of the plug, the ear canal sticks together and the plug is still there. In addition, drops are often not tolerated and cause irritation in the ear. Such products can only be used preventively, but they are quite expensive.
Stay away from metal loops
In addition to sprays, there are also metal loops in the pharmacy that you can use to remove a plug or earwax yourself. However, experts clearly advise against this, because the risk of injuring oneself with the metal in the ear is very high.
Chewing helps loosen the earwax
Basically, ears can be cleaned without much effort, because they do a lot on their own. In the course of time, the earwax moves over the fine hairs in the ear canal in the direction of the auricle. The movement is created by our jaw muscles when chewing. The ear moves with it and the earwax slowly slips further out and can be easily removed – preferably with a washcloth or cotton pad.
Gentle cleaning in the shower
Tip for a gentle cleaning of the ears: While you are in the shower, simply let some water run into the ear, this will dissolve the earwax and the ear will be clean. You don’t even need soap for that. To pat dry, you can wrap a cosmetic tissue into a small funnel so you cannot injure the eardrum. However, this is not suitable for people with an eardrum defect.
Be careful with ear candling
Putting a candle in your ear and lighting it to get rid of earwax sounds bizarre. Such an ear candle is made of beeswax and cotton and is shaped like a funnel. The heat is supposed to soften the earwax – the negative pressure created by the heat is supposed to pull it out of the ear. But this method has many risks: dripping wax can cause burns.
In the worst case, however, it can also flow into the ear canal and clog the ear. In addition, the cleaning effect is low. Therefore, experts advise against this method.
This helps with itchy ears
The skin in the ear has the same structure as anywhere else on the body. It can also happen in the ear that the skin becomes dry and therefore itchy.
In this case, too, you should definitely not use any tool: if your ear itches, you can carefully drip a little olive or sunflower oil into your ear with a pipette. The next time you take a shower, the residue is then rinsed out of the ear with water.
