Are you struggling with excess dirt in and around your ears? This is a common issue and usually takes the form of earwax. However, you might also find that there is flaking skin in or around your ears too as well as black specks of dirt. When you have this difficulty, you might start to think in terms of ear cleaning. You can speak to your audiologist about this possibility. However, for now, here are a few do’s and don’ts of ear cleaning that you should consider.

Do:

Seek professional help

It is important that you seek professional help if you are thinking about cleaning your ears. If you don’t seek a professional like an audiologist, then you will find yourself exploring some dangerous and unhelpful possibilities. These include ear candling and using cotton swabs. With an audiologist, you will receive an expert treatment where your ears are carefully looked after and cleaned appropriately. The whole process is quick and completely pain-free.

Check for signs your ears need cleaning

You need to make sure you are checking for signs that your ears do need cleaning. Common signs include hearing a ringing in your ear. As well as being a sign of tinnitus, it can also show that the wax in your ear has hardened and must be removed.

Clean the outside of your ears regularly

Finally, you should not be attempting to clean out your inner ear yourself if you can avoid it. You can, however, make sure that you clean your outer ear. This is far less vulnerable than your inner ear and can get quite dirty. You can clean it with a damp flannel or cloth before completing your normal morning ablutions.

Don’t:

Use cotton swabs

It can be tempting to give your ears a quick clean out with cotton swabs. Since cotton swabs are soft, you might assume that they are safe to use on your ears. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Cotton swabs are actually quite rough on the surface of the inner workings of your ear. As well as this, they can be inserted deep enough to cause serious damage to key areas of your ear such as the eardrum. If you look on the box or packet for cotton swabs, you will actually see a warning not to insert them in your ear specifically for this reason.

Panic

You might be worried that excessive levels of dirt in your ears is a cause for alarm. The good news is that typically that is not the case. Excessive dirt is a common problem and it’s also completely harmless. However, it can cause various issues in your ear that are not life-threatening but will likely be irritating.

Try ear candling

There are various theories and methods online people suggest as ways to clean your ear. Ear candling is one of the worse and involves the use of a lit candle as well as heat being funneled directly into your ear. If this isn’t bad enough, it can also lead to severe problems with the workings of your ear too.