Earguy: A little wax on the walls of the canal is supposed to be there.

I don't mind a little wax, but how do I get a buffer in there to polish it up and make it look good?

Straightened paper clip.

I use peroxide for 5 min then a q-tip
/The bubbles feels so good

STOP YELLING! I'M BLIND, NOT DEAF!

For 20+ years I've just lathered up my ear with plain bar soap and rinsed it with my head tilted such that some of it drained into my hear--deep, to the point where my eardrum felt/sounded like it was underwater. Then I'd tilt my head the other way to let it drain out. Then I'd repeat with clear water (i.e., no soap), and repeat everything for the other ear.

I have no idea if doing that is dangerously retarded or not, but it's worked for me--never had any wax buildup or infections. I could just be predisposed to clean ear canals though, I have no idea.

drjekel_mrhyde: I use peroxide for 5 min then a q-tip
/The bubbles feels so good

Thats what I did the one time I had a major blockage and couldn't hear. Peroxide for about 15 mins, then rinse and repeat as necessary. Nothing more cathartic that laying on your side and hearing/feeling a *Pop* and all of a sudden you can hear again.

St_Francis_P: My doctor told me to do that, and it has been working.

Good to know, thanks.

I do all that in the shower on a daily basis, just in case it wasn't obvious. Pretty easy to do with a shower head, as opposed to holding your head under the faucet or something.

After getting new earphones that go pretty deep in my ear, I am suddenly intensely aware of the existence of ear wax, so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

/strangest bookmark ever

Once a doctor pulled a lump of wax out of my left ear that weighed almost six ounces, he said it was the biggest he had ever seen and that he was going to send it in for certification as a record, but I never heard back from him.

I figure he sent it in all right, but claimed it was HIS lump of wax so that he would get known as the new record holder.

So if you do go to the doctor, make sure the lump of wax never leaves your possession.

I was deaf in one ear after a sinus infection for about a week when I finally went to the doctor. They used that Buick-sized syringe full of HOT water...twice. Man it was great when I could finally hear again. Cost me $75 but it was worth it.

I really wish there was a good home remedy for this. Everything I read says, more or less, whatever you do, DON'T DO ANYTHING! And the drops never work for me either. The only thing that works costs $75 each time.

In polite society, always extend the pinky finger when removing impacted ear wax.

I used olive oil to clear a block. Lie on your side, have someone pour it in. Wait 15 mins, rinse with warm water using an ear bulb several times until clear.

I highly recommend getting a good ear curette set / earwax spoon online. Much safer than a paperclip, that's for sure.

I finally found one in the U.S., it was a ring scoop, but the safety barrier let it just barely touch the outside edge of your ear if you squished your lobe down painfully. I dremeled the barrier off and had some of the cleanest ears I'd ever had until the cheap plastic broke after a couple months.

So went online a bought two sets of curettes with two spoon sizes and tweezers that illuminate for doing it to someone else. I have used it during/after a shower for a couple years now and they so far haven't broke in my ear like the flimsy U.S. counterpart did.

Only had one minor ear infection since too. Prior to getting curettes, I'd had several over my life including one really nasty otitis externum and otitis media double whammy on both ears just before buying curettes.

/ Have dreams of having my ears cleaned in some East Asian ear parlor
// But only if they use autoclaved metal instruments...

Lloyd demonstrates the proper ear cleaning technique.

weave: I use Q-tips to clean out the inside of my belly button. IS THAT OK?

I've been doing this for quite some time now.

Short answer: No

Long answer: Earwax is a natural protective secretion which dries up and flakes off once it is pushed out of the ear canal. Other than aesthetics there is little to gain by cleaning your ears, and a lot to lose. Outer ear infection or tympanic membrane rupture is a real stupid thing to get because you stuck a cotton tipped stick into your head. Clean them when you need to look your best, otherwise just wipe the inside of your ear and the very end of the ear canal with a wet cloth to get rid of any flakes.

/ENT final in a few days

Sorry I like my Q-tips. If I don't clean my ears for a few days they feel icky and itchy. Then again I sleep with earplugs in my ears every night so I have to clean my ears out regularly for that reason alone or else the wax gets pushed back. Yah I'm probably going to go deaf at some point :/.

Safer than using one of these:

I had part of the tip of a name brand real deal cotton swab stick break off in my ear. For a week it sounded and felt just like I had water trapped in there and I didn't even know what was causing it. Had to go to the ear specialist who was nice enough not to charge me full price for what ended up being a simple ear flush.

In before sanctimonious ENT pri--

dfacto: Short answer: No

Long answer: Earwax is a natural protective secretion which dries up and flakes off once it is pushed out of the ear canal. Other than aesthetics there is little to gain by cleaning your ears, and a lot to lose. Outer ear infection or tympanic membrane rupture is a real stupid thing to get because you stuck a cotton tipped stick into your head. Clean them when you need to look your best, otherwise just wipe the inside of your ear and the very end of the ear canal with a wet cloth to get rid of any flakes.

/ENT final in a few days

DOH!

I'm so glad I read fark occasionally. Think of all the scintillating articles I'd miss if I didn't stumble over articles like this occasionally.

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Try hydrogen peroxide. Pour a little in your ear and let it sink in, then wash it out. Kills any bacteria in the canal, and the fizzing action works to clear anything loose out.

Try using bleach. It will dissolve the wax almost instantly (or at least turn it into a liquid form). You can then flush it out with some gently-flowing warm water.

As a warning though, you want to make sure to flush it out thoroughly (at least 10 seconds of water should do this). Otherwise the bleach residue will dry and you'll hear a popping sound as newly-formed wax makes contact with the residue.

My left ear makes moist, goopy earwax, while my right ear produces dry and flaky wax. Other than that, I have almost superhuman hearing.

Thanks CNN for dipping back into some farking almanac from 1954.

I think I am blessed to have a wife who absolutely loves cleaning my ears while I lay my head on her lap as we watch the telly. I thought it was bizarre as hell at first, but no, she just has that old school vibe. Any loose skin on my scalp? She's on it. Ain't nothin' better.

I like to straighten out a paperclip and wriggle it around in there. It's a wonderful feeling, try it! It's like aural masturbation!

sometimes a paper clip where I bent the end over into a loop, at home I use q-tips

I just be a woman, then I don't have this awful problem.

I can actually smell it when my husband's ears are in need of earwax cleaning. He had it get completely blocked once and infected. When I got that out for him, he was amazed at how well he could hear.

Man ear is icky. :(

My father-in-law was a faithful Qtipper. He went to the doc in his late 40's to get a hearing aid. Instead they pulled out 25 year old rock hard earwax plugs that looked like cigar butts and suddenly he could hear again, "Its a miracle".

CSB time......
I vacationed in Acapulco last year. The second day down there, I woke up and couldn't hear out of my left ear. Freaked me out. The girl I was dating at the time had Q-tips, but I only made it worse.
I finally gave in and saw a Mexican physician on the resort grounds. He took warm water from a coffee pot on the exam room counter and flushed out about 2 pounds of ear wax into a bowl. It was red and laced with beach sand. Best feeling of my life. Best $50 I spent that weekend.
The only regret I have is removing the wax so early in the trip. I should have plugged both ears so I wouldn't to listen to the harpy I was dating at the time.

Every so often I just use the fingernail of my index finger to scrape out whatever is in my ear. I wait until near the end of a shower though, because it means that the nail is soft and flexible, and I can just rinse the glob of wax down the drain.

earwax thread?

I once pulled a gunk of earwax out of my ear that was the diameter of a pencil eraser and about half and inch long. Had the wierdest feeling sliding out..never had that much earwax again.

My mom had some kind of wierd earwax obsession. We all had to get our ears cleaned by her with a bobby pin of all things on a regular basis. Is this a redneck thing? I dunno. I had regular ear infections (=biannual at least) my entire life until I got my tonsils out..best decision I ever made.