If you do not have a problem such as ear congestion, you can wipe only the pinna part of your ears with a wet cloth to remove dirt from the ear canal. Or you can wash the outer part of your ear. Ear cleaning is a risky business and is safest done by a doctor. If you want to clean your ear yourself at home, you can make it worse. You should be careful with this. If you still prefer to clean your ear yourself, here are a few ways to do it:
Damp cloth: Cotton swabs, which are sold almost everywhere and everyone has them at home, push the wax deeper into the ear canal. Therefore, you should not prefer to use cotton swabs inside the ear. It would be a healthier method to use ear sticks only on the outside of the ear. An even healthier method would be to wipe the area you think is dirty with a warm and damp cloth.
Ear candles: Another method that is wrong to prefer is ear candles. Long, cone-shaped candles are inserted into the ear canal and the tip is set on fire to suck up the wax. This is a very risky method. Because fire can cause injury or the candle inserted into the ear can block the ear canal. For this reason, it would be right to stay away from ear candles.
If you experience ear congestion caused by more than one ear wax during the year, you should seek support from an otolaryngologist without wasting time and do not neglect your routine checks.
How to clean the ear?
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the safest and healthiest way to clean the wax accumulated in the ear is to consult a specialist. An otolaryngologist can safely clean the ear. The otolaryngologist will look inside the ear with the necessary equipment and give you various suggestions about your problem.
He or she may ask you to soften the wax with various medications before cleaning the ear. If there is an infection inside the ear, he may prescribe various medications to treat it. Or, if there is an edema in your ear, he may prefer to treat it first. When you go back to your doctor after the necessary preparations:
- Ear lavage
- Removal of the bulb with a curette,
- Your ear congestion can be treated by choosing the most appropriate aspiration method for your case.
At this point, many people may think that ear washing is something that can be habit-forming. But washing the ear is not habit-forming. However:
- People with a different shape of the ear canal than normal,
- People whose glands in the ear canal produce more cerumen than normal,
- People with a narrower than normal ear canal,
- People who use hearing aids or headphones,
- People who are exposed to dusty environments,
- People with insufficient self-cleaning of the ear canal may need to have their ears cleaned 1-2 times a year.
You should discuss your need and frequency of ear washing with your doctor. If you have the factors mentioned above, you should make an appointment and consult a doctor immediately.
