Publication date Sep 11, 2007
Ear wax is not a problem unless it builds up and blocks your ear. But if this does happen, it can stop you hearing properly. Don’t try removing the wax with cotton buds. This can make the problem worse. You'll need to see a doctor or nurse to have the wax removed. Usually this is easy and painless.
We all make ear wax. Normally the wax moves slowly to the outside of your ear where you wash it away. But the wax can sometimes build up and block your ear.
Sometimes a build-up of wax can cover the eardrum. Your eardrum is a thin layer of skin that stretches across the end of your ear canal. It picks up sound from outside. So an ear wax plug may stop you hearing properly. The hearing loss isn't likely to be serious, but it can be frustrating.
You might be more likely to get problems with ear wax if you wear a hearing aid or use ear plugs. These can stop the natural flow of ear wax, causing it to build up.
A build-up of ear wax has nothing to do with poor hygiene. You can't prevent a build-up by washing or removing the wax yourself.
In fact, you can make the problem worse by trying to remove wax yourself, for example by using cotton buds. If you try to do this, you can push the ear wax farther into the ear canal and make it harder to get out. You can also damage your ear canal or eardrum.
If you've got a build-up of wax in your ear you may feel as if you've lost most of the hearing in that ear. This can be annoying. If you've got a build-up of ear wax in both ears, you may find it difficult to hold a conversation.
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Your doctor will look into your ear to see whether wax is blocking your ear canal.
If you have a build-up of ear wax that doesn't go away on its own, you can try using ear drops that contain wax softeners. The aim is to help break up the wax. But there's not much research on whether wax softeners work on their own to clear ear wax.
You can buy wax softeners from a pharmacy. Some brand names are Cerumol, Exterol, Molcer and Waxsol. You can also use simple remedies such as olive oil, almond oil or sodium bicarbonate ear drops instead of the brand-name ear drops.
Some people find that wax softeners irritate the skin in the ear.
If ear wax is causing you problems, your doctor might suggest having your ears syringed. To do this, a nurse or doctor squirts warm water into your ear through a tube. This should weaken and move the wax. You'll need to hold a small basin under your ear for the water and wax that comes out. It will probably take a few minutes for the plug of ear wax to be moved.
Ear syringing works well. Your doctor may give you ear drops to soften the wax before syringing.
Ear syringing isn’t usually painful. But it can be uncomfortable and can make you feel dizzy. Sometimes ear syringing doesn’t work at first, so your doctor or nurse may need to do it again.
Ear syringing can occasionally have side effects. It may cause an infection in your ear, a split eardrum or damage to the skin inside your ear. Although there’s no research on how often one of these problems happens, it’s probably only once in every few hundred treatments.
If you have too much ear wax, your doctor or nurse may try to remove it with a special instrument. There is also a treatment called micro-suction to clear the ear canal of wax. But this tends to be done only by specialists. Doctors think that these ways of removing wax can help some people with ear wax plugs even though there hasn’t been much research on them.
About a third of people with ear wax plugs find that the wax goes away on its own after about five days without any treatment. But if your ear or ears are still blocked, the wax can probably be removed with ear syringing.
If your hearing doesn't improve after you've been treated for an ear wax plug, your doctor will do more tests to find out what's causing the problem.
This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
This information does not replace medical advice.
If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.