Cleaning your ears seems to be a prerequisite for personal hygiene. However, such a simple procedure is not as easy as it seems. Not every person knows how to clean their ears, and often this leads to aggravation of problems and partial hearing loss.

Nature independently provided the means necessary for human hygiene.

Our ears are capable of self-cleaning, and the body of a healthy person can cope with the removal of accumulated sulfur and dead tissue cells.

A thin layer of sulfur in the ear is even necessary - it is not dirt itself, but protects the ears from harmful substances.

How to clean your ears?

To an adult

In everyday life, cotton swabs are commonly used to clean ears. However, if you follow the advice of doctors, it turns out that this is not the best way. The sticks can damage the protective layer in the ear canal, and as a result, you can earn the risk of inflammation. Moreover, if you stop the active production of earwax, the skin will begin to dry excessively and become vulnerable.

The best way to clean your ears is to rinse them while taking a shower. As a result, excess sulfur will be removed without any damage. This procedure does not hurt if it is carried out daily, but it is best not to wash your ears more often than several times a week.

Baby, newborn

 

Children need to regularly clean their ears to remove dirt in a timely manner. The safest way is to rinse your ears with your hands with water or use a soft cloth to clean the outside of your ear. You can’t completely insert cotton buds and other objects into the ear canal in an attempt to remove sulfur, this will entail a ramming of the dirt inside the ear.

Cleaning children’s ears with hydrogen peroxide is not recommended.

If sulfur plugs appear in the child’s ear, the ear canal can be cleaned with olive oil. This is a natural product that, unlike medications, is not capable of causing chemical damage.

Apply no more than two to four drops of oil. Warm the oil to room temperature, holding the container with it in your hands. Pour the liquid into a pipette and drop it into the ear of a child lying on its side. After a few minutes, the baby may get up. The cork should resolve, and the unpleasant symptoms go away. If this does not happen, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

How to clean your ears?

In ideal conditions, in the absence of health problems, ordinary people will have enough ordinary water to clean them. If you wish, you can wet a cotton cloth with water (without soap and other means) and clean the sink with it to remove excess sulfur, but you should not do this too often.

Unnecessarily, do not clean your ears too often with chopsticks - they will only push dirt deeper into the ear canal. In no case do not use matches, toothpicks, metal objects, they injure your ears.

Recently, fitovoronki - fabric candles moistened with beeswax have become a popular means. Such funnels are inserted into the ear canal and set on fire. Although some people find this method effective in treating ear diseases, using such products is not undesirable, it is a health hazard.

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Can hydrogen peroxide be used?

Doctors do not give an unambiguous answer to the question, is it permissible to clean the ears with hydrogen peroxide, or not. Many people think that this is an inappropriate and harmful procedure that can lead to health problems, irritation and dryness. According to other sources, the abundant release of sulfur can be effectively reduced with peroxide without negative consequences.

 

It is possible to use hydrogen peroxide 3% in the presence of sulfur plugs by dropping three drops of the drug (or half a pipette) into the ear canal and plugging the ear with cotton or gauze for 15-20 minutes. After this, you need to remove the cotton wool and clean out the softened earwax. Repeat the procedure several times a day.

In any case, it is too often not worth using hydrogen peroxide, as it will dry the skin. The procedure is recommended to be carried out under the supervision of a specialist.

The use of pharmaceutical preparations

Funds purchased at a pharmacy should only be used if sulfur plugs are present.

Drugs may be required if there is one of the following symptoms:

  • pain in the ears;
  • congestion of hearing organs, impaired hearing;
  • noise is heard, a buzz;
  • excessive unpleasant discharge, smell.

Numerous softening agents for earwax are suitable for self-cleaning sulfur plugs. It can be glycerin, liquid paraffin, or drops specially designed for cleansing the ears. The most popular drugs are Remo-Vax, Auro, Debrox, Drops, A-Tserumen and others, which are recommended in a pharmacy. To determine the effectiveness of the product, study the composition - it should include carbamide peroxide. This is a substance that will help soften the sulfur plug.

Drops containing castor oil are not recommended by doctors. Such agents remove sulfur too carefully, removing the protective layer from the eardrum. This can lead to microbial growth and infections.

The use of any ear drops, phyto-candles and hydrogen peroxide is contraindicated for those who suffer from moderate and chronic otitis media. Self-treatment will only aggravate the situation.

How often?

 

Contrary to popular belief, trying too often to clean your ears will do more harm than good for both adults and children. Sufficiently timely hygienic procedures - cleaning the auricle and the vestibule of the ear canal a couple of times a week.If it seems to you that your ears have been blocked, your hearing has worsened and you have painful sensations, the right decision would be to seek the help of a specialist, and not make any attempts to recover yourself. For prevention, visit the otolaryngologist once a year.