SAFE AND EFFECTIVE EAR CLEANING

You have heard the admonition since childhood: cleaning out your ears is considered part of good daily hygiene. You have likely bought cotton swabs solely for that purpose. At Johnson Audiology, we are here to turn that old adage on its ear and instead give this advice: NEVER stick a cotton swab in your ear! You heard that correctly! Cotton swabs should never be used to clean out your ears. A cotton swab can easily penetrate too deeply and damage your eardrum. Also, it may push wax deeper into the ear canal causing impaction and blocking sound.

Granted, ears naturally produce wax, also called cerumen, and while that wax is all part of your ear’s normal process of self-cleaning to protect the deeper structures from dust and other foreign particles, too much ear wax can be troublesome.

Ear wax production is dependent on many factors. Some people produce more wax than others. Ear wax also may be more prolific during hot humid weather.

While ear wax is normal, over-production our build-up over a lifetime can affect your hearing, causing conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is some sort of interruption in the transfer of sound waves in the outer ear, middle ear, or eardrum. Cerumen impaction is one of the leading causes of conductive hearing loss. It can also cause and worsen tinnitus.

The good news is that audiologists have access to cerumen removal tools that can restore your hearing if wax is the main culprit. Though it may be tempting to try to gain relief through at-home earwax removal, it can be dangerous or lead to long-term issues if done improperly.

If you have sudden, unexpected hearing loss in one or both ears, earwax build-up or impaction may be the cause. But, it is not the only potential explanation. Rather than try to use a home remedy to remove earwax and potentially injure yourself, call Johnson Audiology. We will help you schedule a hearing assessment and determine the cause or causes of your hearing loss. If wax impaction is the cause, our audiologists can use the proper equipment to safely and effectively remove the build-up.