Earwax may not be an especially pleasant substance, but it serves an important purpose. To be more specific, earwax is a substance that protects your ears.

The aforementioned substance prevents debris and dead skin cells from entering your ear canal. It also keeps bacteria from reaching your inner ear and potentially causing an infection. Earwax is also a natural lubricant that keeps the skin inside your ears sufficiently moisturized.

Still, earwax may cause some issues from time to time. Because of those issues, you may be tempted to remove your wax.

Is earwax removal something you can do safely? Find out by reading the rest of this article.

Why Is Earwax Buildup Problematic?

Before we detail the method for safely removing earwax, let’s first discuss why doing that may even be necessary. While having some earwax in your ear is not an issue, too much earwax can be troublesome.

If you have too much earwax in your ears, it could get impacted. Impacted earwax can cause different symptoms.

One of those symptoms is hearing loss. As the impacted earwax hardens, it could effectively block your ear canal and prevent sounds from getting in. Your hearing loss may also grow worse over time.

Aside from hearing loss, impacted earwax can also cause discomfort and itchiness. The earwax may also start to develop an unpleasant odor if you just ignore it.

How to Remove Earwax Safely

Now that you know the effects of leaving impacted earwax alone, it should be easy to see why you need to do something about it. Detailed below is a method for earwax removal that you can safely try at home.

Step 1: Soften the Earwax

Impacted earwax can get stuck in your ears because of how hard it has become. To remove it successfully, you need to soften it up first.

Mineral oil can be used to soften earwax. You will need a bulb syringe to control the flow of the mineral oil.

While tilting your head to the side, slowly drip mineral oil into your ear. You want to go slowly because you will only need a few drops. Five to seven drops of mineral oil should do the trick.

Let the mineral oil do its thing for about five minutes. Flush out your ears using water after that.

If you don’t have mineral oil available, you can also use baby oil, hydrogen peroxide or glycerin.

Step 2: Clean Your Ears

The next step is very similar to the first one. The only difference is that you will be using a mixture of baking soda and water instead of mineral oil. Mix half a teaspoon of baking soda into two to three ounces of warm water to create the cleaning liquid.

You can again use the bulb syringe to drop the cleaning liquid into your ears. After letting the mixture sit, you can flush it away with some water.

Step 3: Continue Cleaning Your Ears

Don’t assume that earwax drainage will work right away. It may take a few days before you start noticing any changes. You may need to repeat the steps mentioned above every day for up to two weeks to remove the impacted earwax inside your ears.

Step 4: Seek Professional Treatment

Hopefully, the method we just detailed for removing impacted earwax works for you. If it doesn’t, you may need to approach medical professionals for assistance.

They can use different tools and techniques to remove your impacted earwax safely. You are in safe hands if you choose to work with them.