Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Odd question: how often do you clean out the wax from ears?

I will try to clean out the wax from my ears every 6 months with an over the counter wax remover such as debrox. I last had my ears cleaned out by a doctor in 2011.. I think it may be time for another visit.

I ask ust to see if musicians here are ever concerned about this. Last time I had my ears cleaned by ENT, it may made a world of difference in my hearing..

-David

*Disclaimer: I'm not a medical doctor, but I'm working on my PhD in health research*

I chalk this up along with "detox colon cleanses" and the like. Yes, it can sound disturbing to imagine "toxins" and "buildup" developing in your body, but your body functions well, and its parts probably work together perfectly already without your help. If you're eating well, exercising, resting, etc, this kind of thing should be largely unnecessary.

In my opinion, this kind of treatment is mostly about helping a person feel better about their negative emotions related to the body part or system (eg. "I feel bad that I always listen to really loud music, so I'll treat my ears to this special earwax removal to compensate" or "I always eat such junk, I should compensate by doing an ultra-healthy new-agey cleanse"). There may be real physical problems, but the cleansing approach usually isn't actually addressing the real source of the problem.

However, I grant that some people have minor disorders of earwax production that could lead to hearing problems. I just don't think it applies to a very large proportion of the population.

I agree with MarkH and I do have some medical background. Cerumen, or ear wax, actually protects your ears from bacteria and foreign objects. Most people do not need to remove it because excess wax comes out on its own. Rarely someone will make an excess amount of earwax and that may need to be removed but this is uncommon. If you are having a problem hearing because of compacted ear wax I suspect you are poking at it with a swab. This can easily puncture your eardrum. I was taught that I should never put anything into my ears that is smaller than my elbow.

Incidentally, if you are interested, there is a link between wet vs dry ear wax and body odor.

I recommend going every 6 months to the doctor for an ear-cleaning.

For some reason, I've always produced lots of earwax. I now never use q-tips/cotton swab thingies. Instead, I have a little rubber squeeze syringe and I flush my ears out with water mixed with a bit of hydrogen peroxide, followed by straight water. I do this about once a month and it does the job!

Same here, peroxide and squeeze bulb. Every few months, like tuning the piano....

Well I think the frequency would certainly depend on the individual. I have a physical once a year, and the last time I went, the doctor found no significant amounts of ear wax.

He did mention, however (hopefully this would not apply to anyone here!), that in some smokers he had seen quite a build-up of nicotine.

OMG, that's what I do to clean my dog's ears. I guess vet knows better

Some computer repair places refuse to work on computers owned by smokers. This is the sort of thing that happens.

If you are concerned about ear wax and cleaning, I can vouch (as well as more than 500 reviews) for this. Once I forgot to remove in-earphones and slept overnight. The wax melted and stuck in the canal.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AcuLife-Ear...&sr=8-1&keywords=ear+wax+remover

Never 'clean' out the wax from ears unless there's a very good reason. Whatever you do, don't let a cotton bud anywhere near - I've seen horrendous injuries (perforated tympanic membranes etc) caused by them. The wax just drops out by itself eventually.

Those unfortunate people who develop chronic impacted wax problems that require suction cleaning on a regular basis have, as likely as not, caused the problem to themselves by destroying their ear canals' self-cleansing mechanisms by regular 'cleaning'. Or by developing recurrent otitis externa (which leads to discharge), which can also be caused by the same.

When my doc looks into my ears and says the wax needs to be cleaned out, he sends the nurse in to do it.

Somehow, humanity has gotten along for many thousands of centuries without having the wax removed. I would suggest that what does not come out with bath soap, warm water, a washcloth with a finger in it, is ok where it is.

If you remember back to kindergarten, when you were told never to put any kind of instrument, foreign object such as beans, or q-tip into your ears... then you have pretty well heard the last word on the subject.

So, the answer to your question, "How often do you..." is, "Never."

My ENT pontificates: Leave them alone.

I use Audiclean.