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Should You Remove Your Own Earwax?
Earwax (also known as cerumen) is a natural part of our bodies, which we all produce. It is formed by the natural shedding of skin cells within our outer ear (see image below), hairs and dirt that combine with oils from sebaceous glands and with sweat. It can be extremely useful for our ears as it has a natural lubrication and also has antibacterial properties.

However, earwax can cause us problems within our ears. Excessive wax can cause problems for sound to travel through your ear, causing a temporary or increased hearing loss. It can also cause occlusion, which makes your own voice sound boomy, like you have your head in a barrel. Occlusion can also exacerbate tinnitus, making it sound much louder than it normally is. For those who wear hearing aids, excessive wax can cause the sound to reflect back into the microphone of the aid causing feedback (a whistling sound from your hearing aid).

Earwax can also vary in colour from yellow to darker yellow/orange and even black. The longer the wax has been in your ear, the more it oxidises causing it to become darker and harder. The older the wax, the more difficult it can be to remove.

Using olive oil ear drops/sprays can help soften earwax making it much easier for it to be removed. However, with the world of social media, there are many more devices being advertised showing how people can remove earwax at home. But the real question is, should you be doing it yourself?
The short answer is ＮＯ. As a professional I always recommend persons to have wax removed by someone who is trained. Attempting to remove your own wax can cause a plethora of other issues such as bleeding, infections, pushing the wax even further in and damaging your eardrum (tympanic membrane). The only thing you should be putting in your ear is anything that is recommended to you by a doctor or trained professional (which 99% of the time is olive oil drops).

There are two main types of wax removal which are called irrigation and micro suction. The irrigation method is using water being sq**rt into your canal, eventually forcing the wax to be pushed out into a container which is held underneath the ear. As someone who has a perforation in my ear drum, this would not be suitable for me, as it can force water into your middle ear. The alternative and greatly popular method today is using micro suction. This is using a small vacuum like device that sucks the wax out of your ear, which is much safer than irrigation.

I hear of so many different ways trying to remove wax at home such as ear candles, cameras to look in your ear, sq**rting shower water into your canal, cotton buds and so many more. Each time I hear someone mention this, I advise that they immediately stop and leave it to the professionals. The only part of your ear you should be cleaning yourself is the bit you can see - stay well away from that ear canal!

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