How-to: Removing Ear Wax

You can get someone at home to do this for you. However, take the precautions listed in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• olive oil or mineral oil
• stainless steel pot 
• optional:  dropper bottle or small syringe
• cotton balls
• 60cc syringe (order this from a pharmacy)
• lukewarm water
• large plastic bucket
• large basin or bowl
• large towel

Steps:

1. Each day for 2 weeks, before you go to bed, warm up some olive oil or mineral oil in a stainless pot (NOT HOT).
2. Take a dropper bottle or a syringe or even a spoon, and place this oil into both ears.  Seal both ears with a cotton ball and leave over night.  
3. After 2 weeks of this regime, get a responsible person to perform the next few steps on you.
4. DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS: fever, ear pain, drainage from the ear that resembles pus (thick yellow green), bloody drainage from the ear.  These are possible symtoms of an ear infection.
5. Sit on a chair and drape a large towel over the shoulder where your helper will be syringing your ear.  (This can also be done in the bathtub)
6. Fill the large plastic bucket with lukewarm water.
7. Place the empty basin beneath your ear and hold it there.
8. Your helper draws up the water from the bucket into the 60cc syringe.
9. Your helper then pulls your ear by holding the outer top portion, pulling it upwards and backwards.
10. While holding your ear in this position with her non-dominant hand, she then places the tip of the the 60cc syringe filled with water at the opening of the ear canal (the ear hole). DO NOT PLACE THE SYRINGE INSIDE THE EAR CANAL.
11. While still holding the ear in position and with the syringe angled downward toward the opening of the ear canal, as hard as she can, your helper exerts pressure on the plunger and the water will squirt into the ear.  Water will also be squirting out of the ear at the same time.
12. Repeat Steps 8 - 11 until a plug of wax pops out.
13. Empty the basin of water when it gets full.
14. At times, some tiny shreds of wax come out, however this is not the wax plug you want to extricate.  If your hearing has indeed decreased because of a wax plug, this chunk must come out before you are able to hear well again.
15. Do the same for the other ear only if there is a wax build up problem in that ear as well.

Note:  Loss of hearing can be due to wax plugs, but can be due to many different medical reasons.  If you are unsure, seek the advice a healthcare practitioner.