Ear Irrigation Techniques

Proper ear care is often overlooked but can be important for your everyday comfort and well-being. It can also help to reduce your likelihood of developing ear infections or suffering from irritation and inflammation of the inner ear. Ear irrigation is one way to ensure your ear canals stay clean and healthy.

Professional

• If you are suffering from an earache or your inner ear is inflamed, setting up an appointment with your physician may be the best option. Such symptoms can be caused by a build-up of wax or possibly an infection. A physician will know the proper treatment and can perform an irrigation if necessary. This will involve the physician or nurse gently injecting lukewarm water or a saline solution into the ear of the patient, who will be lying on his side. The solution will break down the ear wax for a few minutes. Once the solution has worked, the patient will sit up with a towel up to his ear to catch the run-off, and the mixture can be gently dabbed from the ear with a cotton ball.

At Home

• Irrigating your ear at home should be done with care to avoid causing injury. The process is similar to that used in a doctor's office. Pour warm water into the ear while you lie on your side, then wait several minutes. Sit upright and tilt your head into a towel placed below your ear to catch the fluid. Gently dab any remnants with the towel or a cotton swab, careful not to swab too hard or too deep.

  Especially hardened earwax may need to be removed with a special implement, so this should be done by a physician, not at home.

Dangerous

• Medical snake oil cures and remedies are nothing new, and many are harmless despite not being effective. However certain so-called remedies may cause injury and should be avoided. Ear candling is one such practice that has no medical basis, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The process involves letting a candle burn down in the patient's ear, allowing the wax to seep into the inner canal. This is dangerous and can cause serious burns and irritation as well as potentially injuring your ear drum. Cotton-tipped swabs should also be used with care and never inserted into the inner ear. Swabbing away waxy buildup on and around the ear is fine, however.