How to Clean Infants Ears

The old saying, "Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear" holds true for your baby too. Although most adults have been trained that earwax is something that needs to be cleared from the ear canal, ear wax is actually helpful to protect the ear from dust and debris entering and collecting against the ear drum. It is important to keep your baby's ears clean, but avoid ear wax blockage at the same time.

Things You'll Need

• a wet washcloth a cotton swab hydrogen peroxide

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Wash your baby's ear with a wet washcloth during bath time. Gently rub the outside of the ear and just around the ear canal with the washcloth. This should get rid of any excess ear wax without pushing healthy ear wax against the ear drum.

• 2

  Clean around your baby's ear with hydrogen peroxide between bath time. If your baby's ears appear dirty or there is ear wax visible from the outside of the ear, dip a clean cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide and gently rub the outside of the ear and around the very inside of the ear canal. Do not press with the cotton swab or go inside the ear. According to Dr. Jo Ann Rohyans, "sticking a cotton swab in there is likely to push [ear wax] in farther."

• 3

  Talk to your doctor. If your baby seems uncomfortable or in pain due to ear wax buildup, your doctor can remove it using an irrigation or suction technique. Do not attempt to use at-home irrigation kits on your infant; they are meant for adults and the pressure is too strong for a baby's ear.

• 4

  Discourage your infant from putting fingers or anything else in his or her ear. You can do this by placing mittens or a shirt with hand flaps on your child while he or she is sleeping. If your child is trying to touch his or her ear, take him or her to the doctor to see if cleaning or irrigation is needed.