I came across this video on YouTube and an ENT Dr. tested olive oil and some other recommended home remedies to see if they actually dissolved ear wax. Olive oil did not dissolve the wax at all!
What is astonishing is he tried steam distilled water and it dissolves it completely. You have to see this.
He did explain that steam distilled water is not the same as distilled water. You will learn the details in the video
Olive oil isn’t intended to dissolve wax.
Olive oil softens wax by absorption to allow mechanical intervention or natural removal to happen.
Nobody cares if the water is ‘steam distilled’ or not: about 37C works well for very gentle irrigation though. Personally, I’d avoid anything acidic or oxidising as it may upset your naturally occurring ear canal chemistry.
Edit: for clarity we do about 200 wax removals a month.
You can safely and effectively flush your ears with this kind of devices:
https://www.amazon.fr/Medi-Grade-Ear-Washer-Bottle/dp/B07G4GYM5K
And, yes, this is typically achieved with lukewarm, ordinary water- no space juice required.
Everyone that’s looked says my ears are clean; no wax buildup. I’ve never had wax removed and have worn HA’s for over 20 years.
Any point in having it done at this point?
Thanks
DaveL
Toronto
ps My Phonak Audeo Paradise P90’s work well now. New practioner quick setup . Difference is Night & Day. Dispensing audiologist said I needed to find someone that could help me more. We parted friendly…Took his advice.
Hi ronshere.
This is the most interesting post I have read, in a long time.
I had my ears syringed at the hospital yesterday, as they have been bocked up for a while, reducing the HF considerably.
Afterwards, my hearing was amazingly loud. As I program my own NHS Nathos aids, it’s easy for me to make necessary adjustments.
However this morning, I have lost that wonderful hearing, and now have a reducer HF again.
I did notice an irritation in the right ear canal, and used a small sheet of toilet paper rolled tightly, pushed it into my ear, and it came out red/ brown colour, which I hope is not an infection.
I have used several wax removing remedies which did not work. I have tried Ear Calm, but cannot make my mind up about it, also hydrogen Peroxide, which I can hear fizzing in my ear. As does Otex Express, both of which take a long time to make any difference.
I used to have a Medigrade kit, but it broke. Upon this recommendation, I may get another.
I would question the use of warm water, as I was told unboiled water contained bugs. So I have always boiled it before using it. Please correct me if I’m wrong…
When I wore domes I checked the wax filters daily and replaced them frequently. When I first got molds with the filters exposed, I sometimes changed filters multiple times per week. So I had a wax problem. Then my audiologist suggested using a bulb to squirt warm water into each ear daily, thus cleaning out the wax continuously before it has a chance to accumulate. This has worked great. I hardly ever have to change a filter, and when I visit the audiologist she finds hardly any wax in my ears.
I use city water straight from the faucet. After a while I did realize that mold was growing inside the bulb, so I would fill it with hot water, agitate it, squirt, and repeat. Now, after using the bulb each night I shake it in order to force the residual water down to the nozzle, and squirt it out. Since I started doing that I’ve found less need to clean the bulb.
Not really unless there’s physically occlusive wax in there.
If you’ve had reconstructive surgery in your ears–cholesteotoma folks, listen up!–flushing your ears may be counter indicated. Let me put it more simply: don’t do this! Surgery has opened my canals directly into my middle and inner ears, to allow for removal of build up in the mastoid. Pressurized water directly on the small bones of the middle ear is…counter-indicated.