I have worn hearing aids since 2016 and have taken a different approach than what I’ve read here. I’m fastidious about cleaning my ears in the shower every day. I use one of those bulb syringes to irrigate my ears, about 4-5 irrigation’s in each ear. I then use soap and lather up the parts of my ear that I can reach with my finger, to include behind the ear where the unit rests. Then I rinse that soap off (and out for any down my ear canal). The soap seems to further remove much of the oily stuff that drains out.
Doing this routine, I have had zero issues with wax. And I feel a little bad about saying this (like I’m neglecting something), but I’ve only changed those wax traps on two occasions since 2016 (only as a preventative maintenance measure albeit at a neglectful frequency), and have changed the rubber things 2-3 times since 2016. Every time a doctor looks in my ear, he/she comments on how clear/clean it is - no wax at all.
When I irrigate my ears In the shower each day, the fist 2 times, what drains out feels oily. The 4th or 5th irrigation feels less oily.
When I am drying myself, I’ll then use toilet paper to dry my ears, to the extent they can absorb water down my canal. I’m not stuffing the toilet paper down my ear canal, like with a ramrod, just however far my index finger can get it to absorb with the toilet paper just flat against it. I’ll do that 2-3 times in each ear until it no longer shows that it’s wet (using different places of the sheet doubled over until it is dry each time.
My ears are tremendous wax producers. Before hearing aids, every 1-2 years, I used to need intervention to remove wax build up. I would wake up and feel like I had one of those foam ear plugs in my ear. I’d go to the corpsman and they would do what they could to mine the wax out, to include irrigating it. After much effort, clumps of ear wax would drop into the pan. The chunks were so big, I could actually hear them drop, and the miners were amazed.
For “sanitation” peace of mind, I’ve found a translucent bulb syringe that will come apart so I can clean and inspect it. I worried about what may grow inside those things. Again, the bulb syringe is what I use to irrigate my ears.
Recommendation: To irrigate your ears, don’t just grab the bulb syringe used to clear mucous from your child or grandchild‘s nose. Get a new one!
It was my audiologist at Balboa in San Diego that recommended the bulb syringe. I don’t squirt it hard, just enough to send it down the ear canal and it trickles out on its own. It doesn’t hurt at all but I wouldn’t call it soothing or comfy. Obviously, I’m used to the feeling by now. I find that just holding my ear up to the shower just doesn’t get much water moving in then out of the canal.
Kevin