How Do Audiologists Perform Ear Cleaning?

Ear cleaning is essential if you want to take good care of your ears. It’s something you should do before inserting any hearing protection devices in your ears, and it can help remove earwax blockages from your ear canals. It’s possible to clean your own ears at home, but some severe cases demand professional help from an audiologist. If your earwax is very dry and continually blocks your ears, leading to aches/pains, loss of hearing, and a popping sound when you chew food, then you need professional ear cleaning.

Naturally, if this is something you’re thinking about, then you want to know the whole procedure. What do audiologists do when they perform ear cleaning?

Upon your arrival at their clinic, your audiologist will conduct an initial exam of your ears. This tends to involve shining a light into the ear canal so they can see what they’re working with. They’ll check the situation and assess how severe your wax problem is. From here, they may apply some ear drops to soften the wax and make it easier for them to remove. Or, they prescribe you with some, and you need to apply them for a few days at home before returning.

After your initial ear exam, your audiologist will most likely perform one of the following treatments to clean your ears. Their choice depends on what they found during their examination, and which one suits your problem best.

Cleaning wax out with manual instruments

This is a popular method amongst audiologists when earwax build up is quite mild. They use manual tools, which mostly resemble a long-handled spoon. The insert this carefully into your ear and scoop out the softened earwax, removing it entirely from the canal.

Ear vacuuming to suck the wax out

Another highly popular method is to use a micro-suction device they suck up softened wax from your ear canal. This is the safest method they have, and it’s typically good for people with mild to severe earwax problems – while also being ideal for people with eardrum issues, or that have just had surgery on their ears. All they do is place a minute tool inside your ear, then it sucks all the earwax out and unblocks your ear.

Ear irrigation

Lastly, they may choose to use ear irrigation on you if your wax is extremely stubborn. This works by inserting a tool into your ear canal that releases pressurized water. The idea is that this water helps flush out the wax, but it can sometimes cause discomfort. However, this is a very effective way of giving your ears a deep clean and ridding them of any dirt or bacteria too.

These are the three main ways an audiologist will perform ear cleaning. Their decision is based on your situation, and which one they think will be most effective and least painful for you. Generally speaking, ear cleaning isn’t painful, but there can be some minor discomfort during some treatments.