Tips When Using Ear Drops for Ear Wax

Using eardrops designed for softening ear wax really helps to break down the hardened ear wax so that it can naturally move along the ear canal out of the ear, it is often recommended especially if the ear wax in your ear is noted to be hard that before having your ears syringed to allow the ear to be irrigated much more comfortably and effectively.  We look at several tips to successfully using ear drops for softening the hardened ear wax in your ear.

 

Make sure your hands are clean

Make sure your hands are washed thoroughly with soap and water before and after you use the ear drops, that means when you are touching your ears your hands are clean and that when you are finished that you don't have any of the eardrops on your hands.

 

Tilt your head

If you pour ear drops into your ear canal with your head straight up as normal it is quite likely that the drops will sit in a pool at the entrance to your ear canal and will soon start to come out. This is barely going to touch the wax in your ear canal because ear wax sits a little further inside. What that means is that for the ear drops to pour down directly into the ear wax you will need to tilt your head up and then back. This head position can be more comfortably achieved by lying down.

 

It may get worse before it gets better

As the ear drops go into your ear canal it may initially feel as though it makes your hearing worse as it fills up the gaps between the ear wax. As the hardened ear wax softens and expands which fills your ear canal temporarily. It can feel as though the drops have made it worse but hang in there, the ear wax softened will allow it to move much easily out of the ear canal.

 

Have a tissue handy

It can get a little messy and once you are ready to tilt your head back upright you'll need to wipe the outside of the ear for excess oil.

 

Be patient

Once you have the ear drops in your ear, it can take a few minutes to hear or feel it starting to work its way into the wax. Try to have yourself lying in a position you can relax and lie for at least several minutes. It is also something unlikely to work on the first use of the ear drops, therefore it might take a few days before a gap appears again and you'll soon notice ear wax being broken down and coming out of your ear onto a tissue.

 

 

Prevention

If you find that you suffer from hardened wax quite often, applying a few drops into the ear once a week may help with keeping the ear wax from becoming hardened and blocking your ears.