Ear Cleaning
What is ear wax?
Cerumen (the fancy word for earwax) is a collection of secretions from oil and sweat glands in our ear canal, otherwise known as the sebaceous and ceruminous glands. This material collects dead skin cells on its journey to the outside of the ear, keeping the ear canal balanced and protected from bacterial and fungal infections, dust or dirt, or other foreign bodies that may naturally come into the canal. This is a proactive defence mechanism to protect the eardrum.
Our ear canals are self-cleaning, but for some people, wax can build up or not come out of the ear on its own due to a variety of reasons, including genetics, overactive wax glands, excessive hair in the ears, the frequent use of earplugs or in-the-ear buds, or cleaning methods that push the ear wax further into the canal where it can no longer come out on its own.
Symptoms of ear wax build-up or impacted ear wax
Common symptoms of impacted earwax include:
- Temporary hearing loss
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Odor or discharge from the ear
- Dizziness
- Tickling cough
- Ear ache or feeling of fullness
- Itching in the ear
Is it hearing loss or plugged ears?
Impacted wax can feel like hearing has been lost or compromised in one or both ears, especially if the ear and the wax get wet and the water cannot drain from the canal due to the blockage. This can cause infections and general discomfort, and it’s a good idea to have your ears checked by your physician or in our clinic using an otoscope that allows us to view your ear canal and tympanic membrane (ear drum) and check for blockages or infections.
If you’re unsure, book a hearing test with our clinic so that we can thoroughly examine your ears and let you know if you have wax blockage or possible hearing loss. Either way, you will leave your appointment knowing the current status of your ears and how to take care of them.
Have you heard of the Earigator™?
Using our state-of-the-art Earigator ™, we can remove the most impacted wax in seconds! Designed by an Otologist, the Earigator® combines the functions of an otoscope and irrigation into one, providing the most advanced means of cerumen control.
Self-contained temperature control constantly regulates the water to body temperature, avoiding caloric or vertigo side effects. Pressure controls ensure that the Earigator® quickly removes ear wax while never endangering the eardrum.
If you’ve ever had an uncomfortable ear wax removal, we would love to show you how easy and comfortable the Earigator™ is!
We also perform cerumen management with handheld manual tools if needed.
What to expect with an Earigation™
When you arrive at North Star Hearing, we will provide information about cerumen and ear wax removal and ensure you’re a good candidate for the procedure. After finishing your paperwork, we’ll do a thorough physical inspection of your ears. If it is determined that you require ear cleaning, we’ll walk you through the process and get you ready to be Earigated™!
We will direct a specially designed stream of water into your ear using warm and comfortable water temperatures. You’ll feel some pressure and hear the water running in your ears, and it usually takes less than 30 seconds to fully clean the ears and remove any impacted wax. Afterwards, we will dry your ears with a special ear dryer and do another inspection to ensure the ear canals are clean and healthy!
If you don’t have impacted ear wax, we will still provide a gentle ear cleaning and try to determine why you were experiencing symptoms of impacted ear wax. We will do a quick hearing test and go over your symptoms so that you leave with a clear understanding of what to do next to help you feel better.
Can anyone be Earigated™?
No, unfortunately, not everyone is a candidate. Contraindications that will likely make us unable to complete removal with water include:
- Perforations/ruptures of the eardrum (current or previous)
- Active infections of the ear canal or middle ear space
- Ear disease or disorders
- Ear surgery
- Pressure equalization tubes/tympanostomy tubes
Can I remove ear wax at home?
You can absolutely try removing wax at home! Some tried-and-true home remedies can be attempted first, including putting some mineral or olive oil into the ear at bedtime to loosen the wax from the canal. Rinsing out your ears in the shower while washing your hair can also help get things moving.
If that doesn’t work, we sell Audiology-strength ear wax softeners with a syringe bottle. After applying drops for several days to help break apart the wax compounds, the syringe can hold warm water that you can then squeeze into the ear canal to flush the wax out.
Unfortunately, there is very little clinical evidence to support that hydrogen peroxide solutions help outside of encouraging the physical flushing of the canals, so be sure to stick to one of the above suggestions only.
If you’re looking for the quickest and easiest solution, you definitely want to see us for the Earigator™ option for immediate and effective results!
What about ear candling?
No medical health professional with an understanding of the auditory system ever recommends ear candling, and those who perform the service are sure to be uninsured because cerumen management is a restricted activity under the Health Act of Canada (no certification from a provincial governing body for a restricted activity = no commercial insurance).
Burning the outside of the ear, the ear canal, or the eardrum is a pain like no other. It could leave you with irreversible skin or cartilage damage and deposit carcinogenic material onto a thin membrane of the ear, which separates the delicate middle ear space from the outside world.
Other potential risks and side effects include:
- permanent hearing loss in the middle ear space
- burning of the face, neck, eardrum, middle ear, or ear canal from hot wax or ash
- puncturing of the eardrum
- blocking of the eardrum with candle wax
- burning that causes bleeding
- secondary infections from damaged tissue
- ear infections
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Our clinic is in the same building as the Pharmasave, in the Junction Point complex, building JP8.
We are wheelchair-accessible and have plenty of parking just outside of our door!