7 Simple Ways to Remove Ear Wax Buildup Naturally

cotton balls and q tips in jars

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Dealing with an earwax buildup can be a sticky situation (pun intended). Most people don’t know how to remove their earwax without doing harm to their inner ear, in other words, using a cotton swab a bit too liberally in the ear.

Your earwax protects your ear canal from becoming dry, cracking and vulnerable to infection; however, an earwax buildup can block your ear canal and lead to temporary pain and infection. So how can you remove earwax build up naturally? Keep reading…

7 Simple Ways to Remove Ear Wax Buildup Naturally

Here are some full-proof earwax removal strategies for you and your kids (without using cotton swabs):

1. Salt Water

You will need:

  • 1 tsp of pink Himalayan salt
  • ½ cup of warm water
  • Cotton ball or syringe

Add your teaspoon of sea salt to the warm water and stir until you can’t see the salt floating around anymore. Once the salt is completely dissolved soak your cotton ball or put a couple drops in your syringe and drop 5 drops in the ear that giving you problems.

Lie down with your blocked ear facing upwards for 3-5 minutes and then lie with that same ear facing down so it can naturally drain.

2. Olive Oil

You will need:

  • 1 ½ tsp of organic olive oil
  • Syringe (olive oil won’t drop very well from a cotton ball unless you soak it)

Drop 2 or 3 drops of olive oil into the ear that has an earwax buildup and again, lie with this ear to the ceiling for about 10 minutes then flip on to your other side and let the olive oil drain. Definitely lie on top of a clean rag, or paper towel with this remedy because oil will stain fabric.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide

You will need:

Much like the salt-water treatment, put about 5 drops in your ear, lie with this ear facing up, however I would sit for about 10 minutes to allow the hydrogen peroxide to really loosen your earwax. Then drain.

And check out 15 everyday uses for hydrogen peroxide you didn’t know.

4. Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol

You will need:

Mix the vinegar and alcohol together and use 1 or 2 drops to dislodge your earwax. Lie down with the affected ear up and stay in this position for 5 minutes, then simply flush your ear with some warm water.

Be sure to check out my post 13 surprises uses for apple cider vinegar for ways to use vinegar.

5. Glycerin

You will need:

Use 1-3 drops in your affected ear and sit for 3-5 minutes. You don’t have to drain your ear out immediately with glycerin. I suggest setting an alarm for about an hour later, and then when the hour is up flush your ear out with warm water.

6. Baking Soda

You will need:

  • ¼ tsp of baking soda
  • 2 tsp of warm water
  • Cotton ball or syringe

Simple put 2-3 drops in your ear, let is sit for 5 minutes and then lie down with your clogged ear facing down and let your earwax and baking soda mixture drain naturally.

7. Warm Water

Some people don’t like the idea of putting anything other than water in their ear, which is fine. You can just use warm water to break down your earwax buildup. Put 5 drops of warm water in your ear, lie with the affected ear facing downward for about 10 minutes and then let the water drain out naturally.

Since you’re only using water with this remedy, I suggest completing this routine 2-3 times in an hour, rather than just once.

close up of cotton buds and cotton balls in jars
Source: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/ent/202868.html

Photo credit: DepositPhotos.com / Hannamariah

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2 Comments

  1. I didn’t know that you could use glycerin to remove ear wax. I need to get a hearing clinic to test my ears out. I’ll have to consider getting hearing aids if the test comes back with bad results.