Should You See an Audiologist for Ear Cleaning?
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People tend to clean their ears by themselves with items they can find at home. This may include little picks, it could include cotton swabs or it might even just be their finger.
The correct way to self-clean your ears is to actually use a bit of warm water and a cloth. It’s something you can do in the shower or in the mornings when you wash your ears and it’s not very complicated. However, it does lead people to think that perhaps they’re not cleaning their ears very effectively, especially since they’re not cleaning the inside of their ear.
Unfortunately, using anything but a professional ear cleaning service from an audiologist could cause damage to your ear. Whether it’s damaging the sensitive cells inside your ear or harming your eardrum, a lot can go wrong and it’s best to seek a professional.
In this article, we’re going to explain a couple of situations where it makes perfect sense to see an audiologist about ear cleaning instead of trying to do it on your own.
Audiologists have the professional tools for the job
Audiologists aren’t going to use cotton swabs or picks, they’re going to use medical tools that can clean your ears without damaging the sensitive cells and nerves in your ear. In many cases, they’ll use a vacuum to suck large globs of earwax out of your ear while also loosening any bits of earwax stuck to the sides of your ear.
This provides a complete clean that is hygienic, performed by a professional, safe and ultimately fast. The tools are made specifically to help clean out earwax, so there’s no need to worry about your hearing being damaged if you seek professional advice on ear cleaning.
When to see your audiologist for ear cleaning
Below, we’ve listed a couple of the most common signs that show you need to visit your audiologist for ear cleaning.
Ringing ears – Otherwise known as tinnitus, if you have ringing ears then it could be caused by a buildup of earwax that has accumulated near the eardrum.
Smelly ears – Smelly earwax usually indicates that there is a discharge of fluid coming from your ear, meaning there might be an infection.
Swimmer’s ear – Swimmer’s ear is an infection caused by the water that remains in your ear after swimming. If you don’t dry this quickly, it can create excess moisture in your ear, turning it into the perfect breeding ground for bacteria which could start an infection.
Excess earwax – If you feel like there’s constantly earwax falling out of your ear or getting stuck to your earphones, you should consider speaking to your audiologist about having your ears cleaned.
Muffled sounds – If you’re experiencing a slight deterioration in your hearing then it’s a good time to clean your ears. Your slight hearing loss could just be caused by excess earwax or some kind of blockage in the ear.
Itchiness – If you feel like the insides of your ears are constantly itchy then it could indicate an infection or excess wax that should be removed professionally.
