How to Clean the Eardrum
Your eardrum is a really important part of your ear and your ability to hear. Sound waves enter the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. The eardrum allows you to hear your favorite song on the radio or even a crying baby. Sometimes your ability to hear might be obstructed or you feel earwax around you eardrum. You might be inclined to clean it. Here are some tips on cleaning your eardrum.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Do nothing. Sometimes when people attempt to clean an eardrum themselves, it makes things worse for them. There is a general saying to not put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. A person might accidentally rupture their eardrum or cause an infection. An eardrum will eventually clean itself over time. A person might want to let nature take its course and leave the eardrum alone.
-
2
Use a warm wash cloth. Since a wash cloth is bigger than an elbow, it is safer to use to clean the eardrum. Wet the wash cloth and wipe it along the folds of your inner ear. This is a great step to take while showering or taking a bath.
-
-
3
Use a syringe. A person can use a syringe with a thick needle to squirt warm water into the ear. The water will soften any earwax and wash the ear out. It also prevents scraping the walls of the ear or bursting the eardrum. When the water is squirted in the ear, it will flow back out of the ear. If you are not comfortable doing this step by yourself, find someone more competent to do it for you.
-
4
Use hydrogen peroxide. Lay on a towel on your bed, with one ear sticking up. Find someone you trust to pour hydrogen peroxide in the ear or the person can use a syringe. You can buy hydrogen peroxide at a Wal-Mart or grocery store that is 97 percent diluted. Keep the hydrogen peroxide in your ear for four or five minutes. You will be able to feel it working by hearing a sizzling sound. Then use a cotton swab to wipe out the fluids and dry your ear out.
-
5
Visit an ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician. If you do not feel comfortable cleaning your own ear drum, the ENT can do it for you. The ENT physician will have his or her own equipment to use. This equipment will be safer and more reliable than you cleaning your ear on your own. The doctor might look in your ear with an otoscope, to see what treatment is needed for your eardrum, if any treatment is necessary.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Avoid cleaning your eardrum with small objects. This means avoiding Q-tips and household objects such as car keys, paper clips or toothpicks to clean out the ear. Instead of cleaning the ear, you might be packing the wax up against the eardrum. This, again, can lead to infections and a punctured eardrum.
If clear, pus-filled or bloody drainage comes from your ear, you might have ruptured your eardrum. A ruptured eardrum can cause hearing loss. See your ENT physician immediately.
