If you hop onto TikTok and search for “ear wax removal,” you’ll find billions of videos. Be forewarned: There’s some pretty unappetizing footage of amateurs and experts alike removing ear wax from people’s ears.
One particularly popular topic of late on TikTok is the possible use of a very common household item to remove ear wax: hydrogen peroxide, which is water with an extra oxygen molecule added to it. But does it really work, and is it safe to use hydrogen peroxide in your ears? Before you pour hydrogen peroxide in your ears, read on.
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Does hydrogen peroxide dissolve ear wax?
The short answer is yes.
Your ear naturally cleans itself by producing earwax, a waxy substance also called cerumen. The cerumen is a hydrophobic protective covering in the ear canal. Meaning, it shields the skin of the ear’s external canal from water, infection, trauma, and foreign bodies. As the cerumen moves from inside your ear canal outward, it gathers up any debris in its path, like dead skin cells and dirt, according to Harvard Health Publishing. It protects the inside of your ear canal, and research suggests it has antibacterial and antifungal qualities.
But sometimes your ear can produce more earwax than you’d like. Symptoms of impacted wax are ear fullness, earache, itchiness, dizziness, reflex cough, and tinnitus (ringing of the ears).
Enter hydrogen peroxide. You can place a few drops in your ear canal and wait while it softens and breaks down the wax, while your head is resting on its side (like on the sofa’s armrest). Then you can gently flush your ear canal with warm water to rinse the softened wax out. (It may take a day or two for the wax to soften enough to flush out, according to the Mayo Clinic.)
Is hydrogen peroxide safe for ear wax removal?
If you look at the bottle of hydrogen peroxide that you’ve stashed under your kitchen sink, it may be a 3% version. That means it’s 3% hydrogen peroxide and 97% water. This is the kind that most of us keep around for removing stains and simple cleaning and disinfecting. (Experts do not advise using hydrogen peroxide for cleaning cuts and wounds.)
But Prem Tripathi, MD, a plastic surgeon and otolaryngologist, says he doesn’t really recommend using the full-strength version. Instead he suggests diluting it with an equal amount of water for a 50/50 mix. Then you can use a dropper to carefully drip a few drops of hydrogen peroxide solution in your ear. Otherwise, the undiluted version could be irritating to the skin of your ear canal.
Hydrogen peroxide is usually not the first treatment that audiologists recommend, according to audiologist Emily Taylor, AuD, owner of the Taylor Listening Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Taylor notes she recently surveyed a group of 220 fellow audiologists, and nearly 80% of them said they preferred for patients to use an over-the-counter product like Debrox EarWax Removal Drops instead of using hydrogen peroxide for at-home wax removal.
Debrox uses carbamide peroxide as its active ingredient. (Another similar OTC preparation often used to address earwax buildup is Murine Ear Wax Removal System.) Carbamide peroxide contains hydrogen peroxide and another compound called carbamide, or urea. You’ll hear a bubbling noise inside your ear as the solution tackles your ear wax. Follow the directions on the package of the ear drops, but remember that it may take multiple applications to work, according to Dr. Taylor.
However, in general, most people really don’t need to worry about removing ear wax from their ears, unless they have excessive earwax or a buildup of earwax. You can just use a damp washcloth to gently clean the outer ear. “The average person doesn’t need to do anything,” says Dr. Tripathi.
But if you start sticking things in your ear unnecessarily, you could pay a price. “Everyone tends to overdo ear cleaning,” says Dr. Tripathi. “They scratch their ear canal, and then they get infections.”
Other home remedies for ear wax
Hydrogen peroxide isn’t the only home remedy for ear wax buildup that lay people recommend. While peroxide is mostly safe, some of these options are frowned upon by physicians. However, there are a couple of home remedies that may not be harmful.
Ear candling—Unsafe
You may have heard of one popular home remedy for ear wax removal that Dr. Tripathi calls “an absolute no-no”: ear candling. “You’re taking hot wax and you’re filling your ear canal with it,” he says. “The ear canal is thin–it’s some of the thinnest skin anywhere in the body–and if you burn that skin, you can develop a scar…that can cause a ton of problems.”
The Mayo Clinic confirms that inserting a hollow lit candle in the ear canal is ineffective and potentially dangerous. At best, it can push ear wax further down into the ear canal. But it can also leave candle wax behind in the ear canal, cause burns to the fragile skin, or even cause a puncture or perforation of the eardrum which would cause pain and possible hearing loss.
Cotton swabs—Unsafe
Another “no-no,” cotton swabs often inadvertently push wax further down into their ear canals when they try to clean their ears with them. You could wind up with what the Cleveland Clinic calls “cerumen impaction.”
“It typically pushes the wax impaction closer to the eardrum, making it more difficult to remove and much more painful during extraction,” says Dr. Taylor.
Mineral oil—Maybe safe
Some people’s ears are dry and itchy. A few drops of mineral oil might provide a little relief without causing harm, says Dr. Tripathi. A few drops of baby oil can achieve pretty much the same result. But if you have a hole in your ear drum or other issues with your ear canal, steer clear of this home remedy.
Salt water—Safe
You can also use a bulb syringe for gently rinsing or flushing out your ear canal with lukewarm water or saline solution.
When to see a doctor for ear wax
Got an earwax blockage? See your doctor for an ear exam. They’ll choose an appropriate method to remove the impacted wax, which may include ear canal irrigation or the use of a curette, which is a long thin tool with a small scoop on one end. Otoscopes are a helpful instrument doctors use to view the external ear canal and this can help them remove wax safely.
“A patient should see a healthcare provider if they want a safe and effective way of removing a wax impaction quickly,” says Dr. Taylor. You should also check with your doctor if you try a home remedy, including hydrogen peroxide, and your ear hurts afterward.
If your child has ear tubes, don’t take matters into your own hands: Seek medical advice if they’re having any trouble with their ears. “Children with tubes cannot get liquid in their ears,” explains Dr. Taylor. “So this is a big contraindication for using peroxide or any other drop in the ear. This also goes for adults with perforated ear drums.”
People who wear hearing aids don’t need to take any special precautions, according to Dr. Taylor. “They typically have the best follow-up care because they are seen on a regular basis for hearing aid checks where otoscopy is always performed and the wax is removed if needed,” she says. However, you should consult your healthcare provider if you notice any of the following:
- You’re experiencing hearing loss, especially sudden hearing loss
- Ear pain on one side that’s not going away
- Dizziness or balance problems
If you develop tinnitus in either of your ears, that’s another reason to see your doctor. Tinnitus is ringing in your ears that only you can hear–that is, there’s no external sounds causing the noise. According to the American Tinnitus Association, it can be quite distracting and may even cause sleep loss, irritability, mood swings and other symptoms that can degrade your quality of life.
