Advice 1: What to do if there is a wax plug in the ear

Usually, earwax, along with contaminants that have settled on its surface, is brought out naturally. However, in some people, the sulfur glands in the ear canals can function too actively. Then sulfur gradually accumulates, blocking the ear canal.

Fill a rubber enema with warm water. Stand over the container, tilt your head with the affected ear down, pull the auricle up and back with one hand. After that, carefully insert the tip into the ear canal (loosely, leaving a gap) and start a stream of water into the ear. Repeat this procedure until the sulfur plug comes out.

If the cork is very hardened and not, drop a little warm vegetable oil into the ear, and repeat the procedure after a few hours. It can also be purchased in special earplugs for dissolving sulfuric plugs or phytocandles. But you need to use them after consulting a doctor, as they have.

Probably, each of us was taught by mother in childhood to remove wax from the ear canal. Depending on the knowledge of the anatomy of the ear, we used a corner of a towel, a match wrapped in cotton wool and other improvised items, not suspecting that we were doing ourselves more harm than good. It is the regular “cleaning” of the ear canal with cotton swabs and other devices that leads to the formation of sulfur plugs.

Instruction

In fact, the natural mechanism in the ear canal of the sulfuric and sebaceous glands does not need "mechanical" assistance. Ear wax, which serves to protect and protect hearing aids from dust, is constantly updated, leaving along with dust and particles of the epithelium on the auricle (where it should be removed with a damp cloth or napkin). If we try to “help” the natural mechanism, we unwittingly scrape off dead skin from the walls of the ear canal. It is the epithelium, intensively mixing for a long time, that leads to the formation. What follows if sulfuric acid has already appeared and makes it difficult to hear? There are several ways, and each has its own advantages.

Professional. Of course, the easiest and safest way to remove earplugs is to see a doctor. A specialist will save you from the problem much more efficiently and faster than you can do it yourself.

organic causes

Organic reasons for the formation of ear plugs include structural features of the canal, increased work of the secretory glands, and inflammatory processes in the ear area.

The human ear is designed in such a way that sulfur and particles of the epidermis adhering to it are naturally removed from the ear canal during chewing and swallowing food. But if the ear canal is too narrow or too tortuous, or if there is hair in the ear canal, the evacuation of the wax becomes more difficult and a plug forms.

Deviations in the functioning of the secretory glands lead to the formation of ear plugs: with increased function, the sebaceous glands produce an excessive amount of secretion, and with reduced function, the skin in the ear canal becomes too dry and flaky. The appearance of ear plugs can also provoke inflammation in the ear and high cholesterol in human blood.

Inorganic Causes

The main inorganic reason for the formation of wax plugs is cleaning the ear canal with cotton swabs, which move the wax deeper along the canal and compact it tightly in the tympanic membrane. Otolaryngologists strongly advise using cotton swabs exclusively for cleansing the external organs of hearing and, in order to avoid the formation of plugs, do not insert them into the ear canal.

When water enters the ear canal, sulfur can move even closer to the eardrum, swell and completely block the lumen in the ear canal. Therefore, while swimming, you need to carefully monitor that water does not get into your ears. If, nevertheless, this happens, it is necessary to take measures so that the water comes out: thoroughly blot the ear with a soft towel, jump on one leg or create a pump effect by applying and abruptly tearing the palm away from the auricle.

Sulfur plugs often appear in people who work in high dustiness of the air, for example, miners, millers, plasterers, builders. The constant moisture of the ear canal in swimmers and divers also leads to the appearance of sulfur plugs.

Too dry air in a living or working area can lead to the appearance of dry sulfur plugs. To protect yourself from this unpleasant phenomenon, purchase a humidifier and a hygrometer. Remember that normal room humidity should be between 50% and 70%.

Sources:

  • Ear plug in 2019

Advice 8: What to do if the right ear began to hear worse

Let's say you wake up in the morning and find that your right ear can't hear as well as your left, or can't hear anything at all. In nine cases out of ten, this is due to a sulfur plug blocking the auditory canal. By removing it from the ear, you will get rid of discomfort and restore normal hearing.

The formation of sulfur plugs is a fairly common phenomenon. Paradoxically, this is often the result of increased attention to the hygiene of the hearing organs.

Many people thoroughly clean their ear canals with cotton swabs. In general, sulfur, which is formed in the ears of any person, acts as a barrier. It prevents bacteria and dust from entering the inner ear and human brain. Indeed, part of the ear becomes cleaner, but inside the earwax, as it were, is compressed as a result of such manipulations. And in addition to this, a person does not properly wash his ears, then water enters the ear canal, and then the formation of a sulfur plug in the ear is almost guaranteed.

How to understand that there is a sulfur plug in the right ear?

The main sign that there is a wax plug in your ear is the most unpleasant thing that you suddenly become deaf in your ear. This indicates that the sulfur plug has reached a size at which it completely blocks the ear canal. In this case, the easiest way is to contact an ENT doctor who will quickly and safely rinse the ear.

What if it is impossible to get to the doctor for some reason? Can be removed from the ear. The pharmacy sells various drops that soften the cork and contribute to its rejection.

How to remove the cork from the right ear without the use of special equipment?

You can get rid of a plug in your ear without drugs from. To do this, you need to rinse your ear from a small container above. At the same time, the ear is pulled up and back with the free hand, and the enema tip is not inserted into the ear canal, but leans against its back wall.

Rinse your ear gently, gradually increasing the water pressure. Sometimes it may take several dozen enemas of warm water in order for the cork to be washed out after all. If ear wax is compressed very strongly, then you can first drip a few drops of vegetable oil into your ear to soften it, and start washing your ear after a few hours. After the cork has been removed, do not go outside for several hours, so as not to catch a cold ear.

To prevent earwax from forming in the future, wash your ears carefully, avoiding getting water into your ear canal. When cleaning the ears with cotton swabs, do not try to clean the wax from the inside of the ear. Excess sulfur is excreted from the body on its own - this happens in the process of chewing. To maintain hygiene, it is enough to keep the outer part of the ear clean.

May leak out. Drop 2-3 drops of vodka or alcohol into the ear passages. They evaporate with liquid. For the same purpose, you can use a weak solution of acetic acid or hydrogen peroxide. If no manipulations help in removing water from the ears, seek the help of a specialist. By evening, some pain in ear. Most likely, it is earwax mixed up. Sulfur plug in size and begins to put pressure on the nerve endings. In this case, you should not remove the sulfur plug yourself. You can push it even deeper or injure your eardrum. Visit an otolaryngologist. He will flush the ear canal with a special syringe. If you periodically suffer from otitis media or have had surgery on your ears, water should be avoided in them. Before bathing or washing your hair, close your ear canals tightly with cotton soaked in a few drops of vegetable oil or baby cream. If the liquid still gets into the ear, remove it using the above methods, and then drip an agent that prevents the occurrence of an inflammatory process (for example, boric alcohol).

Why you need earwax

The external auditory meatus consists of two sections: internal, bone and external, cartilaginous. In the bone passage, a special substance is produced that is necessary for the normal functioning of the hearing organ - sulfur. In healthy ears, it is necessary because it performs a very important function - it protects the hearing aid from damage and inflammation. Those who are used to picking their ears with hard objects: matches or hairpins risk damaging the ear canal, causing an unreasonable increase in the secretion of the sulfur glands, and also damage the eardrum.

Those who very often clean out all the sulfur from the ear canals, using hydrogen peroxide or other disinfectants, also fall into the high-risk group. In this case, the likelihood of developing otitis media increases, because with an insufficient amount of sulfur, the thin skin of the ear canal and eardrum is exposed to increased exposure to infectious agents.

How to clean your ears

It is necessary to wash the ears for hygienic purposes - you need to clean the external auditory canal using cotton swabs. The internal passage in which sulfur is produced should not be made sterile, but excess sulfur must be periodically removed to avoid the development of a sulfur plug.

You should not use cotton swabs to clean the internal auditory canal, since in this case the sulfur is not removed, but compacted and remains in the passage. Incorrect cleaning of the ear canal is the main cause of the formation of cerumen. Another reason may be in the wrong structure of the ear canal, when the sulfur cannot be removed on its own when moving, chewing, talking.

In such cases, you can use hydrogen peroxide: drip 3-5 drops into the ear, wait a few minutes, then remove the sulfur with a cotton swab. But do not do it too often, 1-2 times a month is enough to maintain optimal hygienic condition of the ears and avoid unnecessary complications.

How to remove sulfur plug

If the ears have been cleaned incorrectly or not cleaned at all for a long time, a situation may arise when the sulfur fills the entire ear canal. In this case, hearing loss occurs, the patient may be disturbed by nausea, cough, dizziness, headache, inflammation of the middle ear can develop. An otolaryngologist can detect a sulfur plug during examination, the plug must be removed. For this, a special syringe is used, with the help of which a stream of warm water is supplied under pressure into the ear canal. During this procedure, the sulfur plug softens and comes out.

Have questions?

Report a typo

Text to be sent to our editors: