Do You Clean Ears at Visalia Hearing Center?

One of the most common questions we get asked by patients and people in our Tulare County community is “Do you clean ears?”

The short answer: We do!

Earwax, or cerumen, serves to protect our ears from dirt, bacteria, dead skin, and other debris. It’s sticky and a little oily to the touch, which helps catch these foreign irritants before they harm our delicate ear canals.

However, there can sometimes be too much of a good thing. Too much earwax can become impacted and block your ear canal, leading to headaches, earaches, dizziness, tinnitus, and, in some cases, hearing loss.

If you’re dealing with any of the above symptoms (and you don’t have a cold or the flu, as some of the symptoms overlap), then perhaps you’re due for a professional earwax removal appointment.

How Do I Remove Earwax?

While there are multiple methods on the market to clean your ears at home, we’re certainly not the first people to tell you that these are not safe or recommended by audiologists.

Cotton swabs, ear candles, and other tools you insert into your ear can do significant damage or even push the earwax further into your ear, potentially hurting your eardrum.

For minor earwax buildup, over-the-counter eardrops can work wonders to soften and remove the earwax, as well as irrigation with water. We recommend avoiding cotton swabs or ear candles and leaving frequent earwax buildup to be cleaned by the professionals.

What Happens During an Earwax Removal Appointment?

When you come to visit us for your earwax removal appointment, your audiologist will ask a few questions about you—about your lifestyle choices, hobbies, family history, and more—to both get to know you and start to determine what could be causing excess earwax production.

We’ll then take a look inside your ears with an otoscope; we have a video otoscope if you’d like to see what we see! Your audiologist will investigate the blockage and figure out the best way to remove it, whether that be with warm water irrigation or a curette.

You’ll sit in a comfy chair and feel zero discomfort as your audiologist removes the earwax impaction. If anything, you might feel a great sense of relief when it’s removed, especially if the impaction was causing discomfort.

Our earwax removal appointments take anywhere from two to 20 minutes, depending on the severity of your earwax impaction.

What If I’m Still Dealing With Hearing Loss After the Earwax Removal?

Earwax impaction can occasionally cause temporary hearing loss due to the blockage filling your eardrum, affecting your hearing.

However, if you find that you’re still struggling with hearing loss after the earwax is removed, we’d be happy to help you with a comprehensive hearing test to assess your hearing and see what you can do to optimize it.