Painless Ear Wax Removal Singapore | Ear Cleaning

Using a cotton bud in the ear generally pushes earwax deeper and deeper in. Once the excess earwax gets deeper and deeper inside, unfortunately there is no way for the wax to get swept out of the ear naturally.

Every patient who uses cotton buds emphasizes that they are very careful about how deep they insert the cotton bud into the ear. However, accidents can happen, and are more common than you might think.
We have seen patients who use them on the outer ear and and accidentally bump them, pushing the cotton bud deep into the ear canal, which resulted in immediate pain, bleeding, a perforated ear drum and middle ear damage which may required ear surgery and repair.

Ear digging is a habit that quite a few patients have picked up since young. Parents may also have educated their children that one needs their ears cleaned of the excess earwax regularly.
Studies have been done on ear wax, and most specialists believe in the migration theory – that new skin lining cells form at the eardrum, before migrating to the outer edges of the eardrum. From there, the new skin lining cells move in a circle outward towards the entrance of the ear canal, pushing and carrying the ear wax with it – a self cleaning mechanism. Any interruption to this self cleaning mechanism, either with cotton swabs or metal / plastic implements, can disrupt this normal behavior and cause ear wax to be stuck, clogging up the ears.

If all conservative measures have failed, or if you are experiencing symptoms such as pain, ear discharge, fever, dizziness or vertigo, please see an ENT Specialist for professional earwax removal. Patients who are using hearing aids may also require earwax removal, as occasionally earwax can block up the vent in the hearing aids.

General practitioners are excellent in making the diagnosis of ear wax impaction and instituting first-line treatment. Some general practitioners are also able to perform ear syringing / ear irrigation where a jet of water is used to flush the ear wax out. This is a well recognized ear wax removal method. However, ear irrigation may not work well for all patients. Some patients who undergo ear syringing or ear irrigation end up getting water trapped in between the eardrum and clump of ear wax, which can cause even more pain and discomfort. Ear irrigation may not work for everyone, and it may be best to choose aural ear micro suction, instead of ear irrigation if the ear canal is packed full of wax.