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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Your doctor can remove excess wax using a small, curved instrument called a curette or by using suction while inspecting the ear. Your doctor can also flush out the wax using a water pick or a rubber-bulb syringe filled with warm water.
If earwax buildup is a recurring problem, your doctor may recommend that you use a wax-removal medication, such as carbamide peroxide (Debrox, Murine Ear Drops), every four to eight weeks as a preventive measure. Because these drops can irritate the delicate skin of the eardrum and ear canal, it's recommended that they be used sparingly and only on the advice of your physician.
- Earwax. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/earwax.cfm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- McCarter DF. Cerumen impaction. American Family Physician. 2007;75:1523.
- Dinces EA, et al. Cerumen. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Clinical practice guideline: Cerumen impaction. Alexandria, Va.: Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/Practice/upload/FINAL-CerumenImpaction-Journal-2008.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Beatty CW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 2, 2009.
