# Does anyone have any experience with microsuction for earwax removal?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 27, 2019, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702 "2019-07-27T10:03:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/21 "2019-07-27T21:47:20Z")
I’ve been prone to wax over-production since I was a little kid and I’ll second everything **Athena** said. I use the exact same method and it works like a charm. Mind you, I sometimes have to repeat the process 2 or 3 times if the wax is really impacted and be patient while that hydrogen peroxide sizzles away. But eventually it + the water rinse does the job on even the most stubborn plugs.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/22 "2019-07-27T22:30:00Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> Microsuction is safe IF it’s in the hands of a professional. Improper use can perforate eardrums pretty easily. A good ENT chair, a head mirror, and steady hands are required.
This, exactly. My ex-wife was an audiologist, and could look after my ears pretty well; but sometimes, the earwax that I could produce was beyond her capabilities. At such times, she would arrange an appointment with an ENT colleague, who would suction my ears.
In my experience, suctioning works well, but it seems to me that it is definitely something to be done by a physician.
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### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/23 "2019-07-27T22:46:16Z")
I used [this flusher kit](https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Washer-Bottle-Doctor-Easy/dp/B005M2B5P0/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=rhino+ear+washer&qid=1564267387&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A1SZPN07LPKF7Z&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSlhVQ1I0NTZOWkY5JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODcxMDM0V0hWSUhSSDhTUVFEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MzQ4MjkxU1hUVVpBOUtQVE9CJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==) on my daughter several times and it worked great. With warm water, make a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide, stick the tube in the ear, and start squeezing the trigger repeatedly (it’s not a strong stream of water). In a minute or so, you’ll see a bunch of globs flush out.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/24 "2019-07-27T22:49:27Z")
Urea (mentioned in my post above) is produced by your liver and is present in your urine. So you know, just piss in your own ear. 😃
_No, don’t put urine in your ear. This was a joke._
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/25 "2019-07-27T22:59:45Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#):
>
> I used [this flusher kit](https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Washer-Bottle-Doctor-Easy/dp/B005M2B5P0/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=rhino+ear+washer&qid=1564267387&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A1SZPN07LPKF7Z&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSlhVQ1I0NTZOWkY5JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODcxMDM0V0hWSUhSSDhTUVFEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MzQ4MjkxU1hUVVpBOUtQVE9CJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==) on my daughter several times and it worked great. With warm water, make a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide, stick the tube in the ear, and start squeezing the trigger repeatedly (it’s not a strong stream of water). In a minute or so, you’ll see a bunch of globs flush out.
I’ve used that as well. After paying a couple of $25 copays to have it done at the doctor’s office (one time with a syringe, once with a device like a water pik) I thought I’d give it a shot. Works pretty well, but it’s kind of awkward doing it by yourself.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/26 "2019-07-28T05:45:58Z")
You Tube has a gazillion videos of doctors using microsuction to remove ear wax. To me, it’s shocking how much some people produce, but I understand that people of south Asian descent have a tendency to make large, difficult-to-remove amounts of it.
A man I dated many years ago had to do that syringe thing on his ear wax, and referred to it as an “audio enema.” 😛 Yeah, he had a point.
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### Author:  [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2019, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/27 "2019-07-28T08:32:28Z")
Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the responses. I’m a bit wary of any DIY option, because I tried one of those home syringing kits a while ago, and made things worse (I suspect my globs of wax we’re just too impacted for it). I appreciate the suggestions for that, but I’m pretty settled on getting an expert to do it.
Nothing I’ve heard here has put me off microsuction, so that’s the route I think I’ll take.
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### Author:  [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/29 "2019-07-28T15:08:21Z")
I tried the bulb things a few years back and didn’t have much success with them. It actually made things worse.
So I go twice a year to the nurse at the ear, nose, and throat doctor have them do it.
It’s only a fifty dollar copay each time and well worth the money to me.
Besides, they said my right ear canal is shaped weirdly, and that’s why those kits were making that side worse.
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### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/30 "2019-07-29T15:36:22Z")
I have a buildup problem and get microsuctioned 3x a year. Works great. The first time I had it done it was like someone turned the treble up from 1 to 9.
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-have-any-experience-with-microsuction-for-earwax-removal/837702/31 "2019-07-29T16:22:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> I see nothing about microsuction in that article. Microsuction is a tried and true method used for over a century. Tiny vacuum pump, tiny hollow probe, gently directed by the operator.
mea culpa, I could have sworn he’d actually said microsuction.
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