# How do you clean your ears? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2002, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805 "2002-06-13T06:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XCchick22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e19b73/32.png) [@XCchick22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XCchick22)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/21 "2002-06-16T05:19:55Z")
I pour a couple drops of hydrogen peroxide in there and just let it bubble. It feels quite good.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/22 "2002-06-16T08:12:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*just be freaking careful digging around in there! :eek: \*\* Seconded. I tried digging some wax out of my left ear with a q-tip a couple years ago. It gave me tinnitus in that ear, which still hasn’t gone away. ---
**Author:** ![tritone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@tritone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tritone)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/23 "2002-06-16T08:16:30Z")
My GP (that’s general practitioner, family doctor, whatever) told me you shouldn’t stick anything in your ears to clean them, cos it’ll just result in the wax getting packed in further. Also, as **Anthracite** says, a perforated eardrum HURTS! Try a little olive oil or mineral oil, or if it’s really bad, go to the doctor and get it syringed. But make sure you ask the doctor to use warm water! Oh, and my Dad always told me: You should never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear! (picture tritone, age 7, tying her arms up in knots trying to get her elbow into her ear…) ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/24 "2002-06-16T08:16:47Z")
Get my hands all soapy then run my finger along the inside of my ear. I wash it out with a washcloth and dry my ear with a Q tip. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/25 "2002-06-16T12:55:52Z")
The way that I use Q-Tips doesn’t pack the wax in. Sometimes I pick all the cotton off the Q-Tip first. I’ve also used pen caps, paperclips, and fingernails. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/26 "2002-06-16T14:08:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tritone \* > **My GP (that’s general practitioner, family doctor, whatever) told me you shouldn’t stick anything in your ears to clean them, cos it’ll just result in the wax getting packed in further. Also, as Anthracite says, a perforated eardrum HURTS!** Well, the ear infection actually hurts worse - the nonstop insanely painful pressure, that makes it almost impossible to eat, sleep, talk, think. When the eardrum blows, there’s a sudden, very quick sharp pain - like an icepick darted in and stabbed your brain - then a sudden relief as the pressure in your skull is relieved, and all of the infected gunk, blood, puss, mucus, bones and cartilage, last weeks dinner, and hell, anything else that wants to, comes gushing out of your ear and runs down your neck, staining your clothing/bed/airline seat/whatever. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![chrisby69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cab0a1/32.png) [@chrisby69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisby69)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805/27 "2002-06-17T19:46:37Z")
when i was 18 my (older) g/f introduced me to cleaning the ears with regular olive oil. pour the stuff in and just lie on one side for 5 mins. i dont know if it worked but it was a very strange sensation. i haven’t done it since. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-clean-your-ears/113805.md?page=1)