# What would an ENT say about this ear wax removal tool? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591 "2021-08-27T00:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/41 "2021-08-31T15:19:30Z")
I’ve had earwax plugs removed several times at Kaiser. One location uses the debrox/warm water syringe method, which works perfectly well. At another location the doctor used a waterpik-type device, which works but seems like overkill to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/43 "2021-11-24T04:06:00Z")
What ENT always says: “Don’t stick anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/44 "2021-11-24T04:20:39Z")
It just takes a lot longer to say in Entish. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/45 "2021-11-24T04:27:58Z")
No, that’s verbatim. It is true many doctors speak venomous vollies of verbiage meant to impress or intimidate, rather than communicate. I don’t find this true of paediatricians (explain like I am five) or ENT doctors (who, unlike ophthalmologists, use monosyllabic words a lot - like ear, nose, throat and possibly ENT). Bonus point: if your doctor calls X-rays “roentgenograms”, he/she better be over the age of seventy… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/48 "2021-11-26T01:27:59Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > One year in Barbados, after I had been softening the wax for a week, I spent an hour doing the elementary backstroke in the salty ocean and when I came out of the water, brown gunk came dripping out of that ear. Sounds great 🤨, but my health insurance won’t cover the round-trip fare to Barbados. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/49 "2021-11-26T01:38:29Z")
There is nothing warm water and a 60cc syringe can’t clear. Those things work great. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/50 "2021-11-26T01:40:48Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I don’t find this true of paediatricians (explain like I am five) or ENT doctors (who, unlike ophthalmologists, use monosyllabic words a lot - like ear, nose, throat and possibly ENT). Won’t somebody think of the otolaryngologists! 😉 > [@](#): > > Bonus point: if your doctor calls X-rays “roentgenograms”, he/she better be over the age of seventy… I used to take my cats to a veterinarian who called x-rays “radiographs.” He was correct, I suppose, but why not just say “x-ray” and avoid potential confusion? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/51 "2021-11-26T02:15:10Z")
The nice thing about medical nomenclature is you can always make it incomprehensible. I’ve worked hard throughout my career to use simpler language when talking to patients. My natural speech cadence is also too fast and I try to slow it down without being patronizing, particularly when English is not the first language. But sometimes it is a pain in the posterior. A discomfort in the derrière. A plentitude of proctalgia. A surfeit of sympathomimetic pseudosensorineural nocioreceptive stimuli. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/52 "2021-11-26T03:25:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What ENT always says: “Don’t stick anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow.”   Or larger. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/53 "2021-11-26T06:14:02Z")
I did not read all the replies. I have a little blue squeeze bulb that does the job. It cannot insert far enough to do any damage. I clean the sink very well. Fill a little bit with quite warm water, or just fill a clean glass with quite warm water. Suck up some clean warm water into the bulb. Squirt into ear. Rinse and repeat as much as you like. No chemicals. No poking the ear drum and such. Cheap, easy. No batteries, little environmental impact. In the shower, you can turn down the water flow to a comfortable safe level and nice temperature then just let the stream from the shower head go into your ear. Basically free and no extra stuff needed. Why buy anything? It is a basic easy thing. Of course you cannot share ear selfies. Your friends will assume your ears are disgusting festering head hole sewers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/54 "2021-11-26T06:30:21Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The nice thing about medical nomenclature is you can always make it incomprehensible. I’ve worked hard throughout my career to use simpler language when talking to patients. My natural speech cadence is also too fast and I try to slow it down without being patronizing, particularly when English is not the first language. Glad to hear that–and kind of surprised that I figured all of your remarks out. As a lawyer, I have to try to restrain myself from using “legal Latin” with clients, though I certainly can. But there’s no point, when I can explain everything in simple English to clients who are likely not familiar with Latin, much less legal Latin. I can use legal Latin with other lawyers, as a shorthand, but it’s typically not something I’d do with clients. Okay, let’s get back to ear wax, and otolaryngologists. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/55 "2021-11-26T14:58:16Z")
@Dr_Paprika and @Kedikat , I’m glad to hear that you both have earwax that’s soft and loose enough to be removed with just flowing warm water. Not all of us are so blessed. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/56 "2021-11-26T18:03:22Z")
I’m still looking for an earworm removal tool. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/57 "2021-11-27T01:50:47Z")
Maybe try using a very mild form of ear drops at minimal intervals. Just to keep the forming wax soft. Then maybe the mild warm water flush will work better. Drops may also solve itchy ear canal, if that is an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/58 "2021-11-27T02:08:50Z")
I’m sure you have heard this before, so hesitate to say it. Doctors usually recommend “softening up” the wax by using a few drops of any edible oil a couple times a day for a week or two (perhaps before shower and bedtime), then using water to flush out the ears after that. It seems to work well. If this seems ineffective, undesirable or whatever than as recommended in the post above (over the counter ear drops). ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/59 "2021-11-27T02:28:17Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I go to the ENT about every 5 years to get huge amounts of cerumen scooped out of my head (they are always very impressed) and when they do it, it’s extremely unpleasant. It feels like they’re looking for the other side. Some are gentler than others, but it’s never an enjoyable experience either way. I am not an Asian man, but I also tend toward hard, dry earwax, and lots of it. I loathe any of the water shooting methods; they cause me real discomfort, and often pain. The only way I’ll have wax removed is by an ENT with a curette, and other assorted instruments. I wouldn’t say it’s _enjoyable_, but it’s certainly satisfying to have big chunks pulled out, and the relief when my ears are “empty” is delightful. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/60 "2021-11-27T03:49:13Z")
Oh, sure, softeners followed by warm water work. Just not the warm water by itself. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’m still looking for an earworm removal tool. > > mmm Off-topic, but I’ve actually found a method that works for that. The key is to find a song or three from a completely different musical tradition than you’re used to (I mostly use a Navajo hymn), and sing that a couple of times. It displaces the song you already had in your head, but by virtue of being different from what you’re used to, it doesn’t get stuck in its place. Unless by “earworm”, you meant those things from Star Trek II. In that case, I can’t help you. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/61 "2021-11-27T05:07:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Unless by “earworm”, you meant those things from Star Trek II. In that case, I can’t help you. IIRC that was an “earwig.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/62 "2021-11-27T05:44:16Z")
Not really a Star Trek fan. But I vaguely recall the episode “The Trouble With Trebles”. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591/63 "2021-11-27T14:33:50Z")
it’s all about that starbase, no treble. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-an-ent-say-about-this-ear-wax-removal-tool/949591.md?page=4)