Do some kids (and adults for that matter) have more ear wax than others? My son seems to get a lot of ear wax. I don't bathe him daily, so I am not usually cleaning them daily, just every few days. But it seems like I should not be able to see ear wax building up after just a couple days. It tickles him sometimes too when it starts to "fall out". He definitely doesn't have an ear infection. He has always been like this and has never had an infection. His doc says it is normal, but is there something I should be doing differently than just cleaning them carefully with baby q-tips? I imagine when he is older it will be embarassing to him if he doesn't keep them clean daily. I know it is not a huge big deal or super concerning, I am just wondering because I never have wax like that.
Thanks!
Yes, everyone's ears are different. My experience with my grandchildren is that the ones who have lots of earwax, have less ear infections if any at all. The ones who make little have more problems. Wax secretion is fluid draining from the sinuses and is good rather than bad.
Excess ear wax can be a sign of Omega 3 deficiency. I remember a study with rats where the deficient ones had ear wax just poring out of their ears.
I clean my ears with q-tips every day (and need to), my son only needs his cleaned every week or so... and it's 50/50 on whether it's "yowza" or "hardly anything".
I've never quite understood the anti-q-tip thing... I mean it's one of the easier things in the world to do correctly; don't use something wider than the ear canal, and don't break the ear drum. Easy. It's like the vast majority manage to cut baby fingernails without amputating fingers on accident... so why the recent "no-q-tip" binge is beyond me.
Don't worry about the embarrassment issue. Cleaning ears every day is no different from having to wash your privates or armpits. Just another grooming thing.
:)
R
I laughed when I read this bc it sounds just like my son. Our pediatrician told us to use a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear about twice a week and to let the wax come out naturally. He said not to use q-tips...go figure. Our pediatrician also said we were lucky bc our son will likely not have a lot of ear infections because of it. Anyways, I just thought I would tell you that you are not alone!!
One of my girls has always had a lot more than my other kids. She has never had an ear infection or hearing problems. I just use a warm wet (thin)wash cloth to clean her ears every day. The cloth helps clean it up and the warmth helps get the residue off too. Our doctor also says it is normal for some people to have more and it can lessen later, though not guaranteed.
Buy an otoscope... you can get the at Wal-Mart.
I look in my daughter's ear to see if there is way too much ear wax.
I take part of the cotton off of a Q-tip then use a flash light to see just inside the ear canal and use the Q-tip to get the wax out. Be careful not to push wax farther into the ear but be sure to leave a little (even though that hard to do when you know it's there) because the wax is what helps keep the ear healthy.
When I was little my Mom used peroxide to clean my ears out and the tickling just about drove me nuts... I can also remember her using a bobby pin to get the wax out. My method is less aggravating to the child, I think :)
Be careful using q-tips - if you clean too far in, you can actually end up "packing in" the ear wax and creating a wall that will trap in bacteria and cause an infection. It would be better to use a wet cloth as another Mom suggested or buy a flushing system -- using drops to loosen wax and flush the ear with a bulb. (This isn't something you do daily)
My daughter and husband both create a lot of ear wax. My oldest son and I make next to none. It definitely appears to vary person to person.
Some have more than others. They have weird ear cleaninghtings out there. I forget what they are called- they say q-tips push it back in so be careful!
Look into new options that may help.
Sometime my son's ears are so thick with it I joke with him about having a candle factory in his ears. I use warm water with a little peroxide in it to gently irrigate his ears and get the wax out (it's how our pediatrician does it in the office). This device I found a few years back is perfect for safe effective wax removal (you can NOT use this on anyone with tubes in their ears):
http://www.earclear.com
Hello. I have been a Medical Assistant for many years in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. It is absolutely normal for some people to have more earwax than others, even if there is not a family history of it. There is a medical term for excessive earwax buildup: otorrhea. If you are concerned about this you should consult your child's physician. You should also seek that doctor's advice about cleaning your child's ear. It is not generally recommended to clean a child's ears with a Q-tip. One of the reasons for this is that you can actually push the wax down into the ear canal toward the eardrum, causing an impaction against the eardrum and in extreme cases, hearing loss. A good way to gently clean wax from your child's ear during bath time is to gently wash the outer portion of the ear while you wash the child's hair, and then tilt the child's head to drain any water (and loosen and wash out the wax) out of the ear. That is sufficient to clean out normal wax buildup. (If the wax is sticky it may take a few baths to get it loosened and "moving", so you may have to keep working at it, but be patient and don't give up.) For children with large amounts of wax buildup, there are ear drops that can be prescribed to help break up the wax, as well as other methods that your child's doctor can discuss with you to help with the situation. In many cases the child may grow out of the issue and it will not be an embarrassing problem for him/her in later years. The rule of thumb for when to talk to a doctor about ANY medical issue is that if there is anything that goes on for more that 2 weeks, talk to a doctor; if there is something that is below the surface of the skin that you are not sure about, talk to your doctor. That is what they are there for. If they make you feel like you are bothering them to ask, find another doctor.
I hope that I have helped you. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any other questions. Best wishes!
I have a friend who is a music teacher. She gets so much wax so deep in her ears that she starts to loose her hearing every six months or so. She used to go to the Dr. for a cleaning. Now she uses "ear candling". It is usually available at health food stores. They are long thin cones that you insert in your ear. You then light the other end it creates a sort of vaccum and sucks the wax out from deep down. She has not had to go to the Dr. now that she uses the ear candles.
Oh definitely. 2 of my kids produce unreal amounts of horribly sticky wax. I swear I could clean their ears twice a day, and it wouldn't be enough sometimes! My older daughter, on the other hand, has next to none of really dry wax. I just use qtips to clean the outer parts, and with my younger son, I use that earwax removal stuff from the drugstore like 4 times a year. He gets so much that it can affect his hearing! Good luck!
My granson 2 has a lot of ear wax when I talked with his Ped he told me it was normal. The ear wax is cleaning out the dirt.
What's funny is my son has tons of earwax in one ear and hardly any in the other. Yes it's normal. I never have earwax. My doctor told me that I had the cleanest ears that he had ever seen but my son has gross, orange clumps!
My little guy has tons. It seems to tickle him sometimes as well. I've asked probably 4 different doctors about it (I was sure it was causing problems) and none were concerned. However, they did tell me that I could use a drop of two of olive oil to help the wax liquify and drain out if it was bothering him. It works in the same way as Ear Clear.
Yes, it is normal. My son has more earwax than the rest of our family and mostly in one ear more than the other. Our doc said that you can let it go and should not use a Q Tip....but he did say that the best thing to do is to get the ear wax drops at your local grocer or drug store and put those drops in once a month to clean it out. One time the wax was built up so much that my son had trouble hearing from that ear and the doc had to dig, I mean DIG down in his ear with a tool to pull out this huge chunk...my son cried and cried. I forget to do the drops but if you are good about that, buy them and do it once a month. He just needs to lay on his side for a few mins to make sure it gets down in there. Peroxide should work too.
