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Over 15 years ago a listener to our syndicated public radio show sent us a question about ear wax (cerumen).
This person wanted to know why putting a laxative in the ear helps remove earwax:
Q. I was astonished to hear on the radio that a laxative can be used to remove earwax. Do you have any details?
A. Consumer Reports On Health (March, 2005) reports that a few drops of liquid docusate sodium (Colace, Diocto, Docu) in the ear can help loosen earwax as well or better than standard products. Of course, docusate is a stool softener rather than a laxative, but you’ll find it near the laxatives in the drugstore. Leave the drops in the ear for five or ten minutes and then rinse gently with tepid water from a soft-bulb ear syringe. People who have perforated an eardrum should not try this remedy.
Even before this article appeared there was an interesting letter to the editor of American Family Physician (April 15, 2004):
“For many years, I have used a mixture of the contents of one capsule of docusate calcium (Surfak, 240 mg) and a few mL of water for removing earwax. I fill the ear canal with this mixture, have the patient lie still for at least 30 minutes, and then irrigate the ear with warm water. This treatment is usually successful. I do not use the docusate calcium solution for anything but removing cerumen.”
An associate editor of American Family Physician, Ann Walling, MD, responded that earwax is a “stubborn problem.” And that was before ear buds and readily available hearing aids that fit inside the ear canal. Cerumen is uncomfortable and can interfere with hearing.
Dr. Walling goes on to note that:
“The most common clinical practice is ear syringing, which is limited by patient tolerance and complications. Although syringing is considered the clinical standard, there are no high-quality studies comparing syringing with other methods or no treatment.
“One promising treatment is liquid docusate sodium (Colace). It is more effective than triethanolamine (Cerumenex) for augmenting irrigation. In one study, instilling 1 mL of docusate sodium fifteen minutes before irrigation allowed tympanic membrane visualization in 81 percent of study participants. However, another study did not find either treatment better than a normal saline control.”
Fast Forward to 2022:
A reader asks this question about how to remove earwax:
Q. One doctor said I make more ear wax than most people and added that using cotton swabs just pushes the wax further back in the ear canal. However, cleaning my ears with the over-the-counter ear drops and a squeeze bulb is difficult. Is there another solution or brand of ear cleaner that would work better? It’s important to me because my hearing aids get gummed up with ear wax.
A. Impacted ear wax can interfere with hearing and may need removal by a physician. People who wear hearing aids or even use ear buds frequently may be especially susceptible to this problem.
To make earwax removal easier, a group of German doctors compared pre-treatment with three different solutions. The surprising winner of this “competition” was a common stool softener, docusate sodium (Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, Jan-Dec. 2020). A few drops of the solution were put in the ear 20 minutes before the doctor used a soft-bulb ear syringe with 500 ml of water at body temperature.
A systematic review of ten studies found no difference between solutions designed to dissolve ear wax and plain water, however (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, July 25, 2018). The authors lament that most of the studies are old and several were not very well designed. They conclude that “the answer remains uncertain.”
A Warning on Docusate Sodium:
In response to this post, we received a note from a physician. He would like to remind people that docusate is NOT a laxative:
Q. In a recent article, you referred to docusate sodium as a common laxative. I’m writing to remind you that this product is not a laxative at all. It is a surfactant that only helps prevent stool from hardening as bowel content progresses to the point of evacuation.
By referring to it as a laxative, you may lead readers to mistakenly expect results that docusate sodium cannot produce. It does not increase bowel movements.
A. You are correct that the docusate sodium that can unexpectedly help with earwax removal is a stool softener rather than a laxative. When people look for it in the drugstore, however, they’ll find it near the laxatives rather than anywhere close to products related to ears. (For more information on laxatives or other solutions to bound bowels, readers may want to consult our eGuide to Controlling Constipation.)
Another reader has tried a different approach to remove earwax:
“I started putting castor oil in my ear canal because I was diagnosed with dermatitis in my ear. The skin cells combine with ear wax and block the canal. The ENT doctor would suction out the debris every few months and at times would have to surgically remove it.
“This has been going on for at least ten years. Since I began using the castor oil, though, my doctor found no accumulation!”
We cannot emphasize enough that any of these approaches are appropriate only for people with intact eardrums. If the eardrum has been ruptured or punctured, it could be dangerous to put solutions in the ear (StatPearls, Sept. 28, 2021).
What Do You Think?
How do you remove earwax? We would love to hear about your solutions in the comment section below. Please describe for other readers what it is like to have a lot of earwax. If you think this article is worth sharing please scroll to the top of the page and click on the links for email, Twitter or Facebook. Thank you for supporting our work.
JA
amount of earwax. I went to an EMT doctor, and he had to remove a long tube of wax out of each ear. He explained that the cotton from the Q-Tips helps compact the wax. He told me to soak cotton balls in Olive oil, and put them my ears at night. I tried this for awhile and kept having to pick up the balls from the pillow.
I like Macadamia Nut oil for all of its health benefits and keep it on hand. So I started soaking Q-Tips in Mac Nut Oil and gently distributing it in my ears. This has worked for years. Before doing this I would have to go in and get my ears cleaned out. They had to scrape it out very slowly and gradually as it was so packed in.
Teresa
I have used a small amount of peroxide (capful) which I let sit in the ear for 3-5 minutes. I then tilt my head and use a bulb/syringe with warm water holding a small container up against the ear to flush out the earwax.
Lynn
My ENT said to use several drops of baby oil. He said that also was good for conditioning the skin in the ear.
Jim
I’m a very prolific producer of ear wax and have tried many remedies but it’s too much like concrete for them to be effective. I have an ENT RN remove it every few months. To make the process easier and more comfortable I put several drops of Ponaris nasal emollient in each ear a few hours ahead of my appointment. She’s now recommending that to her other patients because it obviously works so well to soften Cerumen.
John
My Audiologist recommends a 50/50 solution of alcohol and vinegar. Flush out with water in the shower.
Kim
You should never put hydrogen peroxide in your ears. It’s the same as water in your ear which can cause problems.
JoAnne
I have been told by the audiologist at COSTCO that she cannot test my hearing due to excessive earwax. I used hydrogen peroxide followed by irrigation with warm water in the bulb syringe. Repeated several times. Her exam continued to show too much wax. She suggested I have an Urgent Care facility clean my ears. My Internal Medicine MD does not clean ears. I am willing to try the laxative at your suggestion.
Alice
Hydrogen peroxide cleans the ear wax out beautifully. You have to be willing to have bubbling inside your ears, though. It makes some people dizzy. I use about 1 ml of standard drugstore H2O2, then wait lying down with my head horizontal until the bubbling stops. Then I rinse with warm water and dry my ears. I wear hearing aids, so this keeps them pretty clean, and I do it about once a week.
Alan
I read that a good remedy is hydrogen peroxide 2% solution warmed up and placed in the ear with a bulb syringe, then let set for a while and drained. I have used this method successfully.
Chris
No one has mentioned hydrogen peroxide. Sixty years ago our family doctor suggested using a few drops of it in the ear to control ear wax. Wait until it stops fizzing, and then tilt your head and pour it out. I recently had more problems with wax. My new, younger doctor also suggested using the same method. I have had success with this.
Penelope
First thing in the shower I rub soapt water in to my ears and flush with the shower head. The last time a professional looked at my ears, she asked if I was using a swab or what! Using sunscreen on your ears gets them greasy, too.
Lynn
I have had great success using ear candles. At one point, I thought I was losing my hearing. I use them twice a year and feel clear headed.
Tom
Technically Colace and Surfak are not laxatives. They are used as stool softeners. They are surfactants, similar to detergents. Just saying….
Susan
It’s been very frustrating trying to find advice on how to actually PREVENT ear wax building up to the point where active steps have to be taken to remove a blockage. The best advice I’ve had is to let warm water into your ear each time you take a shower. This was from a clinic’s “convenient care” doc when I’d taken my elderly mother in to deal with her wax blockage. And I had to press him. All my other efforts just got the advice to come in to have it removed. It had been costly in terms of time.
When I got hearing aids myself, it turned out that part of their cost included regular free visits to have them cleaned, dried, and checked out, and the electronics adjusted if needed. But they also checked my ear canal and removed any wax buildup using an in-ear video camera and a slender long handled scoop. But now that I try to remember to get water into my ear when I shower, there’s seldom much to clean out.
They even let me also bring my mom with me, for an ear canal check and aid cleaning at no extra cost. Being proactive meant my mom no longer complained that her hearing aids had stopped working. And life was a bit less confusing for her aging brain.
Before this, I learned (from previous visits to convenient care with my mom) to dilute some hydrogen peroxide in warm water and drop some into my ear, while lying on my side. I got an ear syringe with side openings in the tip that worked great for this. I’d let the solution sit in my ear until I could feel that the bubbling sensation had stopped. Then I’d drain it and add in new until there was no bubbling from the peroxide breaking down the wax.
Pat
I use two types of silicone removal devices that look like an exaggerated screw. I also put in about 6% hydrogen peroxide to loosen. Then do physical removal using tool. Not perfect, but works better than other methods I tried.
Here are quick links to devices. these are not lowest prices available but give you idea of what these look like.
https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Swab-Spiral-Cleaner-Removal/dp/B079YP5SQV
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ear-Wax-Removal-Tool-Smart-Spiral-Swab-Q-Grips-Ear-Cleaning-Soft-Silicone-Remover-Tool-16-Replacements/461374648
Bobbie
Regarding removal of ear wax: Has ultrasound been used before to loosen wax? Not comfortable having an intern dig into my ears.
David
I find that hydrogen peroxide works well. I put a few drops in the ear and wait for about 15 or 20 minutes, then rinse it out. You can hear it working, it makes a bubbling sound.
Nancy
A very interesting technique. I have ear wax problems and will definitely try this out very soon.
Thanks for the information!!
Nancy
What I think is a general practice doctor used stool softener to soften and remove ear wax 15 years ago when I lived in NC!!! Never had that happen before then. It seems this is common practice for some doctors. They rinsed the whole mess out of my ears with warm water from the sprayer in the exam room. I was actually dizzy from the clogged ear and had to take off work. I had to find someone to drive me to the doctors because it was unsafe to drive with the dizziness. Ever since then, I have been rinsing out my ears with the spray from the handheld showerhead.
Debbie O
This has been a life long problem for me. I was told to put a few drops of oil in my ear to melt the wax. And to do it on a regular basis. I put a few drops in a few times a week. I purchased one of the bigger spray bottles like they use at the doctor’s Office online. You put peroxide in the water. It takes a while but eventually it is forced out of my small ear canals. The oil doesn’t prevent the wax. But it keeps it softer for when it’s time to flush.
Michael
I mostly use an ear bulb syringe working over a sink full of very warm water with a little hand soap. It usually works well within ten minutes or so. I have used the castor oil method now and then to make removal easier. Thank you for the laxative idea, I will try it.
It would be interesting to hear from an organic chemist on what reactions might be forming to help loosen the earwax with the laxative.
Wes
Olive oil works as well as over the counter earwax removal oil. Even applying with a soaked cotton swab works. Leaving the swab in the ear for 5 minutes is easier than lying on one’s side with oil in the ear canal. Rinse with a mild warm soapy solution in the bulb.