How to remove earwax at home

For mild cases of earwax build-up, a professional might recommend that you use ear drops at home to help soften the wax. Sometimes this can expand the wax so the issue might seem a little worse, but it’s a helpful process when it comes to removing it. Or the earwax might fall out on its own. Typical ear drop types include: sodium bicarbonate 5%, sodium chloride 0.9% or olive oil. 

Specsavers recommend the use of Earol to soften earwax (available to purchase in all Specsavers stores). It's important that the wax is soft to make the procedure as comfortable and effective as possible. We recommend using it once per day in the affected ear and repeat for 5 days before your appointment.

Ear drops can’t be used if it’s suspected that your eardrum is damaged, or if you have a history of ear infections.

Olive oil isn’t an ear cleaner. It can sometimes be used to soften earwax, but it can’t dissolve it. You shouldn’t put anything in your ears if you have a history of ear infections or if your eardrum is damaged — so it’s always best to get some advice from a professional before you try doing this at home.

Before you come into one of our stores for an earwax removal appointment, your audiologist might ask you to use a small amount of olive oil in your ears to soften the wax beforehand.

We advise against using candles to try and remove earwax. There’s not a lot of evidence to suggest that it’s an efficient or safe way to remove wax, not to mention the added risk of having hot wax and a flame so close to your face and head. Read our advice on using ear candles here.

We strongly advise against trying to remove impacted earwax at home as there’s a risk of causing more permanent damage to your ears in doing so. As a rule of thumb, don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.

You should avoid buying any at-home earwax removal kits without first getting some advice from an audiologist or pharmacist. They’ll be able to recommend the safest way to remove earwax, whether that be at home or by visiting a professional.

Cotton buds can pose a lot of unnecessary risk to your ear health — it can push the wax further into the ear canal and put pressure on, or even damage, your eardrum — so it’s best to avoid using them to remove earwax at home.

If your ear still feels blocked, get in touch with an audiologist or pharmacist. They might recommend another option to try or refer you on for further help.