I use Hydrogen Peroxide to clean wax from my ears. Is this a safe practice and how often should you clean your ears?

Wax production is normal, and there is a natural turnover of wax in the ears. Cleaning is not necessary except in a few individuals who have very narrow external canals who may experience a build up of wax against the ear drum. I wouldn’t have thought that hydrogen peroxide was a good idea at all, since it can cause irritation to the skin, and may damage the sensitive skin lining your external ear canal.

The main cause of wax build–up, is people trying to clean out their ears with cotton buds! This simply pushes the wax back down the external canal, where it compacts against the ear drum, and eventually needs to be syringed out! Leave your ears alone. The wax will come out on its own without any help. Incidentally, ear wax is soluble in water.

What are Middle Ear Infections?

Middle ear infections occur behind the eardrum (the thin sheet of tissue that passes sound waves between the outer and middle ear). These infections are usually due to bacteria or viruses, which are often related to a recent cold or allergy problem. Middle ear infections are most common in young children, whose ear anatomy is not yet fully developed. Children under age five, boys, bottle–fed infants, and children in daycare run the greatest risk of infection.

Are these infections serious?

Middle ear infections can be painful and they tend to disrupt sleep. Middle ear infections can also limit the ear drum’s flexibility, reducing your child’s ability to hear. This could make it harder for your child to learn to talk. Depending on how long it lasts, your child’s learning ability could be affected.

What causes Middle Ear Fluid?

Post ear infection. It is common for children to have middle ear infections. And some children with middle ear infection later have middle ear fluid, blockage of the Eustachian tube, cold or flu. There is no one cause for middle ear fluid. Often, your child’s health care provider will not know what caused the middle ear fluid.

What causes Snoring?

Snoring indicates a partial upper airway obstruction. The nose, throat, mouth or any combination of these sites can cause the problem. The noisy sounds of snoring occur when there is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the passages at the back of the mouth and nose. This is the collapsible part of the airway where the soft palate and uvula (fleshy structure that dangles from the roof of the mouth back into the throat). When these structures vibrate during breathing, that is snoring. Problem snoring grows worse with age. 25% of all adults are habitual snorers.