Do voices sound muffled or far away? Are your ears stuffy or achy without a cold? You may have built-up earwax. While earwax is natural, excessive buildup can cause hearing loss, dizziness, headaches, balance issues, infections, ringing, and ear pain. Avoid DIY removal—it may worsen the problem. A professional can safely and effectively clear your ears. Contact us today!
Hearing + Balance Clinics can provide the relief you need from impacted earwax if you live in or near Lavonia, Watkinsville, or Loganville, GA. Earwax removal is just one more of the many services we provide in order to keep your ears healthy.
Earwax, or cerumen, is a remarkable natural substance that plays a vital role in maintaining your ear health. This sticky, wax-like oil is produced by specialized glands in your ear canals and serves as your body's own cleaning service, effectively trapping and removing dirt, fungus, bacteria, and other potentially harmful debris. Through its natural lubricating properties, earwax helps protect the delicate skin of your ear canal while maintaining a healthy environment that guards against infections and irritation.
The self-cleaning mechanism of your ears is an ingenious process where earwax gradually migrates toward the ear canal opening through your natural jaw movements while talking and chewing. While this natural process is usually sufficient for ear cleaning, maintaining the right balance of earwax is crucial for optimal ear health. Too little can leave your ears vulnerable to infection, while excessive buildup can lead to hearing difficulties and discomfort. That's why professional earwax removal services are sometimes necessary to help maintain this delicate balance and ensure your ears stay healthy.
Proper earwax removal is essential for maintaining ear health and preventing complications. Seeking professional care ensures safe and effective removal while also allowing for early detection of potential ear issues.
Trained specialists use proper techniques and tools for safe earwax removal, minimizing risks of injury and complications associated with DIY methods.
Professional removal prevents hearing loss from wax buildup while allowing specialists to identify potential ear conditions early, enabling timely intervention.
Proper earwax removal alleviates vestibular system issues affecting balance, while also providing relief from tinnitus, ear pain, and general discomfort.
Regular professional maintenance improves communication abilities and reduces ear-related anxiety, leading to better social and workplace interactions.
Our audiologists begin with a thorough otoscopic examination of your ear canals to assess the amount, location, and consistency of earwax buildup. This careful inspection allows us to determine the most appropriate removal method for your specific situation and identify any potential complications or concerns that need to be addressed before proceeding with the removal process.
Based on the examination findings, we select the most suitable removal technique for your situation. In some cases, we may recommend using prescription earwax softening drops at home for a few days before your removal appointment. This pre-treatment helps soften particularly hard or impacted earwax, making the removal process more comfortable and effective.
Using specialized tools and techniques, our experienced audiologists carefully remove the excess earwax. We employ various professional methods, including gentle suction, specialized instruments, and irrigation when appropriate. Throughout the procedure, we maintain strict attention to the delicate anatomy of your ear canal, ensuring the process remains safe and painless while effectively removing the blockage.
After the earwax removal, we perform another thorough examination to ensure all excess wax has been removed and your ear canal is healthy. We check your eardrum to confirm it's intact and verify that the ear canal is clear of any residual wax or debris. This step is crucial to ensure the procedure's success and your ear's health.
We conclude by providing personalized advice on proper ear care and maintenance to help prevent future excessive wax buildup. This includes guidance on safe cleaning practices, warning signs of wax buildup to watch for, and recommendations for how often you should schedule professional cleanings based on your individual rate of wax production. We also advise against unsafe practices like cotton swab usage that can lead to impaction or injury.
Neither of these methods is safe. With cotton swabs, you are more apt to pack the earwax tighter or do damage to your ear canal or eardrum. The idea of putting hot wax into your ear in an attempt to remove earwax is dangerous all the way around, and you’re likely to burn your ears.
Excessive earwax buildup can be related to narrow ear canals, loss of elasticity from aging, living/working in dusty environments, and hearing aid use. However, the most common cause is the use of cotton swabs in an attempt to clean out your own earwax.
No. The most common earwax removal technique involves flushing your ear out with warm water, which feels pretty good, actually. If we have to reach some wax with a curette, we don’t have to dig around because it’s easier to see from our vantage point.
Sure. You can use the contact form below to schedule your appointment at the Lavonia, Watkinsville, or Loganville clinic near you.
Common excessive earwax buildup symptoms are temporary or sudden hearing loss, a feeling of stuffiness in your ears, dizziness, headaches, balance issues, infections, ringing in your ears, and/or pressure and pain.
You can figure on about 5 to 10 minutes for each ear.
We sure hope so. Removing impacted earwax brings immediate relief for the majority of our patients.
Impacted or hard-to-reach earwax is more of a challenge and it is apt to cause more aches and pains, but the removal process is essentially the same; it just takes a bit longer.
Yes. In fact, even if you are only experiencing issues with one ear, we’ll take a look at the other one and clean it while you’re here.
If you need some instant relief from impacted earwax, you can find relief at home by using a softening agent like mineral oil or olive oil and following these steps:
This process will help soften the wax so that it works its way out of your ears naturally and avoids the problem of damaging your ears or making things worse.
Stuffiness, earaches, temporary hearing loss, tinnitus, and muffled sound can all be symptoms of built-up or impacted earwax. Since most home remedies are apt to do more harm than good, your best solution is to allow one of the professionals at Hearing + Balance Clinics to safely and effectively remove it for you.
If you submit the adjacent form, a member of our team will call you back to help you set up an appointment for professional earwax removal so you can enjoy better ear health and greater comfort.
Very nice and helpful staff. Always take time to let me ask questions. First time at the Watkinsville office but most of the same staff. I have been with them for several years now and very pleased.
