Earwax blockage

Learn simple steps for treatment and self-care of this common problem, including earwax removal.

Update Date: 20.09.2025

Overview
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Causes
Risk factors
Diagnosis
Treatment
Alternative medicine
Self-care
Don't try to dig it out
Preparing for your appointment

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Overview

Earwax blockage happens when earwax, called cerumen, builds up in your ear or becomes too hard to wash away naturally.

Earwax is a helpful and natural part of your body's defenses. It cleans, coats and protects your ear canal by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria.

If earwax blockage becomes a problem, your healthcare professional can take simple steps to remove the wax safely.

Symptoms

Symptoms of earwax blockage may include:

  • Earache.
  • Feeling of fullness in the ear.
  • Ringing or noises in the ear, called tinnitus.
  • Hearing loss.
  • Dizziness.
  • Itchiness in the ear.
  • Odor or discharge in the ear.
  • Pain or infection in the ear.

When to see a doctor

Earwax blockage that has no symptoms can sometimes clear on its own. But if you have signs and symptoms of earwax blockage, talk to your healthcare professional.

Signs and symptoms may signal another condition. There's no way to know if you have too much earwax without having someone, often your healthcare professional, look in your ears. Having signs and symptoms, such as earache or hearing loss, doesn't always mean you have wax buildup. You may have another health condition that needs attention.

Wax removal is most safely done by a healthcare professional. Your ear canal and eardrum are delicate and damage easily. Don't try to remove earwax yourself by putting anything in your ear canal, including cotton swabs. This is especially important if you have had ear surgery, have a hole in your eardrum, called a perforation, or are having ear pain or drainage.

Children usually have their ears checked as part of any medical exam. A healthcare professional can remove excess earwax from your child's ear during an office visit.

Causes

The wax in your ears is made by glands in the skin of your outer ear canal. The wax and tiny hairs in these passages trap dust and other materials that could damage deeper parts of your ear, such as your eardrum.

In most people, a small amount of earwax regularly makes its way to the ear opening. At the opening, it's washed away or falls out as new wax replaces it. If your ears make too much wax or if earwax doesn't clear well enough, it may build up and block your ear canal.

Earwax blockages often happen when people try to get earwax out on their own by using cotton swabs or other items in their ears. This usually pushes wax deeper into the ear, rather than removing it.

Risk factors

Risk factors for earwax blockage can include:

  • Use of cotton swabs to clean ears, which can cause earwax to get pushed deeper into the ear.
  • Hearing aids, earplugs or in-ear headphones that can cause wax buildup if worn over time.
  • Hair in the ear canal.
  • Bony growths in the ear canal.
  • Narrowed ear canal.
  • An ear that makes too much earwax.

Diagnosis

Your healthcare professional can see if you have earwax blockage by looking in your ear. A special tool called an otoscope lights and magnifies your inner ear, offering a closer look.

Treatment

Your healthcare professional can remove excess wax in the ear with a small, curved tool called a curet or with suction techniques. Another method flushes out the wax with a syringe full of warm water and saline or diluted hydrogen peroxide. Your healthcare professional may recommend medicated ear drops to help soften the wax, such as carbamide peroxide (Debrox Earwax Removal Kit, Murine Ear Wax Removal System). Because these drops can irritate the delicate skin of the eardrum and ear canal, use them only as directed.

If earwax buildup keeps happening, you may need healthcare checkups once or twice a year for regular cleaning. Your healthcare professional also may recommend that you use earwax-softening agents, such as saline, mineral oil or olive oil. These help loosen the wax so that it can leave the ear more easily.

Earwax removal by a healthcare professional

When too much wax builds up in the ear, a healthcare professional can remove it with a small, curved tool called a curet.

Alternative medicine

Some people try to remove earwax themselves using a technique called ear candling, also called ear coning. This involves lighting one end of a hollow, cone-shaped candle and placing the other unlit end into the ear. The idea is that the heat from the flame will make a vacuum seal that draws wax up and out of the ear.

Ear candling isn't a recommended treatment for earwax blockage. Research has found that ear candling doesn't work. It also may burn or damage the ear.

Essential oils — such as tea tree oil or garlic oil — also are not proven treatments for earwax blockage. There is no data that shows they are safe for earwax removal or that they work.

Talk to your healthcare professional before trying any alternative remedies for removing earwax.

Self-care

You can get many ear cleaning home remedies over the counter. Most of these treatments, such as irrigation or ear vacuum kits, aren't well studied. This means they may not work and may be dangerous.

The safest way to clear your ears of excess wax is to see your healthcare professional. If you're prone to earwax blockage, your healthcare professional can show you safe ways to lessen wax buildup. For example, your healthcare professional may show you how to use ear drops or other earwax-softening agents. Don't use ear drops if you have an ear infection unless a healthcare professional recommends it.

Don't try to dig it out

Never try to dig out excessive or hardened earwax with items such as a paper clip, a cotton swab or a hairpin. You may push the wax farther into your ear and cause serious damage to the lining of your ear canal or eardrum.

Preparing for your appointment

You're likely to start by seeing your healthcare professional. In some rare cases, your healthcare professional may refer you to a doctor with special training in ear disorders, called an ear, nose and throat specialist.

As you prepare for your appointment, it's a good idea to write a list of questions. Your healthcare professional may have questions for you as well, such as:

  • How long have you been having symptoms, such as earache or hearing loss?
  • Have you had any drainage from your ears?
  • Have you had earache, trouble hearing or drainage in the past?
  • Do your symptoms happen all the time or only sometimes?

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