What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast?

What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast?

There are all kinds of sprays and drops, collectively known as "cerumenolytics", designed to dissolve ear wax fast. Which dissolve earwax the fastest? Which are the heroes and which are the villains? Is it even a good idea to use something that dissolves ear wax fast?

Is Is It A Good Idea To Dissolve Ear Wax Fast?

If your ear is blocked with ear wax, then you will no doubt reply, "Yes! Of course it is!", as an earwax blockage can be frustrating, uncomfortable and even painful. If both ears are blocked with wax, you'll struggle to hear pretty much anything. If one ear is blocked with ear wax, it's hard to work out where sounds are coming from, which is obviously a safety hazard if you are driving or crossing the road, and also a real struggle and very frustrating when someone is talking to you on the side you have your blocked ear. It can be very disorientating, and some people may feel unsteady or dizzy, and generally out of sorts. It's understandable to want to be rid of your ear wax blockage as fast as possible.

However, the ear canal and ear drum are very delicate structures, and need to be treated with gentle care and respect. The skin at the entrance of the ear canal is just one millimetre thick, and the further you go down the ear canal, the thinner it gets, going down to a tenth of a millimetre at the eardrum. Although stronger, more aggressive ear drops may seem like the solution, the can cause irritation in some people, as well as other potential side effects. So which are the heroes and which are the villains?

Earwax Dissolving Drops - Heroes and Villains

So, which are the ear wax dissolving heroes and villains? Which are the gentle giants of quickly dissolving ear wax, and which are the aggressive marauders that can do more harm than good? Some of the stronger earwax dissolving drops can change the protective layer of the ear canal and put you at risk of an opportunistic skin infection, while some aggressive formulae can cause an extreme sensitivity reaction that is very painful and looks like an agonizing sun burn, complete with peeling skin. Read on for our league table of the best and the worst as we answer the question, "What dissolves ear wax fast?"

What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast - The Best & The Worst

What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast - The Worst

Some of the following drops and sprays might seem like familiar household names, so why would they be on our list of worst drops for dissolving ear wax fast? Read on and you may be surprised...

• Antibiotic drops & sprays eg. Sofradex®, Otomize® & Ear Calm
  Sofradex® drops and Otomize® spray are the two most common medicines prescribed to treat otitis externa, the medical name for an infection of the outer ear, which includes everything up to and including the ear drum. They contain a combination of skin steroid to reduce swelling and itching, an antibacterial to stop the growth of bacteria, and an antibiotic to kill bacteria. These, as well as other generic ear medications, can only be obtained from a pharmacy on prescription, and are specifically designed to treat ear infections, so while they are great for treating infected ears, they don't do anything to dissolve ear wax.
• Hydroxen peroxide ear drops, including Otex® , Earex® Advance, Exterol, Cl-Ear Express etc.
  These profess to dissolve and break up ear wax, but although they dissolve ear wax faster than saline, the peroxide they contain can cause painful, severe sensitivity reactions that look like sun burn when viewed using an ENT microscope. Also, like all ear drops, the method of application requires you to put your head on a side, so the ear canal then acts like a funnel, directing softened ear wax onto the eardrum. The peroxide can also bleach the ear wax, making it difficult for even the most experienced professional to distinguish between white ear wax and the ear canal walls, even under an ENT microscope.
• Non-sterile cooking oil: refined olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, extra virgin coconut oil, vegetable oil
  Traditionally, it used to be recommended to warm up some olive oil and drop it into the ear using a spoon or pipette. However, some people have gone so far as to heat olive oil to its boiling point and drop the boiling oil into their ear - NOT to be recommended! If you want to dissolve ear wax fast, olive oil isn't the solution you are looking for. Yes, it will dissolve ear wax, but slowly and gently. Extra virgin olive oil - good for your cholesterol, so good for your ears? No! Extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed and hasn't been pasteurised or processed using solvents. This preserves all the delicate plant ingredients that are so good for our health, but also leaves in small amounts of plant matter. Once opened, the bottle can become a home for yeast and bacteria floating in the air. This is not a problem when we cook with it or put it on our salad, as our stomach acid kills mould spores and bacteria. However, non-sterile olive oil from your kitchen should be kept for your cooking and not put in your ears, as any professional who has seen a fermenting ear will tell you.
• Olive oil ear drops eg. Cerumol® olive oil, Otex® olive oil
  Sterile, pharmacy-grade olive oil ear drops will safely and gently soften ear wax. Being sterile and highly refined, olive oil ear drops are very safe, but certainly won't dissolve your ear wax fast. They also have the same problem as any ear drops: you have to put your head on a side for the drops to go into the ear, which funnels any softened ear wax deeper into your ear, potentially making your hearing worse as the ear wax slides down the ear canal as it gets narrower and narrower.

So, those are the worst at dissolving ear wax fast, which are the best products for dissolving ear wax fast? Read on to find out...

What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast - The Best

Finally, we arrive at the winners of this category. Some work faster than others, but can have some unwanted side effects. Here we bring you everything you need to know to decide "What dissolves ear wax fast?"

• Sterile saline ear drops
  Surprisingly, sterile saline ear drops work quite well at dissolving ear wax, with very little in the way of side effects, save for having to put your head on a side for the drops to go into your ear. The ear canal then funnels any softened wax further into the ear canal, which becomes narrower and narrower, and the softened ear wax can come to rest on the ear drum.
• Sodium bicarbonate ear drops
  Sodium bicarbonate (also known as bicarbonate of soda) ear drops work by creating a chemical reaction with the ear wax: the alkaline bicarbonate drops react with acidic ear wax to produce salt plus water. Sodium bicarbonate should only be used for two to three days prior to an earwax removal procedure, as long term use can alkalise the ear canal surface and put you at risk of an opportunistic skin infection in your ear. For this reason, we don't generally recommend sodium bicarbonate ear drops. They also have the same problem of all ear drops, that softened ear wax can go further into the ear canal and worsen the blockage.
• Cerumol® ear drops
  The original Cerumol® ear drops are a mixture of arachis (peanut) oil and other ingredients. It has a very medicated smell, which you may or may not like, but it is very good at dissolving ear wax fast. The main downside, like all ear drops, is that the blockage may worse and softened earwax can be pulled deeper into your ear by gravity as you have to put your head on a side to get the drops in. You should also not use products containing peanut oil if you have a peanut allergy.
• Sterile saline ear spray
  You can buy proprietary saline ear sprays that work in the same manner as saline ear drops, except with the significant benefit that instead of putting your head on a side for the ear drops to go into your ear, you keep your head upright and the saline is sprayed into your ear. The natural downward slope of the ear canal then encourages softened ear wax to come out of the ear.

Those were some of the best, but what are our top three products for dissolving ear wax fast?

What Dissolves Ear Wax Fast - Our Top Three

We've seen some really great contenders for the crown, but now here are our top three:

• Glycerine ear drops
  These can be difficult to find, but you can use ordinary glycerine with an ear dropper bottle if you are unable to get glycerine ear drops. Glycerine acts as a humectant and is very good at softening hard ear wax. Glycerine has natural antibacterial properties. Use should be discontinued if irritation occurs.
• Earol® Olive Oil Spray
  Earol® contains pharmacy-grade highly-refined sterile olive oil in a sealed spray unit. It overcomes the problems of the slow action and funnel effect associated with olive oil ear drops by spraying the olive oil into the ear canal with the head upright. The spray breaks up the olive oil into tiny droplets which penetrate into the ear wax more effectively, speeding up the softening process and getting into every nook and cranny of the ear canal. By applying Earol® with the head upright, the natural downward slope of the ear canal encourages ear wax to come out naturally.
• Waxsol® ear drops
  Waxsol® is excellent for softening impacted ear wax. The active ingredient in Waxsol® ear drops is docusate sodium, the same ingredient used in some stool softeners. It works in a similar manner to glycerine by drawing water into the ear wax and softening it that way. It should be applied at night for two nights prior to an ear wax removal procedure. Docusate can rarely cause skin irritation, so discontinue use if it irritates your ear.

Professional Ear Wax Removal

Now that you have read all you need to know about how to dissolve ear wax fast, you may be thinking that there is so much choice, you just want to get your ear wax removed professionally. With over 30 clinics in London, The Home Counties, East Anglia and The Midlands, you're in the right place.

Before a procedure, we recommend the following regime: 2 days of glycerine ear drops - 3 drops in each ear twice a day, followed by 3 days of Earol spray, 3 squirts in each ear 3 times a day. If you have impacted ear wax, we would recommend the addition of Waxsol at night for two nights prior to your procedure. The softening regime can cause ear wax to shift and appear to unblock, but we would still recommend a professional ear wax removal procedure afterwards, as otherwise the softened ear wax can shift and then re-solidify, making it even more difficult to remove.

To book ear wax removal at a clinic near you, you can call us on 0800 1 337 987 or save £10 and book online by going to our booking page here, or by clicking the button below.