How To Clean Your Baby’s Ears

Although cerumen, or earwax, might be quite disgusting, it is a very important part of our ears that is formed by a collection of cells and secretions from the ear’s canal lining.  It helps to keep the inner parts of the ear safe from germs, dirt, water and other foreign substances.  There are also elements contained in it that help to fight off bacterial and fungal infections.

Earwax is removed naturally from the ear through the process of the wax drying out.  It then is pushed from the outer ear and expelled.  However, if there is too much build up, ear wax might affect hearing and cause irritation.  A build-up is frequently the result of a mismatch between the rate at which the wax is produced and it being expelled from the ear canal.  It becomes necessary to remove the build-up when heavy wax build-up strongly affects a baby’s hearing or when the infant’s eardrum needs to be examined by a doctor.

Many parents use ear buds or cotton swabs for cleaning their baby’s ear.  However, inserting an object into your baby’s ears, or yours, is not recommended.  This can push the wax deeper inside the ear drum and injure it.

You can easily wash the earwax away that is inside the outer ear by using a damp, warm wash cloth.  In most cases, earwax inside  the inner canals does not need to be interfered with.  However, when it does become necessary, for instance when a baby’s hearing is affected, then it will need to be cleaned out safely by a doctor.

Ways Of Cleaning Earwax From Your Baby’s Ear

1.  Get a doctor to clean your baby’s ears out.  A set of tools will be used by the doctor, like an ear microscope, suction device, light and earwax scoop for cleaning the wax build-up out that is deed within the ear.  The doctor can then use warm liquid to flush the stubborn wax safely from the ear.

2.  If it is necessary for you to clean your toddler baby‘s inner ear on your own, there are some over-the-counter solutions that can be recommended by a pharmacist for your infant.  Another option is using a half-and-half mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide.  Follow these steps below to clean your infant’s ears at home:

– Hold the bottle that contains the solution inside your hand and allow it to warm up first.

– Lay your baby on her or his side.  Place the cleaning solution one drop at a time inside the ear.  Give time for each drop to flow into your child’s ear canal.  Usually it will take around 5 drops before you see the solution filling the inner part of the ear canal.  Allow the solution to sit inside your infant’s ear for around 5 minutes.  Then let it flow out of the ear.

– Do this once per day, for around 3 to 5 days.  Next, use a rubber bulb syringe and lukewarm water to flush the ear out.  Wax chunks will come out along with the water.

– If earwax reoccurs and block’s your baby’s ears, you might need to use the solution on a more regular basis so that major build-up can be avoided.  It might also be necessary for a doctor to examine the ear to make sure that the blockage doesn’t escalate and turn into a chronic problem.  Dehydration can make earwax denser, to make sure your baby stays well hydrate to avoid heavy buildup of earwax. Disclaimer: Information on this website is not medical or dental advice, its for general information only. For more accurate medical and dental information please contact your pediatrician and dentist.