Can I Put Hydrogen Peroxide In My Ear?

You can find hydrogen peroxide at any local pharmacy or grocery store.

I used to work with an ear, nose, and throat physician who would ask people to put a mixture of 3% peroxide and water in an ear before coming in for their earwax removal appointments, just to help soften the wax.

So yes, hydrogen peroxide can be used to clean your ears, provided that the patient has never had a perforation or a hole in their eardrum. You never want to put liquid in an ear that could possibly have an opening in the eardrum or if they ever had surgery on the ear.

Liquid within the ear where the perforation was could let the liquid of any kind leak into the inner ear, past the eardrum; the permanent damage it could cause is not worth the risk.

How Do I Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Clean My Ears?

You don’t want to put straight peroxide in the ear, as it will dry the ear out, causing itchiness— and there’s nothing worse than being itchy deep inside the ear!

To use hydrogen peroxide in the ears, mix it first with body temperature water to dilute it to about 3%. You don’t want to put it with water that’s too hot or too cold or it will make you dizzy. Just put it in the ear, let it sit, and flush it out.

What Are the Alternatives to Hydrogen Peroxide?

This method works for some patients, but not all; for those who cannot get water in their ears, there are some alternatives to hydrogen peroxide, which include:

Does Duncan Hearing Healthcare Offer In-House Ear Cleaning Services?

We offer wax management at Duncan Hearing Healthcare and offer a few different ways to remove earwax and clean your ears professionally.

We have the Earigator for patients who can have water in the ear, but with irrigation, we can flush the ears out gently and easily. Some patients come in just to have that because they find it very relaxing!

If patients have had surgery on the ears, such as tympanoplasty, or there’s some other reason we can’t put water in, we take out the earwax with a curette or by other means, and it’s very gentle and easy. We do it quite often and for quite a few patients regularly.

Is Hydrogen Peroxide the Best Way to Break Down Earwax?

No, hydrogen peroxide is not the best way to break down earwax. Most patients find that it doesn’t do much because it doesn’t really get the earwax out.

Sometimes the hydrogen peroxide will soften earwax and cause it to build up more, so they feel like their hearing has gotten worse afterwards, which is frustrating and unsettling.

Some patients may wish to use a hydrogen peroxide mixture before their ear cleaning appointment to soften the wax a little; we use softener at the office before removal, so there’s no need to worry about making sure your earwax is easy to remove. We have seen it all!

Using a hydrogen peroxide/water mixture in the ears is not effective for everybody, especially if their ear is completely blocked. It’s fine if there’s a little bit of wax that they’re looking to remove, but it doesn’t always clean it out.