The Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment for Ear Wax

I have had problems with wax buildup since my teens, generally with a slow progression where I realize at some point that I'm having problems hearing out of one ear. I would typically use some heated oil to loosen up the wax and it'd be fine. So imagine my surprise when I suddenly can't hear anything and my ear goes from fine to feeling like a cotton factory has taken up shop. I tried going between warm oil and HP multiple times, and no results. Two hours of trying this and nada!

I followed the directions someone posted about putting in 2-3 drops of 3% peroxide at first, then waiting 5 minutes and putting in another 2-3, for about 20 minutes. Then tipped my head over the sink and let it drain before irrigating. Sweet relief!!! First time didn't take, second time didn't take, but third time was a charm. A really, REALLY disgusting charm, but it worked! I have never seen that much wax in my life and hope to never see it again. If it doesn't work the first time, just try, try, and try again. It'll work, eventually, and it will be incredibly relieving and horrifying when it does.

Ear wax / hydrogen peroxide

It worked! I put hydrogen peroxide in my son's ear for 20 min and kept adding more to keep the bubbly sound going. I could see the wax swelled up a bit so I used an ear wax scoop tool and pulled out a huge long piece of wax. At least half an inch long! I couldn't believe what came out! That wax was causing ear infections when he would get a head cold. It all came out in one big piece thanks to the hydrogen peroxide loosening everything up.

Thank you all for such an awesome remedy! The other day I decided to get in the pool with my kids to fight off this heat wave we are going through in Southern California. Towards the end of the pool session, my son asks if I can float. As I attempted to show him that I could not, my ears got completely submerged in water causing my ears to clog.

As I got out of the pool I thought, no biggie it's just water. As hours went by my ears stayed clogged so I decided to use a qtip. The qtip made it worse. I decided to try this peroxide method out of desperation as I was going on two days of not being able to fully hear.

My wife dropped the HP in my right ear to the point where it fuzzed. That lasted 10 mins then I laid down the opposite side to let it drain for another 10 mins. I did the same to the other ear. I was bummed as I didn't see any ear wax drain out of my ears nor did my hearing get any better. As desperation grew, I grabbed a clean bottle sprayer and filled it with lukewarm water and sprayed it directly into my ear. After 3-5 mins of spraying my ear, I felt a strong fuzzy feeling in my eardrum as if the HP and water were mixing in my ear. That feeling forced me to pull the spray bottle back. And as I did that small particles of ear waxed burst out onto the sink. Viola! My hearing came back 110% better.

Hydrogen Peroxide for Ear Wax

IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! OH MY GOD! LIFE CHANGING!!!! THIS IS A REAL MIRACLE CURE!!!! Do it for 20 full minutes. Keep adding more drops with ear dropper and keep refilling it. You will notice a variety of bubbling/fizzing noises in your ear. THIS IS NORMAL and means that it is working. When the bubbling noise becomes less and less loud, add more droplets to your ear..fill it up...like 4-5 droplets with dropper. I did it laying down in bed, completely sideways with my affected ear facing up. THANK YOU EARTH CLINIC! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this, truly from the bottom of my heart -- thank you! I have FULL 100% hearing out of my left ear again!!!!!! IT WORKS. Read all other comments first before proceeding. And DO NOT use HP if you have a perforated eardrum and this will cause more problems. If your ear blockage is a result of EAR WAX, this HP method is you best to fix it. AGAIN, never ever ever ever use Q-tips! Those cause hearing loss!! Thanks again, Earth Clinic, I truly hope many people find relief with this simple, cheap and 100% effective technique. Cheers,

Hi, just wanted to write this after trying peroxide and how it worked for me.. I don't have ear wax problems all the time but for some reason something triggers it that I'm not aware of and every once in awhile my ear start over-producing wax. I've used an irrigation bulb before and that worked well but this time I tried that and it was doing nothing.

I tried putting in the peroxide.. Waited like 40 seconds, tried irrigating.. Nothing. So I came back and read that I had to do it for like 10-15 minutes... I went laid down and put it/topped it up for like 15 minutes, irrigated it.. Nothing! I did it for like another 5-10 minutes... Got up and tilted the peroxide out of my ear... Nothing again! So frustrating I can't hear. So I go and sit down and read some more... I somehow got the idea that I shouldn't leave the peroxide in my ear and that it needs to be cleaned out so I went to the sink and irrigated it with water and BAM, I could hear, nothing came out tho so I irrigated it again(with some trepidation) and a chunk of wax came out, it was impedded in dried skin.

Thanks for the help.

After reading the testimonials on this website, we tried the HP treatment for my husbands EXTREMELY clogged left ear. It was causing him much pain and causing us both irritation that everything had to be repeated - loudly - each time I spoke to him.

After following the suggestion to continue adding the peroxide as the bubbling subsided, after approx. 25 minutes, he went to the sink and flushed out an enormous (or so *I* thought) amount of dark orange wax. He was so pleased!

He said it didn't hurt AT ALL, but did tickle quite a bit! :-)

He can now hear perfectly out of that ear and wants to do the other one as a maintainence before it gets clogged.

THANK YOU to all who posted to this site, and especially to the people running the site!

No longer yelling in T'Rivers, WI

I recently had success clearing an ear that was plugged up from ear wax using hydrogen peroxide. My ear was so plugged that it was really affecting my hearing. It took 3 weeks of once-a-day treatments with hydrogen peroxide, but it's mostly clear now. I almost gave up after 2 weeks, when I had barely noticed any improvement, but it was worth it to persist.

Let me add my voice to the many others here who have had success using Hydrogen Peroxide. I have what my physician describes as very small ear canals. As a result, I have had to deal with blockages due to ear wax all my life. I typically must have my physician clean my ears with a syringe of warm water ever couple of years (it's usually very messy and she has to do it several times.... Getting handily sprayed in the meantime). She has often recommended using H2O2 before seeing her for this (and as a preventive maintenance).

Recently, after months of partial blockage in my left ear, I began putting H2O2 in the affected ear. The downside was this softened the wax enough to lead to a full blockage! (this has happened before too). I booked my appointment with the physician, however, I had to wait several days to see her. In the mean time I kept adding H2O2 twice a day for several days (I even tried some lavage, using warm water in a squeeze bottle). Finally, last night, after reading about others' success, I went with the full treatment: For 40 minutes I lay on my side, adding more H2O2, every few minutes as the bubbling and warmth subsided, always trying to work it in as deeply as possible, and always using a tissue to clean out H2O2 that had stopped bubbling and was now a yellowish colour. After 40 minutes of this, I again rinsed the ear with a strong spray of warm/hot water and on the second blast, out came several large chunks of deep brown/black ear wax. Wonderful! I could fully hear again!

I cancelled the medical appointment and went to listen to my favourite music to hear all the glorious detail that I had been missing for months.

I specifically logged in today just to say thank you to this site and all the posts about hydrogen peroxide! It definitely works.

I wanted to emphasize how diligent you may have to be when doing this treatment though. I didn't realize how clogged my ear was until I started doing this treatment. I always (20 years or more) have cleaned my ears with a bobby pin. It has always worked for me. Recently, my one ear was opening and closing while I slept and seemed to be creating more wax than usual. It would always pop open in the morning, though, and I would be fine. One day, it stayed closed after I massaged/tickled it. Uggh... I remained with my ear plugged up and hearing muffled for one week before I decided to try something else.

I did as others here have said to do; put the hydrogen Peroxide in a syringe and flooded my ear while tilting my head to the side. I would continually fill it and hear it bubbling. I actually used my 20 vol peroxide for hair, but cut it in half with distilled water. Worked fine. I did this for several days with no real effect. I then read that olive oil (warm) may also help dislodge it in between the HP treatments. I warmed some of that in a bowl of water and would fill my ear and put in a cotton ball during down time.

It took a full week (5 days) to start seeing an effect from all this. I started noticing my cotton ball with orangey/brown wax on it when I took it out from my ear. It is still a little clogged, so I'm continuing the treatment, but I can tell it is going to totally clear! I am so happy! It might have helped if I had better syringes/ear bulbs that could shoot water more rapidly in my ear after the treatments.

Don't give up! If you try this, just keep at it. I have an almost two-year old and had to do it whenever she would allow me to do it! LOL. I was getting a bit distressed after four days since nothing seemed to be happening. Fifth day was when it all came to fruition. It DOES work; just don't give up. Can't stress that enough.

Thanks to this site and everyone's feedback for helping me find this treatment and giving me hope that my hearing would return!

I will just say, this works. When I get water in my ears, the wax ends up swelling so much that I get complete blockage of the canal, and I can't hear out of that ear. After seeing the doctor, they themselves used hydrogen peroxide. My problem when I used it, is I will put some it but not allow it to sit very long. When I kept adding more and more while letting it sit for over 20 minutes, the problem was solved.

Now, it is not the most gentle thing ever, which is why bottles of it are usually diluted. Most bottles will be diluted down to 3%, which will be fine for when there is no other choice. If you want to do a more regular cleaning, consider some of the oils that are mentioned as it will be more gentle. Most people seek out advice when other solutions aren't working, and in that case, 3% hydrogen peroxide for over 20 minutes. It will work.

Dear Deb,

It has worked for me and mine for years.

If the wax is old and hard it may take more time.

If it doesn't seem to work, it might be good to get it looked into (literally.)

~Mama to Many~

I also just tried this today, in one ear. For a little less than a week I've had sort of a "double frequency" in one ear (with actual sounds, not like tinnitus) and my ear felt blocked. So far, I have improvement after only ten minutes and 3 or 4 drops of hydrogen peroxide from a baby medicine dropper. I can still feel the blockage, but the extra tones are gone.

The peroxide remedy was like a miracle. My ears get blocked up a couple of times a year. I've always used the CVS brand Ear Wax Removal System, with the drops and the bulb syringe. Yesterday, that didn't seem to be doing the trick. When I put the drops in, I barely even heard any crackling like I think I sometimes used to. Gave the Hydrogen Peroxide a try today and it made a world of difference. Instantly and consistently hearing the crackling noise confirmed for me that it was really doing the trick and eating away at the wax. Left the drops in for ~5 minutes at a time and let it drain. Did that 4 times or so and then the flushed everything out with the syringe. I feel so much better!

The Hydrogen Peroxide definitely works to clear out ear wax. However it may take SEVERAL DAYS for it to work, as you are applying this technique twice a day, say morning and night. If the wax is impacted against your eardrum, you may feel fullness, itching/tickling, diminished hearing, tinnitus/ringing, even balance issues.

Now if you try the Hydrogen Peroxide and notice any relief whatsoever after using it the first day or two, it's safe to say wax is the problem and to keep on going for up to 5 days. What can happen in the initial days is that the initial treatments are barely getting around the outer layers of wax, or are melting them a little and then they re-form, so you feel better for a little bit after the H202, then the symptoms come back.

It totally sucks that this takes DAYS and DAYS to get rid of. But if you look at the instructions on any OTC ear wax softeners such as Murine etc it says use it for 4 days. I find this H202 method works far better than the oil based stuff like Murine, although you could also try placing some plain mineral oil in your ear during the day in between the H202 treatments.

What I do is I bought a 20cc ear cleaning syringe at a pharmacy (CVS sells them, etc) that has a removable special spray tip. I use the syringe without the tip to apply the H202 for the 20-30 minutes, and then if I feel it's needed, I attach the spray tip and use warm water to spray out the ear. This type of syringe with special tip works WAY better than those little blue bulb sprayers you see included with the ear wax kits.

Also, each time I put the H202 in the ear, I'll warm it first by placing the whole syringe (with about 5cc of H202 in it) inside a tall plastic cup full of warm/hot water. This will warm the H202 to body temp, and I'll even draw in a little bit of this warm water to add it to the H202 just before putting it in my ear. Then test a few drops on your hand before putting it in your ear to make sure it's not too warm or cold, since any liquid too warm or cold going into your ear can make you nauseaous.

I tried this method to the letter. I had my ear stopped up for days and could not take it any longer. Unfortunatly i did not do the test with the wax in the peroxide first, It did not work for me even after soaking for an hour. My ear hurt from the treatment. How i finally fixed it was i went in the shower with one of those ear bulbs that you use on babies, And with natural hot water and a cup about thirty times all kinds of junk came out of my ear. I hope this will help someone.

I have worked over the years with while trying to look up and stuff fell in my ears. I ended up in an ER once in so much pain. She removed some foreign object from my ear. The Doctor gave me a tip to take a shower sprayer and the hottest water I could take with my head tipped in a downward sideways position opposite the ear I was cleaning and spray it in there. I just had excess wax in my ear and gently with the other end of tweasers I could feel something hard in there.

I used Peroxide, then tried with a bobby pin, tweasers smooth end again, then more peroxide and then the bobby pin and got something very hard out of my ear I could feel in there. I took my time, was very gentle and very careful. Once it was moved about and the wax broken down it was the bobby pin that managed to coax it out.

I have NO doubt that I am better for it, and possibly safer than the shower method even that may have sent it into my inner ear. I might note that after I was done I put a dab of Coconut oil in as it is antimicrobial and will add some oil back to my ear as of course it felt sensitive a bit on my last dip in there to make sure the foreign object was out.

I just did the same thing. I kept putting in peroxide in my ear throughout the day. Then I finally got a bulb and squirted peroxide in my ear. Still nothing. I put warm water in the bulb and and irrigated. A big chunk of wax came out. What a relief!

I have done the hydrogen peroxide a million times tonight and it didn't work at all. Then I tried the bobby pin and that didn't work. So I guess I have to go to the ent. :(

Actually, a nice way to gently clear impacted earwax or Cerumen is a syringe with a soft non latex tip. This will irrigate the earwax using warm water after pre-treatment with Debrox or hydrogen peroxide.