Hydrogen Peroxide for Ear Wax


5 star (52) 
  85%
1 star (8) 
  13%
(1) 
  2%

Showing 5 Star Reviews

Arahant (Ravenna, Ontario, Canada) on 02/20/2013
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   9      

Agie (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) on 11/12/2012
5 out of 5 stars

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!

REPLY   7      

No Longer Yelling (Two Rivers, Wi) on 07/18/2012
5 out of 5 stars

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

REPLY   9      



Stuart (Lithgow, Nsw Australia) on 05/11/2012
5 out of 5 stars

Using 3-5 drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in the ear will remove all wax, just continue to do it. Do not use if the ear drum is perforated.
REPLY   2      

Taioron (Minneapolis, Mn) on 03/19/2012
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   7      

Ryan (Boston, Ma) on 01/27/2012
5 out of 5 stars

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!
REPLY   7      

Craig (Toronto, Ontario) on 05/11/2011
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   12      

Tory (Muncie, Indiana) on 10/31/2011
5 out of 5 stars

I love this hydrogen peroxide remedy! After having trouble for months with my ears, peroxide cleaned them out in 2 days. 20 minutes a few times a day, and then use an ear syringe filled with warm water to rinse them out. Peroxide works much better than traditional ear drops.
REPLY   3      

Marcie (Portland, Oregon) on 10/17/2011
5 out of 5 stars

I had one ear totally blocked and the other ear was getting there. Tried various store "ear wax removal oil" from the pharmacy plus a natural tea tree ear oil. Nothing worked. Then I came upon your suggestion. I had to do 3 treatments (50, 40, 20 minutes) on the totally blocked ear and 2 treatments (40, 20 minutes) on the other. I could hardly believe what came out of my ears! For me, I think the important part was to keep putting the peroxide in over and over throughout the time period. Then using warm water and a bulb I swished out the goop! Having had this problem all my life, it is wonderful to now have an easy solution to keep my ears clean! Thank you!
REPLY   3      

Marc (Boston, Ma) on 10/03/2011
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   6      

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