The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Marcie (Portland, Oregon) on 10/17/2011
★★★★★
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!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Marc (Boston, Ma) on 10/03/2011
★★★★★
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.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Angie (Valencia, Ca) on 08/03/2011
★★★★★
Oh my gosh! Works like a charm. After over a week of complete blockage in my right ear I found this remedy and gave it a try. I used a bulb syringe to place a few drops of peroxide into the ear and reapplied a few more drops as the bubbling stopped. I did this about 4 times, it took about 20 minutes. After letting the peroxide soak, I then used the bulb syringe to rinse out the ear canal with warm water. Chunks of dark wax came out in the rinse and I could immediately hear. Thanks for the relief!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Craig (Toronto, Ontario) on 05/11/2011
★★★★★
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.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Eliza (Nyc, Ny, Usa) on 05/02/2011
★★★★★
Hydrogen Peroxide really works! It took three days of applying almost a dropper-full of 3% hydrogen peroxide to my clogged ear twice daily, but I kept at it and now I can hear again!
I think what did it was accidentally falling asleep with the stuff in my ear.... Probably sat in there for a good hour and when I woke up and rinsed the ear out with an ear syringe, out poured tons of little chunks of wax :)
So, try keeping it in for a long time (I suggest while reading a good book lying on your side) and make sure to irrigate the ear with an ear syringe and warm water after soaking and draining. Don't give up if it doesn't work right away!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Tacomagic (Milwaukee, Us) on 08/11/2010
★★★★★
I had a blockage show up this morning and called my doctor. He suggested using H202 in a similar method as outlined above but also included using a warm water irrigation after every application of peroxide. Basically I put a few drops of peroxide in the ear and let it sit for 3 minutes. The ear was then irrigated with 2 bulbs of water from an infant nose cleaning bulb*. This was repeated 3 times with each time having a large amount of debris being washed out of the ear. On the third time a huge chunk of wax was washed out and my blockage was cleared. I was told by my doctor not to do more than 5 repetitions per ear a day and if I couldn't clear the blockage in 3 days that I would need to come in and have him extract the blockage. He did say that if I wanted I could use the warm wash as much as I wanted as that would eventually clear the blockage if it had been weakened enough by the H2O2, but it might take a long time. *He also suggested that a 50cc or larger syringe could be used and might be easier than a bulb.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Lilydy (Alice Springs, Australia) on 04/06/2010
★★★★★
Hydrogen peroxide helped with my ear wax problem. I used a medicine dropper and place about 3 or 4 drops on the blocked ear while lying in bed sideways, with the infected ear facing up. The peroxide will cause fizzing, wait till it subsides then place more drops. Repeat the procedure for about 10 minutes. Then turn to the other side lying down to drain any excess liquid in your ear. The key to this procedure is patience. Mine takes about 2 days before I was able to hear properly again and the wax did not just drain in one go.I waited for about 8 hours before repeating the procedure. Also, I did have to use an improvised ear cleaner to get out some of the dissolved wax in the ear. Oh and you may try to use the hand palm trick like a sucking cup on your ear till the blockage clears. Again this treatment requires patience. It does feel good and ticklish when the peroxide bubbles in my ear.Hope this helps.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Kyle (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 12/09/2009
★★★★★
The peroxide method does work! I tried it and it helped clear my blockage.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Janice (Coloma, Mi) on 03/11/2009
★★★★★
I used to work in a large hearing aid place and the only thing the audiologists would have people clean their ears out was with Hydrogen Peroxide. Ten minutes in each ear or put in at bedtime with a cottonball so that it won't get on your pillow and NEVER clean your ears out with a q-tip. It only pushes the wax in further.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Kelly (Nashville, TN) on 01/18/2009
★★★★★
When I was a little girl, I remember my Mom using hydrogen peroxide to clean the excess wax from my Dad's ears. He would lie on one side and she would pour a capful or so into his ear. Once the "bubbling" subsided, she placed a folded hand towel over the ear and had him turn over to the other side. Once both ears were done, she would gently dry the ear with a tissue. We never used a QTip in the ear!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Angie (Burlington, Canada) on 08/02/2008
★★★★★
After having ear blockage for a week . Due to ear wax buildup, I had suffered enough . In the past I have sen a doctor and they irrigate my ear with H2O. I read all the positive comments on this site and thought why not try the Hydrogen peroxide method. IT WORKED and it only cost me a Loonie (1 dollar) I am now relieved of the pressure in my head also the loss of hearing. I would highly recommend this method. It was safe, inexpensive and it worked.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by BDR (N.O., LA) on 05/14/2008
★★★★★
I swam laps for the first time in a while. I knew ear wax buildup was trapping the water because every year or 2 have to go to the ENT to have my ear irrigated and cleaned. Couldn't hear, miserable. Tried the hydrogen peroxide to save the hassle and expense of ENT visit. Worked! 15 minutes adding a few drops every 3-4 minutes, then irrigated with warm water. Hard to believe all that was in my ear. Thanks!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by John (Kansas City, KS) on 01/26/2008
★★★★★
Hello. I and wife have used hydrogen peroxide for years and it always works for us.
We either use it full strength or mixed with mineral oil. Sometimes we warm it first.
After we drain it out we spray water gentle from a syringe or spray bottle. Usually the wax is dissolved without using a syringe or spray bottle, but we use them to removed the rest of the hydrogen peroxide which can irritate the ear canals.
We haven't ever bothered about the ear canal being wet afterward and have had no trouble. Sometimes a few days later an ear canal may get itchy and we've found that the equate brand of preparation H stopped the itching better than campho phenique or anything and soothed the ear canal.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by June (KC, KS) on 01/12/2008
★★★★★
I also use store-bought H2O2 for use in my ears. I did have trouble with it leaving behind liquid and causing earache. And a couple times after using H2O2 I had sharp pains in my ears. I remedied this by putting a small amount of coconut oil in each ear after draining the H2O2 and it helped pretty quickly.
Now if I use H2O2 in my ears I add a drop of alcohol and only use a drop or two of H2O2 (full strength). This seems to be enough to ward off any virus-related earaches.
I also use H2O2 mixed with distilled water as a nasal wash and this is very effective in immediately ridding me of sore throat issues and any kind of infection I might feel at the back of my palate and upper portion of my throat where sinus drainage occurs. It burns a little, even with using distilled water, but I've come to recognize it as a good burn because I know it's killing the infection.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Xhellie (Coyle, Washington) on 12/07/2007
★★★★★
My son's ear canal was completely obstructed with ear wax. I know you're not supposed to use cotton swabs or bobby pins. I was so desperate to remove this blockage that I almost used a bobby pin. I was very skeptical to try this remedy because when I was younger I did this procedure to myself and left it too long. The ending result was the worst ear infection I have ever had.
This is the procedure I followed: I made my child lie on his side with the affected ear facing up. I pulled his ear lobe and used a head lamp so I could look deep into the ear. While still pulling the ear lobe back and up I dropped in the peroxide untill the ear was full. It bubbled immediately! I waited till the bubbling stopped, about 4 minutes and had him flip his head over and drain the peroxide. The peroxide that drained out was brown and murky so I knew it was working. We repeated this process several times, rinsing the ear with warm water between every peroxide "bath". After about 4 sessions I used the syringe to irrigate the ear and a huge ball of wax came ou of his ear. Upon inspection the ear canal was unblocked. Please remeber though, a layer of wax in your ear is a GOOD THING! Thanks again to Earth Clinic and everyone who contributed!!
