Deep Ear Cleaning - Pre-tour Ear Prep
Ear wax is produced by the ear canal skin. It protects your ear canal, keeping ears clean and healthy. However, when it accumulates in your ears, it can be a sticky and unpleasant mess. People with impacted wax notice hearing loss, muffled hearing, ringing in their ears, and the uncomfortable feeling of pressure in their ears.
For touring artists, the problem goes beyond the inconvenience of ear pressure. Wax can produce an annoying echo, where their own voice is amplified, making singing difficult. Wax can affect and clog ear monitors. Monitors also make clogged wax more ilkely, as they occlude the ear and may push wax into the ear. Ear plugs that artists use to help them sleep on noisy tour buses may also push wax further into the ear.
A thorough ear cleaning is an important part of pre-tour preparation to minimize the risk of these issues.
How are ears cleaned?
There is only one safe and thorough way to get ears cleaned. Using a combination of visualization (a camera that goes into the ear) and instruments to suction and gently remove the wax ensures no injury to the delicate ear canal and ear drum. Other techniques, such as irrigation (squirting water into the ear) risk pushing the wax farther into the ear or incompletely removing the wax, a setup for a blockage while on tour.
The most important thing is to visualize the ear as you are cleaning. This is generally only performed by ENTs.
How is this different than candling?
Candling works on the theory that heat from the candle produces suction that pulls the wax out. However, this has been mostly debunked. A proper ear cleaning requires a combination of visualization and careful removal, at times using delicate solutions that dissolve the wax while protecting and soothing ear canal skin.
Can’t I just flush my ears?
While loose wax may fall out with irrigation, irrigating risks pushing wax further into the ear, worsening the problem.
What can I do to manage my ear wax on my own?
Ear canal skin grows outward, taking ear wax with it. This means that you can wipe the outer part of your ear canal and get the excess wax out. When you get out of the shower, you can take a damp cloth and wipe the ear canal opening with the towel.
So about my Q-tips…
Just say no. The outer ear (outside of the canal) can be cleaned with a Q-tip but you can do that with the towel method (see above). Better to just remove the temptation altogether and get rid of those Q-tips. Cleaning with cotton swabs inevitably pushes the ear wax further into the ear canal, drying it out, and making removal more difficult. Again, just say no.
Contact the team at Center for Vocal Health to get your pre-tour or general ear deep cleaning. Discounted visits are expedited for this important service.
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