It's called "Grandma's Rule"...NOTHING SMALLER THAN YOUR ELBOW IN YOUR EAR!

Sage advice for all! You can't see into your own ears, so you really don't know if they

need cleaning...and once you take the plunge, you certainly don't know how clean you've

gotten them, even if you did manage to excavate some ear wax. Fact is that more often

than not, you've pushed more wax in than out!

Wax, proper name CERUMEN, is a natural product produced by tiny glands in the skin of

your ear canal. It acts as a waterproofing agent to keep the skin healthy. It also has a

germicidal property, and helps to maintain a slightly acid pH in the canal which also helps

to ward off germs.

Although everyone has wax, some are more vigorous producers than others. Occasionally,

the phenomenon is uneven, with one ear making much more wax than the other. The

reasons for these findings remain a mystery to an extent, but suffice it to say that there are

times when ear cleaning becomes a necessity. It is recommended that proper cleaning be

performed by a Physician.

There are various methods used to clean ears. The most often used is irrigation. In this

method, a large syringe or bulb of warm water is used to flush wax from the ear canal.

Done properly, the water will gently displace the bulk of the accumulated wax, but the

method does have it's downside...not working well when wax is tightly impacted, and

imparting a slight risk of infection and eardrum perforation. (continued on next page)