It's a clear, colorless liquid that's generally safe, which is likely why you'll often see it touted as a DIY cure-all for all kinds of things, including ear wax. The medical term for ear wax is cerumen, and it also serves a protective purpose, preventing bacteria, viruses, and fungi from coming in to threaten the ear canal, as Sayani Niyogi, D.O., a fellow ENT specialist with the same practice, previously told Shape.Īnd ICYDK, hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound made up mostly of water and one "extra" hydrogen atom, which allows it to serve as a sanitizing agent that can sterilize wounds or even clean surfaces in your home, Jamie Alan, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, previously told Shape.
Remove ear wax skin#
"One of the functions is to help remove dead skin from the ear," he explains. Getty Images Ear Wax and Hydrogen Peroxide, Explainedįirst things first, what is ear wax? Well, it's an oily substance produced by glands in the ear canal, notes Steven Gold, M.D., an ENT specialist with ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP. To clear things up, two ear, nose, and throat specialists (aka ENT specialists) weigh in on the safety and efficacy of this technique, revealing if you should try or skip this DIY hack next time your ears are feeling a little gunky.Ĭollage showing a person's hand pouring hydrogen peroxide into another person's ear for earwax removal ( TikTok isn't well-known for super-sound advice, TBH.) Effective? That's the million-dollar question. Once the fizzing stops, you'll flip your head so that the ear you're cleaning is now on the towel to allow the dissolved wax and liquid to drain out. The TikTok ear wax removal technique involves lying one side of your head on a towel-covered surface and filling the ear canal with hydrogen peroxide, allowing it to bubble and fizz.
(Sigh.) But, as an alternative to that risky practice, users on TikTok have been sharing another, equally satisfying method for clearing the gunk: pouring hydrogen peroxide into the ear and waiting for it to dissolve the wax. If you find removing ear wax to be one of those weirdly satisfying parts of being a human, then you've probably been told that digging a cotton swab into your ears can do more harm than good.
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