11 Unusual Uses for Baby Oil

Step 4: Remove earwax

When in-ear headphones were just starting to become a thing, I went deaf in one ear. Panicked, I went to the doctor only to discover that I had a cebum compaction, earwax clogging my ear to the point I couldn't hear. Gross, right?

For the temporarily hearing impaired, there's an easy home remedy to handle that waxy buildup: baby oil!

While laying on your side or tilting your head so your affected ear is up, drop five drops of baby oil inside (warmed, if you really want to dissolve the mess) your ear. Let it stay for long enough to dissolve some of the wax, then let the oil drain out onto a clean towel or into the sink. A small amount of warm water can be used to dislodge any last bits with a small bulb or needle-less syringe.

Comments

[thinkiam]

My mom used to put warm honey in my ear when I had swimmers ear. The honey, which was denser than the water, would "push" the water out. I have no memory of how she got the warm honey out of my ear!?!

[bryan3141]

old diver's remedy for swimmer's ear: grab a bottle of rum, a shot glass and a thimble. Pour rum into the shot glass and the thimble. pour the shot down your throat, the thimble full in your ear. Repeat till no pain is felt.

[wilgubeast]

That sounds like it would absolutely work over the short term. Until the rum's gone. Or until it gets too difficult to pour rum into a thimble.

[MissCindel]

That's pretty cool = I have a version of Swimmer's Ear that water = a worse mess. And so far I see to be allergic to the commercial ear cleaner on the market. I use to go to the doctor's to be "flushed, and vacuumed" but that is really spendy. I switched to ear candling but that takes at least two people and makes a smokey mess.
All that to say: if you find out what cleaned out the honey = I'd sure like to know! :*)

[Javin007]

I would strongly, strongly, strongly recommend against ear candling. Ear candling is a farce. The physics alone make the concept that it "draws" ANYTHING out of your head completely and physically impossible. The wax found inside the cones after they've burnt is the wax from the candle itself, not from your head. Normally, I'd say, "If you wanna blow your money on a pointless, useless, hoax 'remedy' then no harm, no foul" except that many, many people have been permanently damaged by ear candling, have gotten severe burns INSIDE their ear canals, and have even ruptured ear drums when scalding wax manages to hit them directly. Ear candling has not only been completely proven that does not work, but it's even dangerous. For this reason, you can't even purchase ear candles (legally) in Canada.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/med/ear-oreille-eng.php

[MissCindel]

Thank you for your strong warning.
I have personal experience with ear candles and can say honestly that the draft created does remove wax from my ears. Once, out of curiosity, I purchased some just to unwind them and see if all the junk that I was seeing at the end of a session had already been snuck into the ear candle. None of the wax that appeared to have been removed from my ears was pre-existing in any of the four I disemboweled.
Do I think they are dangerous? I think anything involving fire has the potential to do great harm. The candles I've used do not contain excess wax, I know this because there have never been wax droplets after/during their burning. When I run the tip of my finger on the inside of the wide end of an ear candle I feel the material only because the wax coating is on the outside.

[cjmills]

I've also used peroxide to "boil" my ears out when faced with swimmers ear/severe sinus infection that settles in my ears. It seems to have worked well with no ill effects thus far.

[thinkiam]

Mix one third H2O2 (peroxide) one third 70% rubbing alcohol and one third vinegar. I use a dropper to put in my ears after every swim. I did get this recipe frop my doctor. Still doesn't feel as nice as the honey!

[thinkiam]

Honestly, I think since the honey was warm, it flowed well, so she just had us lay (honey + ear) down on a warm damp washcloth. I remember it felt really really soothing. The most important part is to make sure the honey isn't too hot, that happened once, ouch! I'm also thinking a drop of tea tree oil afterwards would be really helpful. Ears. Ya don't really think about 'em till they hurt, then ya can't think about much else!

[wilgubeast]

After having a significant cebum compaction due to extra waxiness and some in-ear headphones, I highly recommend all the hydrogen peroxide recommendations here.

Best method? Hydrogen peroxide + needle-less syringe. The hp will break up the wax, and water from the syringe flushes it out. (You don't need a lot of water pressure. Nor do you want it. Unless you want to see if you can brainwash yourself via your auditory canal.)

[SIRJAMES09]

needle-less syringe = catheter tipped syringe.

This is another type of syringe without a needle in it...in fact, the way this syringe is made, there is no way a needle can be attached normally. I'm not for sure, but I think you can buy Catheter tipped syringes at your local drug store...check with the Pharmacist for sure.

I know this because I use these every day.

BUT, any syringe that does not have a needle will do just fine.

[ginny2221956]

My mom always used sweet oil for ear aches.

[piemonkey46]

Hydrogen Peroxide works pretty well for this. I haven't tried the oil though, it seems like it would be messier...

[Honora]

Also, if you get an insect in your ear e.g. a small moth, use oil to get it out. Water may cause the insect to swell. That said, in an emergency my partner squirted water in my ear to flush out a small moth. It flew out to live another day...

[mrmuskrat]

As a kid, my mom and grandma would use warm olive oil to deal with earwax and ear aches.