How to remove the cork from the ear at home

Sulfur cap is a problem that many people know. Some of them do not even realize that hearing loss is associated with the formation of such a traffic jam. It is important to recognize the symptoms of sulfur consolidation in time and get rid of it. What is sulfur, how are traffic jams formed and how can they be removed?

Why does man need sulfur

Sulfur grease formation is normal. The cerumenous glands are located in the cartilaginous (outermost part) of the external auditory canal (meatus acusticus externus). They produce a hydrophobic secretion containing a large number of different lipids. Speaking into the lumen of the ear canal, this substance is mixed with the secretion of the sebaceous glands and the corneal epithelium rejected. All this becomes components of sulfur. Why is it needed?

Between the outer and middle ear is the eardrum, it plays an important role in the process of formation of hearing. However, the membrane itself is a very delicate structure. Any mechanical effect can damage it. Then a person is almost deaf. Sulfur protects the eardrum, primarily from water.

During hygiene procedures, water often gets into the ear, but a hydrophobic lubricant prevents it from entering the eardrum. This explains why, when diving into the water, the hearing deteriorates first, then it is completely restored.

Cork formation process

Normally, sulfur itself comes out of the ear. When a person is chewing, sulfur softens and leaves the cavity of meatus acusticus externus. If this does not occur, the lubricant is compacted and hardened, moving deep into the ear canal. Thus, it can accumulate for a long time at the eardrum.

The first symptoms of sulfur plug occur very soon. Hearing loss occurs after sulfur completely occludes the lumen of meatus acusticus externus. The following manifestations may be present:

• Feeling of ear congestion;
• Pain inside the ear of varying intensity;
• Unilateral hearing loss;
• When you try to clean the external auditory canal, a dense, dark-colored mass is released;
• Sometimes there is a noise in the ear, like a squeak, a whiff of wind or a pulsation of blood vessels.

The most common symptoms occur after water treatments. When water enters the meatus acusticus externus, the sulfur plug swells up, becomes too large and blocks the entire external auditory canal. The hearing is reduced and remains at the same level until the plug is removed from the passage cavity.

The reasons

As already mentioned, normal sulfur is eliminated from the auditory canal independently. Why do some people have it inside and turn into a traffic jam? There are several reasons:

1. Features of the structure of meatus acusticus externus. In some people it is too long or too curved, in this case, the removal is not fully.
2. Excessive sulfur production. There are people whose cerumenous glands work harder than others. The person himself may not be aware of this, but due to an excess of sulfur, its residual volume after removal is increased.This leads to the formation of traffic jams.
3. Hair in the ears. This problem is familiar to men because it is transmitted exclusively linked to the male sex chromosome. The coat prevents the removal of sulfur, especially if the hair is long and long.
4. Brushing your ears with cotton swabs. Many people do not know that mechanical cleaning of the external auditory canal does more harm than good. The fact is that in this way, sulfur seems to be tamped deeper into the ear canal. Part of it, of course, is removed, but the lion's share remains inside. Each ear cleaning is a tamping of sulfur and the formation of a plug.
5. Wearing a hearing aid. Hard-of-hearing people know that from the side where they wear the device, traffic jam occurs more often than from the opposite. In this case, the hearing aid is simply an obstacle to the natural cleansing of the ear. The problem is that a person already hears weakly and may simply not notice how an obstacle has formed in the way of sound waves penetrating.
6. Listening to music with in-ear headphones. In this case, they act like a hearing aid, being an obstacle to the release of sulfur from the ear.The difference is that the headphones are simultaneously located in both ear canals and can help reduce normal hearing on both sides.
7. Temperature and humidity drops. Climate change in the environment can also contribute to the drying or swelling of sulfur in the ear canal.
8. Occupational hazards. Dusty working conditions are especially dangerous: bakeries with flour dust, construction with sand or cement chips, mines with coal dust. Small particles settle in the ear canal, changing the physico-chemical properties of sulfur, which is now becoming denser and worse subject to purification.
9. Elderly age. Over the years, the properties of sulfur change, it becomes less organic compounds and more inorganic. This grease is more solid, dense, it does not perform its functions and is very poorly soluble.

Treatment

For any symptoms of this pathology, it is recommended that you immediately consult a otorhinolaryngologist. The fact is that in the same way a number of diseases can manifest themselves with a more formidable prognosis. The doctor will not only establish the correct diagnosis, but also cleanse the cork from meatus acusticus externus.

You can try to get rid of this problem at home.As you know, cotton buds in this case is not the best assistant. So how do you remove the sulfur plug? You can just dissolve it. There are substances called cerumenolytic. They contribute to the softening, dissolution and discharge of the components of the sulfur plug. For cerumenolytic drugs include:

• Drops on the basis of sea water - Aqua Maris Oto;
• Antiinflammatory drops - Otinum;
• Glycerol;
• Drops of cerumex;
• Surfactants and surfactants;
• Almond, olive or castor oil;
• Sodium bicarbonate.

In all cases, the method of application is the same: the tool is poured into the ear with a syringe without a needle (drops can be used from the bottle). You should lie down with a sore ear up for at least 15 minutes. Then rinse the ear with water or peroxide (if oils were used) from a syringe.

The procedure is repeated daily until the cork is dissolved.

What will do in the hospital to remove traffic jams

The doctor has a large arsenal of tools than a first-aid kit. Perhaps it will be limited to the use of cerumenolytic agents. However, sometimes this is not enough.A tight, tight or too large cork is almost impossible to remove. In this case, you can resort to the following methods:

1. Aspiration. It is used by otorhinolaryngologists in the formation of a plastic cork, which is poorly soluble. A special electric suction head is inserted into the ear and sulfur extraction is performed. The procedure is painless, but not all closures can be removed in this way.
2. Curettage A special medical instrument - an ear probe - is inserted into the ear through a funnel, which increases the viewing area. The procedure is quite dangerous, but effective in the accumulation of solid masses. After curettage, the external auditory canal cavity is disinfected.

Prevention

The method of sulfur removal is the same as the method of softening the sulfur plug.You just need to select the appropriate cerumenolytic agent and three times a month to bury it in the external auditory canal of both ears.

Thus, we can conclude that sulfur is the natural defense of meatus acusticus externus. Sometimes, due to various reasons, traffic jams form from it that interfere with normal hearing. You can get rid of them by contacting an otolaryngologist or at home, by washing with cerumenolytic agents. For the prevention of the formation of sulfur plugs, you can use the same drugs as for their treatment.

Video: how to remove the cork from the ear