This guide shows you the most effective way to clean your ears without running the risk of damaging your hearing.

Your ears usually do a good job cleaning themselves and don’t need any extra care. The only reason you should clean them is to soften or remove earwax from the outside of your ear canals.

Remove matted hair and clean the hair around the ear canal and ear flap. If the ear canal is also hairy, you can pluck a few hairs at a time to provide more airflow. Restrain your dog.

“The biggest risk of not cleaning ears regularly is cerumen impaction, which is partial or complete blockage of the ear canal and can lead to itching, pain and even hearing loss,” says Villegas.

Your ear canal’s shape may make the natural removal of wax difficult. Best ways to clean your ears The safest way to remove wax buildup from your ears is to visit a doctor.

The Food and Drug Administration warns that this method can cause burns, perforated eardrums, and blockage of the ear canal. It’s especially dangerous for children. Here are five ways to correctly ...

Over-cleaning can lead to irritation or infection of the ear canal, according to the American Kennel Club. A healthy and clean dog ear should be pink, odorless and not dirty or inflamed .

Our bodies produce all kinds of substances, and people have different tolerance levels for them. One that can be really bothersome is earwax. But believe it or not, this substance actually serves a ...

Here’s the process: Bend the box slightly and slip the thin-tipped ear-canal camera into the tiny slot you’ve opened up. If you’re careful, this technique doesn’t damage the box at all.

Ear-cleaning kits that can go deep into the ear: Some kits offer tiny spade-like or drill-shaped tools that promise to pull wax out of your ear canal. However, doctors urge caution with these ...

In other words, earwax makes your ears naturally self-cleaning. In most cases, you don't need to dig into your ear canals or do anything to clean them out -- they'll do the job on their own.