How to clean out child's ears?

[Anonymous]

My 5 yo seems to be pulling and touching his ear a lot. He has a lot of wax in it. Says it does not hurt but clearly something is up. We had it looked at about a month ago for the same reason and he was fine, but clearly there's some extra wax in there I can see. This started happening a few days ago.

I heard there is a fluid/cleaner you can use in a child's ear, but I am unfamiliar and the results on websites overwhelm me. Can anyone recommend one? The last thing I want to do is a DIY and give my kid an ear infection before Thanksgiving when we travel. He is 5. I don't feel as if I need to take him in because there is no pain or redness (except when he pulls on it). I just feel compelled to clean it!

Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

I think if he's pulling on his ear a lot he has the beginning of an ear infection and it is probably not wax. I'd take him in. You are only going to do damage as a layperson.

[Anonymous]

In my 5 more minutes of research I concluded that I should take him in and not try to deal with it myself. Not urgent at all, so I'll call tomorrow and take him Thursday or Friday after school.

[Anonymous]

I used to need my ears flushed regularly. It's a quick office visit and it feels so good to get the gunk out. For someone who makes excess wax it's the same feeling as you using a qtip. If he keeps the wax in he's going to tug his ears because it itches and feels off.

[Anonymous]

My dd gets dramatic wax build up. We had the pediatrician do it until she was about 11 or 12, now that she's a teen, my dh helps her with it (he has similar ears).

[Anonymous]

Audiologist here. Take him to pediatrician please. No DIY.