This Morning's Dr Sara Kayat has said you should never use cotton earbuds to remove earwax.

Earwax buildup can cause hearing loss, earache, and in serious cases, vertigo. Ear candles and ear vacuums are also reported to be poor types of remedies.

Appearing on a previous episode of This Morning, she advised: "I hate cotton earbuds, don't ever use them.

"Our ears are self-cleaning, the wax should be able to come out by itself.

"We've got these tiny little hairs that ciliate in our ears and push out the wax.

"When you put earbuds in your ears that actually kills off those little hairs, stops it from being allowed to come out, and you could damage the lining of your eardrums and damage the actual membrane. So don't use them!"

As Dr Sara explained, earwax usually falls out on its own. But if it doesn't and blocks your ear, the NHS recommends putting two to three drops of medical-grade olive or almond oil in your ear three to four times a day, for three to five days.

Symptoms of earwax build-up

Symptoms of earwax build-up include:

  • hearing loss
  • earache or a feeling that your ears are blocked
  • ringing or buzzing in your ears (tinnitus)
  • vertigo (feeling dizzy and sick)

How you can treat earwax build-up yourself

Earwax usually falls out on its own. If it does not, and builds up and blocks your ear, you can try to remove it.

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To remove earwax build-up:

  • Lie on your side with the affected ear facing up.
  • Put 2 to 3 drops of olive or almond oil in your ear – do not use almond oil if you're allergic to almonds.
  • Continue to lie on your side for 5 to 10 minutes after putting in the oil.
  • Repeat 3 to 4 times a day, for 3 to 5 days.

Over about 2 weeks, lumps of earwax should fall out of your ear and your symptoms should improve.

There's no evidence that ear candles or ear vacuums get rid of earwax.