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.

Especially if your pet is like most — curious and prone to getting into everything— not cleaning their ears regularly can ...

Your dog almost certainly loves playing in the water, but trapped moisture can lead to ear infections and swimmer's ear. The ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty Images If you need to clean a dog’s ears, you may be wondering how on earth ...

Cornell University's Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center outlines a three-step process to clean your pup's ears: 1. Add ear cleaner. Depending on your dog's ear type, hold it between your ...

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.

A big part of dog parenting is grooming. When you adopt a dog into your family, be prepared to groom her coat, brush her teeth, trim her nails and clean her ears. Ears are tricky, though: You don ...

The ears are normally self-cleaning. But if you do have a build-up of wax that is making your ears feel full, you have an earache or you’re struggling to hear, then you may want to clean the ...

The use of cotton-tipped swabs to clean ears is “ubiquitous,” he wrote. Out of 100 patients that he surveyed at his office, 77 percent used cotton swabs, and nearly half did so on a daily basis.

Medicare doesn't cover routine ear cleaning; however, if you have a severe buildup of earwax, Medicare will cover earwax removal. We explain Medicare coverage, your options, and how to choose.

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.