Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops

What are Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops?

Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops are used to treat excessive earwax. Everyone needs some amount of earwax, but if too much builds up in your ears, it can harden and dry out. This causes discomfort and can get in the way of your everyday activities.

Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops usually contain 5% of the active ingredient (sodium bicarbonate). This is effective for treating waxy ears. It softens the wax, clearing out your ear canals and easing your symptoms.

How do Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops work?

Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops work by softening the ear wax, which reduces symptoms like ear pain and hearing problems. By softening and breaking up the wax, it can also escape your ear canals more easily.

If you have mild or moderate dry ear wax, you usually don’t need to get it removed with a procedure. The drops should take care of it by themselves. Even if you have more severe wax build-up, sodium bicarbonate drops can make removing it easier and help your symptoms in the meantime.

What doses of Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops are there?

Most Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops contain 5% sodium bicarbonate (the active ingredient in the drops that help to relieve symptoms). When using sodium bicarbonate drops, you usually use the drops 3-4 times a day, until your symptoms start to improve. Your clinician can tell you exactly how often to use it based on your symptoms.

If your symptoms still haven’t gotten better after a few weeks, you should go back to your clinician for advice. You can message us if you’re using our service and our team of experts will get back to you right away.

How to use Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops

Start off by reading the leaflet that’s provided with your ear drops to make sure that you’re following the right instructions for your particular treatment. Here’s how to use Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops:

• wash your hands before you start
• warm the drops to room temperature before using them. You can do this by letting it sit in a room at normal room temperature for around 30 minutes before you use them.
• lie down, or tilt your head slightly, so that the affected ear is facing upwards.
• gently pull your earlobe to straighten the ear canal.
• release 3-4 drops into your ear to fill the ear canal. Try not to touch the inside of your ear with the dropper as you do this.
• keep your ear facing upwards for 5-10 minutes to keep the solution in your ear.
• repeat the process in your other ear if you have been asked to use the drops in both ears.

You might notice wax starting to come out of your ear. Don’t poke or pick at this inside of your ears. Instead use a clean cloth or tissue to wipe away any wax that’s on the outside of your ears. Many people don’t even notice the wax as it comes out of their ear.

How long does it take Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops to work?

You should usually see the difference in 3-5 days when using Sodium Bicarbonate Ear Drops. The wax should start to soften and the symptoms of ear wax overproduction should start to be relieved. If this doesn’t happen, go back to your clinician, or send us a message if you’re using Treated. We can look into other options and let you know which treatments might be right for you.

Medically reviewed by

Dr Daniel Atkinson

GP Clinical Lead

on May 10, 2022.

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