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

If you're still reaching for this common product to battle ear wax, it's time to try a better — and safer — method.

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.

“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.

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 ...

Why your ears are always itchy even after cleaning with the real reasons behind persistent ear itching and what actually helps ...

What’s more common with ear cleaning, he said, is that people damage the skin in the ear canal, leading to swimmer’s ear—which, despite the name, you can get without swimming—and symptoms ...

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.