We Tried the Earwax Cleaner That Brings a Doctor’s Procedure Into Your Own Hands
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There are a lot of cool things out there that make us wonder — do they really work? In our I Tried It series, we set out to use them in the real world and have determined that, in fact, they really do.
The Product On Trial
Black Wolf Nation WUSH Pro Ear Cleaner
The Tester
Eunice Lucero-Lee, genetic global citizen, swab agnostic
The Brief
I bought myself a 23andMe DNA kit during Prime Day a few years ago, and to say that it's the gift that keeps on giving is an understatement. Since getting my results back, not only have I learned that my ancestral background was way more diverse than what I gleaned from my family history (of COURSE, my whopping 5% Scandinavian heritage explains my obsession with Swedish procedurals!), but every so often, I also get updates on certain physiological traits that, not gonna lie, are definitely rather compelling.
These markers have ranged from the obvious (67% likely to have dark brown hair) to the interesting (less likely to be a deep sleeper) to even the mildly insulting (“muscle composition: uncommon in elite power athletes” — thanks for that completely out-of-pocket yet vindicating roast).
Wush Pro
$69.99
amazon.com
Apart from my genetic disposition to dimples, detached earlobes, and, apparently, a unibrow (seriously, the audacity) also came what type of earwax I was most likely to have. Results showed that I'm overwhelmingly in the dry, flaky camp, which, yes, very much tracks: I've always gotten by with your run-of-the-mill cotton swab with the occasional foray into the Asian ear pick, and, after hearing of the potential dangers of Q-tips actually impacting wax deeper into the ear canal, am super into this now-rare Muji amalgamation of both, which allows me to pick, then swipe off any debris with precision. I've found the latter to be my favorite tool to date — but it’s become increasingly harder to find, except, inexplicably, on auction sites like eBay. Seeing as I’m not really into the competitive Q-tip gray market, I decided it was time for an alternative.
Enter: Black Wolf Nation's WUSH Pro water-powered ear irrigator. WUSH is a handheld ear-cleaning device that uses jet water pressure to flush out wax from the ear canal, similar to what you would have done if you've ever had your ears professionally cleaned in a doctor's office. It has three pressure settings: You can choose from a level suitable for gentle overall cleaning (Level 1) to one that can handle impacted wax removal (Level 3). It comes with a water basin to catch any overflow and debris, and the package also comes with six heads and a USB charging cord.
It's worth noting that water in my ears ranks really low on my Favorite Feeling™️ scale — I carry swimmer's ear drops with me every time I go on vacation, for one — so to intentionally pump water into my ear canal myself was anxiety-inducing, to say the least. I get the concept, of course; I've had this professionally done by my ENT once before, but suffice it to say, whatever satisfaction I got from the flush barely edged out the discomfort in the seconds that led up to it. And going by what I yield from my own ear-cleaning practices, I also don't think I produced as much wax to warrant a full-on flush several times a week.
To dissuade any fears and level-set, I needed to get an expert’s opinion. “Traditionally, doctors would flush the wax out of patients’ ears using warm water,” says Dr. Linda Dahl, MD, ear, nose, and throat physician and assistant clinical professor at Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York Presbyterian. “Sometimes it works well, but sometimes it can cause ear pain, ear infections, or a worse impaction,” she adds. “It all depends on how much wax is in the ear and how long it has been there.”
According to my cheeky AF 23andMe report, I had an 81% chance of dry wax, and if my Muji picks were any indication, it seemed like I’d been doing a pretty great job in terms of daily ear hygiene. For purposes of the review (and because no one in the world wants to waste their time bidding on cotton swabs), I decided to see if the WUSH ear irrigator was indeed the wave of the future.
Dr. Dahl actually touches on the risks of DIY water irrigators, saying, “I hesitate to recommend a product that shoots water into a person’s own ear because it may not be safe to do so if the stream is too strong. Conversely, if the stream is not strong enough, it won’t work.” The WUSH tries to straddle this Goldilocks conundrum by offering three different streams, but then you’re now caught between playing it safe as a DIY irrigation novice and choosing the lowest setting, or wanting it to actually work and choosing the strongest setting — or else, what’s the point?
I soldier on anyway, erring on the side of caution, and relied on the lowest, most entry-level jet pressure, which is what the directions recommend for first-timers. They also say to always use warm water (water that's too cold or hot can cause dizziness, aside from the obvious discomfort) and to tilt your ear outward to aid in the flush-out process. You can choose to do this in the shower or above a sink, holding the water basin with your other hand to catch any fallout (I went with the sink). You then insert the tip into your ear and press the button, where a stream comes through from three holes on the tip.
I was immediately startled by the pressure as well as the sound of said pressure, even though it was the lowest, gentlest setting and wasn't painful at all. As expected, my ear felt very waterlogged up until the last second, when I had to tilt my head and tug my earlobe to completely flush any water out. I didn't really notice any wax fallout save for a few specks and lint (?) disturbances in the water, and the fact that the basin was black in color didn't help my spot-check, either.
If you're sensitive to the feel of water pressure in your ears like I am, have micro-tears or perforations in your eardrums, are prone to infections, or have undergone any ear surgery like tympanoplasty or the like, you might be better off with traditional cleaning methods; the product even says to consult an ENT before use.
According to Dr. Dahl, cleaning wax by flushing ears with warm water was “traditionally” done by doctors, but in her office, she uses a “combination of micro-suctioning, dissolving with hydrogen peroxide, and using tools specific for ears to remove wax.” Everything is done under direct visual guidance.
The fact that WUSH trusts me to do all of this by myself, correctly, and all on the first few tries was perhaps the most unsettling aspect in this testing process; half the time, I wasn’t sure I was going about it correctly or if I was just making things worse. I eventually got the hang of it and was able to flush both ears out, albeit with minimal to no wax fallout. I suppose that wasn’t the result I wanted for the review, but for life (and my hygiene flex?) in general, I guess that means that, apparently, I’ve been doing a pretty good job without it.
The Verdict
An ear cleaner that brings a professional procedure into the hands of everyday users is ambitious (but pretty clever, given today's Pimple Popper-obsessed times) and, when done correctly, a very, very satisfying concept. There are also less-sophisticated devices and methods out there that use the same approach of flushing water in and out of the ear canal to clean it, so in that regard, the WUSH is probably the best of its class.
Depending on your financial situation or access to healthcare, having a home remedy for impaired hearing or discomfort due to impacted wax could just very well be the solution you need. On that note — and if you've tried everything else — I would say it's worth a shot.
However, I personally didn’t see much change (some reviewers also say it took a few more tries to “get it right”); perhaps it was my wax type and/or level, my impatience, my anxiety about usage, or the fact that I probably didn’t need a complete flush, to begin with.
An overwhelming majority of users on Amazon, though, seem to rave about how this little gadget has changed their lives. “I had to use 10-plus containers of water in the device before finally dislodging the impacted earwax, but it did work, and now I can use it twice a week to make sure the wax doesn’t get impacted again. Much cheaper than a visit to the doctor to get the wax removed,” says another rave review. I’m happy for you, friend! Now off to eBay I go.
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