Does It Really Do That? Wax Vac

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Ear pain from too much wax that traps water in your ears is a common complaint from kids.

It happens more in the summer when they're spending more time at the pool.

So, should you try the Wax Vac to prevent the problem?

This is it, a lightweight little gadget with replaceable silicone tips, and a bright light.

The Wax Vac wants to have a permanent place in your home. The company behind it says it's a better, safer, easier way to clean your ears.

KDKA-TV's Jennifer Antkowiak wanted to find out, does it really do that?

The infomercial hits you, especially the dramatic display of what happens when you use cotton swabs.

Viewers e-mailed us, wanting to see if the Wax Vac holds up to its claims.

Mother Lisa Vactor had seen the commercial, and liked the idea of using something safer on Danielle and Ethan.

The directions for use are easy: just insert batteries, pop on a silicone tip, turn it on and you're ready to go.

The Wax Vac also has a strong light that you're supposed to be able to use to see inside the ear. Lisa didn't see anything in her daughter's ear, but they gave it a try.

The Wax Vac came up clean - -no wax or debris.

They did notice a bit of wax on the outside of the silicone tip when Lisa used it on her son, but nothing inside.

So, were they not seeing anything because the Wax Vac doesn't work, or because their simply wasn't any wax build-up in the children's ears?

"I have to say I'm not sure. Again, I think if you had problems, it may, but on a normal every day, I don't know. It may clear a little ear wax out, but it didn't do a lot for Danielle and Ethan," Lisa said.

More testing needed to be done to clearly determine if the product worked. School nurse Susanne Osche helped out with that.

Her nephew, Tim, has a lot of problems with ear wax, to the point that he has trouble hearing.

Tim has to go to the doctor every two months to get his ears cleaned out. His mom said they usually get about a nickel-sized clump of wax. Tim said it actually hurts.

"Yeah, because they really suction it out," Tim said.

So, they really wanted the Wax Vac to work because cleaning Tim's ears at home sounds much easier.

Susanne likes that the Wax Vac has a bright light, but without a tip to direct it, how much would she be able to see?

"Not much. I can see just barely on the inside, I cannot see down in, I definitely can't see the eardrum itself," Susanne said.

They wanted to know for sure if there's wax in the ear to start, so Susanne used a professional device to take a look.

"I can see a little bit of the wax buildup, a little bit of that orange, so it is in there and there's a little bit on my tip, too," Susanne said.

As Susanne continued cleaning, Tim said he felt some suction, but not really enough to feel like it was doing anything.

After the cleaning, there was no change.

Overall the testers gave the Wax Vac a thumbs down.