Hi.  We use an ear cleaner that is designed so that you're supposed to
squirt it in and it loosens the wax and they shake out the loosened wax,
but that doesn't really get it all.  What I do is squirt it in, wait awhile
and then use a cotton BALL, not a Qtip, thoroughly moistened with ear
cleaner.  A Qtip can really damage their sensitive ears if you slip or they
jerk their head, but a cotton ball won't.  You can mash/form the cotton
ball into a "point" and get it in the ear and sort of smoosh it around and
rotate it; it is much easier to get into the little nooks in their ears w/o
worrying as much about hurting them.  After some initial squirming, they
also seem to tolerate it better, too, and will eventually (mine, anyway),
lay patiently waiting till I'm almost done before starting the squirming
again.
 
When I've done as much as I can with the cotton ball (I'm usually able to
get almost all of it, at least to the point where I can't see any), I add
another squirt to each ear to loosen anything left that I can't see, and
give them treats.
 
I also find that a little Ferretone on the bellyor side helps to distract
during most of the process (though the squirts in the ears always get a
head-flinging, body-jerking reaction).
 
Hope this helps!
 
-April
[Posted in FML issue 3369]