I’ve had difficulty hearing in one of my ears recently.

I tried earwax drops, no luck. The "clog" was too big.

I tried an earwax "excavator" (a little scoop). It didn’t reach far enough into my ear. The "hilt" had a "crossguard" to prevent one from poking to deep.

Finally, I tried a humble bobby pin. I was able to reach deep enough and remove a large lump, perhaps half the volume of a pea.

All this wasted time and money for a cheap "home remedy" to work. The medical system, even when it works.