The Q-tips are proving useless. Is there such a thing as an "ear vacuum cleaner?"

Ear candles are fake, Google "ear candle scam". If you are sure it is wax, be careful. Qtips could compact it and make it worse. You can use the shower head set on a jet massage setting. You can also get a large syringe at a medical supply store to squirt in there, or even use a turkey baster, or a sport water bottle like you carry on a bike. This will force water in the outter ear and dislodge wax. For a suction tool try a baby nasal aspirator. They may not work if it is alot of wax though. If it is not wax, and the Dr looked in the outter ear and told you it is not wax, then you probably have clogged ears or Eustachian tubes - aka ETD. When we get sinus infections or ear infections -or even just a cold or allergy attack - it can cause the middle ear canal, the eustachian tube, to swell and clog. The membrane around it swells just like the nasal membranes do that give us a stuffy nose. Think about the last time your could not even breath through your nose and you will be able to picture what happens in the Etubes to cause clogged ears. The tube membranes are much like the nasal cavity membranes. They can get stuck closed due to a vacuum effect, or like a suction cup - and then fluid is trapped in the area behind the eardrum inside your head. The fluid stuck behind your eardrum will cause a variety of symptoms like you describe, all very annoying! The only way to get relief is have the Dr pierce the eardrum and let it drain (some do not even know you can do this so be insistent) OR use a neti pot and nasal spray to relieve it at home by attacking the swelling from the inside. You can see all the long steps to this process at the Earadicator web site. Source is below. Read the testimonies to see all the people who have tried it and got relief. It truly is amazing. There are also Youtube videos showing ow to do it. Read the Youtube comments about the clogged ear remedy too. You can also read all the symptoms to see if it matches what you are feeling in your ears. If you keep getting clog with out even having an infection or a cold, you could have ETD or Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. Read more about that and the surgery solution below.
http://www.earadicator.com
http://www.eustachian-tube.net/EUSTACHIAN-TUBE.html