All About Earwax

The human body never ceases to amaze with the breadth of substances it produces. Sweat, saliva, mucus, pus, et cetera. They all serve their purpose while simultaneously being a little gross. Earwax is no different.

Earwax’s protective purposes are clear, yet there is more to be discovered about all of its properties by medical professionals. In the meantime, some interesting facts about earwax follow, including how it helps care for your ears and hearing health.

A Helping Hand from Earwax

The medical term for earwax is cerumen and it is a naturally occurring substance found in the outer ear. However, earwax is not a “wax” at all. It is a combination of secretions from oil and sweat glands in your ear, dead skin cells, and hair. It may be hard to be believe that this is the stuff that protects your ear’s health, but having a normal amount of the sticky, smelly earwax has its benefits:

• One of the primary functions of earwax is preventing dirt and bacteria from entering the inner ear. Its sticky texture collects microscopic debris which can make its way into your ear canal. Your inner ear would certainly be at risk without it.
• Earwax acts as a moisturizer and protective coating for the outer ear. Without earwax, you can experience dry, flaky skin and be at risk for irritation and infection.
• Earwax also acts as an insect repellent, strange but true. The smell of earwax keeps bugs away and the sticky nature of the substance traps any that make their way inside.

What Your Earwax Says About You 

The composition of earwax is different from person to person, dependent on factors including ethnicity, the environment, your diet, and even age. That almost everyone produces earwax is where the similarity begins and ends.

Two main types of earwax exist: wet and dry.

• Caucasians and Africans typically produce wet cerumen
• Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Asians commonly produce dry cerumen

Like other substances produced by the body, earwax can have a corporal, organic color ranging from dark brown or black to white. The color could even say a bit about you.

• Earwax that is dark brown or black is usually older, its color coming from dirt and bacteria it has trapped. This is more common in adults.
• Dark brown earwax with a red tint may be from a bleeding injury.
• Light brown, orange, or yellow are normal, healthy colors for earwax. Softer, lighter-colored earwax is more common in children.
• White, flaky earwax probably means that you lack a body odor-producing chemical in your sweat. Conversely, dark, sticky earwax could be a signal to keep deodorant handy.

Enough is Enough

The body has a good sense of exactly how much earwax to produce as the ears are self-cleaning. Maintaining a healthy diet, good hygiene, and moving your jaw (while talking, chewing, et cetera) also helps your ears naturally expel excess earwax, dirt, and debris without any help. In fact, when you remove earwax too often, you send a signal to your body to produce more, which can create an excess that interferes with hearing ability and puts you at risk for ear infections and other hearing related complications.

Have you ever noticed what your body does when you are stressed or afraid? If you said produce more earwax you would technically be correct. The same apocrine glands that produce sweat also produce cerumen. There are those who tend to produce too much earwax, including:

• people with a lot of hair in their ears.
• people who suffer from chronic ear infections.
• those with osteomata, or abnormally-formed ear canals.
• the elderly, people with certain skin conditions, and people with certain learning disabilities.

Safely Cleaning Your Ears 

All in all, earwax can be quite helpful to your ear’s hearing health. However, blockages caused by earwax can lead to conductive hearing loss. If you notice a stuffiness or blockage and suspect earwax is to blame, refrain from attempting to remove it yourself with a cotton swab, hairpin, or any other sharp object. You could accidentally push it further into your ear canal where it cannot be discharged naturally or worse: you could puncture your eardrum. Reaching out to a hearing health care professional is the best course of action.

Again, the ears are self-cleaning, but you can do your part to keep them free of dirt and debris. Washing your ears with a warm wash cloth and soapy water can help soften and loosen excess earwax. If your ears are healthy and you do not have eardrum perforations or tubes, you can ask a pharmacist about over-the-counter ear cleaning kits.

Lastly, visit your hearing health care professional annually for all things ear-related. They can safely remove excess cerumen and may have more tips for maintaining clean ears at home.