Earwax Facts and Safe Cleaning Tips

Earwax, or cerumen, naturally produces to protect your outer ears. It is made up of dirt, oil, sweat, and dead skin cells. 

• Earwax is an organic barrier that stops bacteria and dirt from penetrating the deepest parts of your ears. It has an adhesive element, therefore it can gather tiny debris that travels into your ear’s canal the same way flypaper catches insects. Without this barrier, your inner ear is at risk for infections. 
• It is a moist, protective coating for the ear canal. Removing too much earwax may cause the outer ear to feel itchy and flaky. This leads to higher risks of infection and irritation. 
• It is a natural insect repellent. The scent of earwax repels insects, while sticky elements catch the ones who accidentally find their way inside.          

Is your earwax dry or wet?

Producing dry earwax is common among Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

Producing wet earwax is common among Africans and Caucasians.

What is the pigment of your earwax? 

Old earwax is generally dark brown or black. Its color is caused by trapped bacteria and dirt. This earwax color is more common in adults. 

Light brown, orange, or yellow earwax are considered healthy and normal. Children generally have softer, light-colored earwax. 

Dark brown earwax, with any red, might indicate a bleeding wound.  

White earwax that is flaky, is a sign that your body does not produce a chemical linked to body odor.   

What produces excess earwax?

Normally, your body will know how much earwax it needs to make. Keep a healthy diet, practice proper hygiene, and move your jaw around (the same way you do when talking and chewing food). Doing this will let your ears naturally remove excess cerumen, debris, or dirt. If you routinely remove earwax, this alerts your body to generate more. Excess earwax can prevent the ability to hear, which will put you at a higher risk of ear infections and other ear or hearing health problems.    

Too much stress and over-exercising can increase the amount of earwax that is produced. The same apocrine glands which create sweat, also produce earwax. Excess earwax is typically found in individuals who:

• Experience chronic infections in their ears.
• Have irregularly-shaped ear canals or osteomata (a benign tumor that is made of osseous tissue).   
• Are elderly, possess certain skin conditions or certain learning disabilities.
• Have an abundance of hair in their ear canals.   

Additional facts:

• Ears are generally self-cleaning. Do not insert anything small, like a cotton swab, into your ears to remove earwax. You are actually pushing the earwax further into the canal by doing this.
• Earwax can buildup in the microphone and speakers of your hearing aids. Ear cleaning kits, brush, and loop tools, along with wax guards, can be used to clean off the devices. 

Tips to safely clean out your ears:

Although there are benefits to having earwax, too much wax obstruction can induce conductive hearing loss (when sound waves cannot travel through the inner ear, because of the earwax obstruction). If your ears feel stuffy and believe that earwax may be the cause:

• DO NOT use a cotton swab, hairpin, or any small instrument to dig out the wax. The wax will be pushed deeper into your ear where it won’t be able to naturally fall out of your ears. You may also pierce the eardrum.
• DO NOT engage in “ear candling”. There have not been any proven benefits. It may cause burns, earwax obstruction, ruptured eardrums, and serious injury.
• If the earwax feels unbearable, you may wash your ears with a warm soapy washcloth. Occasionally allowing some warm water from your shower run in your ears can loosen and soften excess earwax.
• If you have healthy ears, without any tubes or eardrum perforations, try clearing out excess earwax by using an over-the-counter ear cleaning kit.
• For hearing aid users, be sure to properly clean your hearing aids. If necessary, stop by your hearing aid provider’s office for a thorough, professional cleaning.

If you are unable to hear out of your hearing aids and notice that there is too much earwax that is clogging up your devices, contact us at Pure Sound for deep cleaning. We will be happy to help.

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