Where does earwax build up? Learn the causes, diagnosis, and treatment options for excessive earwax buildup. Get answers to your questions about dealing with this common ear condition.

Understanding Earwax Buildup

Earwax, also known as cerumen, is a natural substance produced by the glands in the ear canal. It serves an important purpose in keeping the ears healthy by trapping dirt, dust, and other foreign particles before they can reach the eardrum. In most cases, earwax naturally works its way out of the ear canal, carrying these unwanted materials with it.

However, for some individuals, earwax can build up and become excessive, leading to a blockage or impaction in the ear canal. This can cause a range of unpleasant symptoms, including earaches, infections, and hearing loss.

Causes of Earwax Buildup

There are several factors that can contribute to the development of excessive earwax buildup, including:

• Narrow ear canals: Some people are simply born with narrower than average ear canals, making it more difficult for earwax to naturally work its way out.
• Overproduction of earwax: Some individuals produce more earwax than others, leading to a faster accumulation in the ear canal.
• Use of earplugs or hearing aids: These devices can push earwax deeper into the ear canal, causing a blockage.
• Dry earwax: Earwax that is dry and hard is more likely to become impacted in the ear canal.
• Genetics: There may be a genetic component to earwax production and the tendency for buildup.

Diagnosing Earwax Buildup

If you are experiencing symptoms of earwax buildup, such as earache, ringing in the ears, or hearing loss, it’s important to see a healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis. They will use a specialized tool called an otoscope to examine the inside of your ear and determine if there is a blockage.

Treating Earwax Buildup

There are several options for treating earwax buildup, including:

1. Ear drops: Over-the-counter earwax softening drops, such as carbamide peroxide or mineral oil, can help to loosen and break up the wax, allowing it to drain more easily.
2. Ear irrigation: A healthcare provider can use a specialized instrument to flush out the ear canal with warm water, saline solution, or diluted hydrogen peroxide to remove the excess wax.
3. Wax removal tools: A healthcare provider may use a small, curved tool called a curette to gently remove the wax from the ear canal.
4. Ear candling: This alternative therapy involves the use of a hollow, cone-shaped candle to create a vacuum that is supposed to draw the wax out of the ear. However, this method is not recommended as it can be dangerous and has not been proven effective.

Preventing Earwax Buildup

To help prevent excessive earwax buildup, it’s important to avoid using cotton swabs, bobby pins, or other objects to dig out the wax, as this can push the wax deeper into the ear canal and cause damage. Instead, you can try the following tips:

• Use over-the-counter earwax softening drops as directed to keep the wax soft and manageable.
• See a healthcare provider for regular ear cleanings, especially if you are prone to earwax buildup.
• Avoid using earplugs or hearing aids for extended periods of time, as they can push wax deeper into the ear canal.
• Consider using custom-fitted earmolds or hearing aids that are designed to minimize earwax buildup.

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you are experiencing persistent or severe symptoms of earwax buildup, such as severe pain, dizziness, or sudden hearing loss, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. A healthcare provider can properly diagnose and treat the issue, preventing further complications and restoring your hearing and comfort.

Conclusion

Earwax buildup is a common condition that can be easily treated with the right approach. By understanding the causes, seeking proper diagnosis, and following the appropriate treatment recommendations, you can effectively manage excessive earwax and maintain healthy, comfortable ears.

Earwax blockage – Diagnosis & treatment

Diagnosis

Your health care provider can see if you have earwax blockage by looking in your ear. Your provider uses a special tool that lights and magnifies your inner ear (otoscope) to look in your ear.

Treatment

Your health care provider can remove excess wax by using a small, curved tool called a curet or by using suction techniques. Your provider can also flush out the wax using a syringe filled with warm water and saline or diluted hydrogen peroxide. Medicated ear drops may also be recommended to help soften the wax, such as carbamide peroxide (Debrox Earwax Removal Kit, Murine Ear Wax Removal System). Because these drops can irritate the delicate skin of the eardrum and ear canal, use them only as directed.

Earwax removal by a health care provider

When too much wax builds up in the ear, it can be removed by a health care provider using a small, curved tool called a curet.

If earwax buildup continues, you may need to visit your health care provider once or twice a year for regular cleaning. Your health care provider may also recommend that you use earwax-softening agents such as saline, mineral oil or olive oil. This helps loosen the wax so that it can leave the ear more easily.

Self care

You can get many ear cleaning home remedies over the counter. But most of these treatments — such as irrigation or ear vacuum kits — aren’t well studied. This means they may not work and may be dangerous.

The safest way to clean your ears if you have excess wax is to see your health care provider. If you’re prone to earwax blockage, your health care provider can show you safe ways to reduce wax buildup at home, such as using ear drops or other earwax-softening agents. People shouldn’t use ear drops if they have an ear infection unless it’s recommended by a health care provider.

Don’t try to dig it out

Never attempt to dig out excessive or hardened earwax with available items, such as a paper clip, a cotton swab or a hairpin. You may push the wax farther into your ear and cause serious damage to the lining of your ear canal or eardrum.

Alternative medicine

Some people try to remove earwax themselves using a technique called ear candling (ear coning). Ear candling involves lighting one end of a hollow, cone-shaped candle and placing the other unlit end into the ear. The idea is that the heat from the flame will create a vacuum seal that draws wax up and out of the ear.

However, ear candling isn’t a recommended treatment for earwax blockage. Research has found that ear candling doesn’t work. It may also burn or damage the ear.

Essential oils — such as tea tree oil or garlic oil — are also not a proven treatment for earwax blockage. There is no data that shows they are safe for earwax removal, or that they work.

Talk to your health care provider before trying any alternative remedies for removing earwax.

Preparing for your appointment

You’re likely to start by seeing your health care provider. In some rare cases, however, you may be referred to a provider with special training in ear disorders (ear, nose and throat specialist).

As you prepare for your appointment, it’s a good idea to write a list of questions. Your health care provider may have questions for you as well, such as:

• How long have you been having symptoms, such as earache or hearing loss?
• Have you had any drainage from your ears?
• Have you had earache, trouble hearing or drainage in the past?
• Do your symptoms happen all the time or only sometimes?

Got an ear full? Here’s some advice.

The genesis and treatment of a common ear condition

Some earwax is good for your ears, so often the best policy is to leave it alone. And a few drops of water may be all you need to get rid of a blockage.

Earwax, a bodily emanation that many of us would rather do without, is actually pretty useful stuff — in small amounts. It’s a natural cleanser as it moves from inside the ear canal outward, gathering dead skin cells, hair, and dirt along the way. Tests have shown that it has antibacterial and antifungal properties. If your ears don’t have enough earwax, they’re likely to feel itchy and uncomfortable.

The side effects of excessive earwax

But for many people, earwax is manifestly too much of a good thing. An ear canal plugged up with earwax can cause earaches, infections, and other problems. If it gets lodged in a certain way, earwax can cause a cough by stimulating the branch of the vagus nerve that supplies the outer ear. And, not surprisingly, an excess of earwax can result in some loss of hearing.

Guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery stress a let-it-be attitude toward earwax and warn against removal unless the earwax is causing a problem. Of course, sometimes it’s difficult to tell if the wax is the source of a problem without removing it and seeing whether the problem goes away.

The development of earwax

The medical term for earwax is cerumen (pronounced seh-ROO-men), which comes from cera, Latin for wax. It starts as a mixture of fatty secretions from the sebaceous glands and sweat glands in the walls of the outer ear canal (see illustration). Jaw movement from chewing or talking helps propel those secretions through the canal to the ear opening, where they dry up and harmlessly flake off.

Earwax that picks up a lot of debris or sits in the ear canal for a long time can get hard and dry, so it’s more likely to cause a blockage. Conditions that produce a lot of dry, flaking skin, like eczema, can also result in hard earwax. And with age, the glandular secretions change consistency, so they don’t travel as easily through the ear canal.

Some people are simply born producing dry earwax that may be more likely to clump. For example, dry earwax is more common in East Asians.

Earwax removal tips

You can get medical help to remove a blockage; earwax removal is the most common otolaryngologic procedure performed in American primary care settings.

Or, you can take a do-it-yourself approach. The thing that many people do — but shouldn’t — is try to remove the wax with a cotton swab, which tends to push the earwax back into the ear. Instead, soak a cotton ball and drip a few drops of plain water, a simple saline solution, or hydrogen peroxide into the ear with your head tilted so the opening of the ear is pointing up. Keep it in that position for a minute to allow gravity to pull the fluid down through the wax. Then tilt the head the other way and let the fluid and wax drain out. You can also use a bulb syringe to swish out the ear.

Earwax forms in the outer third or some of the ear canal, not near the eardrum. So, when there’s a buildup right up against the eardrum, it’s often the result of failed removal attempts.

You can buy over-the-counter eardrops that break up earwax. The water-based ones contain ingredients such as acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium bicarbonate. Oil-based products lubricate and soften the earwax. Studies haven’t shown one type to be better than the other. Sometimes the eardrops will work on their own. Other times, a few squirts of water with a bulb syringe are needed. No one with a damaged eardrum should use a bulb syringe. If water gets into the middle ear, a serious infection is possible.

A clinician tackles an earwax blockage in pretty much the same way as a do-it-yourselfer, but with more expertise — and with a better view. Clinicians also have far better tools for mechanically removing earwax: slender, spoon-like curettes that can fit into the narrow space of the ear canal.

Listen up, hearing-aid wearers

Hearing aids, which block the normal migration of earwax out of the ear, may also stimulate glands in the ear canal to produce more secretions. By some counts, between 60% and 70% of the hearing aids sent in for repair are damaged by earwax. It gets into vents and receivers, and the acidity degrades components. Ask your primary care clinician to look for earwax build-up if you wear a hearing aid.

Image: didesign021/Getty Images

Earwax – problems and solutions. User Support

Earwax is essential for the human body. The composition of earwax includes the secrets of the glands of the skin of the external auditory canal: sulfuric and sebaceous, desquamated cells of the upper layer of the skin, sweat, as well as fats, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, antibacterial substances (lysozyme, immunoglobulins).

Earwax may appear as a thick, dark brown mass or be light, dry, and flaky. On average, a healthy adult produces up to 20 mg of earwax every month. The consistency and amount of earwax depends on the physiological characteristics of the organism. If there is not enough earwax in the ear canal, a feeling of dryness and itching may occur.

Earwax in sufficient quantity performs several important functions:

• Prevents the penetration of dust, bacteria and other microorganisms into the deep parts of the ear canal
• Traps dust particles
• Slows down the growth of fungi and bacteria
• Brings out the dead cells of the upper layer of the skin of the ear canal
• Protects the skin of the ear canal from water irritation
• Prevents dehydration of the skin of the external auditory canal and the associated feeling of itching
• Maintains normal acid-base balance

The ear canal must have a sufficient amount of earwax; its excesses normally move outward and are removed due to the physiological process of migration of the epithelial cells of the upper layer of the skin of the ear canal towards the auricle and movements of the ear canal during chewing and talking.
Thus, the ear canal is self-cleaning from excess earwax.

Normally, no auxiliary actions to remove wax, the so-called cleaning of the ear canals, are required.

Wax plug and how to get rid of it

Some people, as a feature of individual physiology, have excessive formation of earwax. In combination with the anatomical features of the external auditory canal (narrow and tortuous), this can lead to the formation of cerumen. The reason for the occurrence of wax plug can also be a vicious habit of “cleaning” the ears with cotton swabs, which does not lead to the removal of sulfur, but to its pushing deep into the ear canal.

Features contributing to wax plugs also include:

• Significant external ear canal hair
• Childhood and old age
• Working in a dusty environment

Wax plug is a complete blockage of the lumen of the external auditory canal with sulfur, which leads to a significant hearing loss and may be accompanied by inflammation and pain.
Sulfur plug occurs when water enters the external auditory canal, for example, after bathing. At the same time, the wax in the ear swells and blocks the lumen of the external auditory canal.

When in the ear canal for a long time, the wax plug can cause inflammation of the skin of the ear canal, accompanied by pain.

ᐈ Where does the ear plug come from and what to do if there is a lot of wax in the ears?

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Cork in the ear: what everyone needs to know?

November 06, 2020

Ear plug is a condition in which earwax clogs the ear canal and interferes with the normal functioning of the auditory system. Seals impair quality of life and can cause complications. Therefore, in our article we will tell you more about the ear plug, what to do when it appears and how to prevent a relapse.

ENT doctors are often asked what a cerumen looks like. It is a lump of sulfuric mass on the wall of the ear canal. Formations may have different textures and colors:

• Soft. Slightly viscous or plasticine-like consistency, light yellow to brown in color;
• Dry. Dark brown or black solid sulfuric mass, may be close to the eardrum or ear canal;
• Epidermal. Cork contains sulfur formations and elements of the epidermis. The disease may be accompanied by the release of pus.

Contrary to popular belief, earwax plays an important role in the functioning of the auditory organ. The secret is produced by the sulfuric gland to protect the ear cavity from infections, dust and adverse environmental effects.

In a healthy person, the cork is removed from the body on its own when the jaw is moved. With the development of pathological processes, sulfur is released in a large volume, accumulates and eventually completely clogs the ear canal. This is the answer to the question why there is a lot of sulfur in the ears. In addition, the abundant secretion of sulfuric mass can be caused by increased secretion of the sebaceous glands.

The condition can be caused by the following reasons:

• Increased viscosity of earwax;
• Anatomical defects of the organ of hearing;
• Narrow ear canal preventing normal excretion of cerumen;
• Genetic predisposition to ear plugs;
• Prolonged use of earmuffs and hearing aids;
• Long stay in dusty or very damp place;
• Improper oral hygiene.

Let’s dwell on the last reason in more detail. A lot of sulfur in the ears of an adult is a typical phenomenon during a long stay in an aggressive environment or a violation of hygiene rules. Most people try to fix the problem with cotton swabs, but in reality only make it worse. The swab probe removes only part of the mass, and the remaining volume is pushed into the middle of the ear and clogs the channels.

Ear plugs can be caused by diving, which collects wax particles in dense formations under high pressure.

At the initial stage of development, blockages are not felt and do not interfere with normal life. Therefore, in most cases, ENT doctors diagnose the disease at a late stage (if the patient does not go for preventive examinations). By this time, plugs in the ears appear as follows:

• Water retention in the ear canal when taking a shower;
• Pain in the ears;
• Dizziness and headaches;
• Hearing impairment;
• Sensation of fullness, pressure in the ear cavity;
• Autifonia – a person hears his own voice, which seems to be duplicated inside the head;
• Sore throat;
• Dry cough;
• Sensation of the presence of a foreign body;
• Attacks of nausea.

In advanced stages, ear plugs can lead to persistent headaches, inflammation of the middle ear, otitis media and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, at the first sign, immediately begin treatment.

Ideally, an ENT doctor should be consulted to remove the cerumen, but if this is not possible, conservative methods can be resorted to. Next, we will tell you how to remove the chamois cork yourself.

To solve the problem with the organ of hearing, you need hydrogen peroxide 3%. Procedure:

• 1. Lie on your side so that the affected ear is accessible.
• 2. Pull the ear back and up to straighten the ear canal.
• 3. Put 3-5 drops of hydrogen peroxide into the ear with a simple syringe or Janet’s syringe;
• 4. Lie down for 10-15 minutes in this position, and then roll over to the other side.

If you have tinnitus, don’t panic, it’s a sign that the sulfur mass is breaking down. If the procedure does not work, in no case do not remove the cork with paper clips, cotton swabs or other objects. For the treatment of sulfuric plug, urgently make an appointment with an ENT doctor. In addition, the procedure is painless and takes no more than 30 minutes.

To prevent ear plugs, observe the following rules:

• Proper ear care – washing with soapy water and gently drying with a towel, without using cotton buds;
• Keep cold water out of the ear;
• Avoid pressure and temperature fluctuations;
• Regular trips to the ENT doctor will allow you to find the pathology at an early stage and avoid complications.