What You Should Know About Earwax Buildup

When you shower, always remember to wash your ears. Whenever you say that, you unavoidably use your “parent voice”. Perhaps when you were a kid you even recall your parents telling you to do it. As you get caught up in past nostalgia, that kind of memory can take you back to simpler times.

But it’s also good advice. Out-of-control earwax buildup can cause a substantial number of problems, particularly for your hearing. Even worse, this organic substance can solidify in place making it challenging to clean out. Bottom line, you’ll be best off keeping those ears clean.

Excessive earwax? Eww!

Earwax is, well, sort of gross. And we’re not going to try to change your mind about that. But it is actually essential for your ear’s health. Earwax is produced by glands in your ears and is then pushed out when you chew in order to keep your ears free of dust and dirt.

Essentially, the correct amount of earwax can help keep your ears clean and healthy. It may seem weird, but earwax doesn’t indicate poor hygiene.

The troubles start when your ears produce too much earwax. And, understandably, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to tell when a healthy quantity of earwax starts to outweigh its advantages (literally).

What does excess earwax do?

So, what develops as a result of excess earwax? Earwax that gets out of hand and, over time, accumulates, can lead to several problems. Those problems include:

• Tinnitus: Tinnitus is an affliction where you hear a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ears. Tinnitus symptoms can appear or get worse when earwax accumulates inside your ear.
• Earache: An earache is one of the most common symptoms of excess earwax. It doesn’t have to hurt a lot (though, sometimes it can). This is normally a result of the earwax producing pressure somewhere it shouldn’t.
• Dizziness: Your inner ear is vital to your balance. So when accumulated ear wax causes your inner ear to have issues, your balance can suffer, causing you to feel dizzy.
• Infection: Infections can be the outcome of excessive earwax. If fluid accumulates, it can become trapped behind impacted earwax.

This list is just the beginning. Headaches and discomfort can occur because of uncontrolled earwax accumulation. If you wear hearing aids, excess earwax can interfere with them. This means that you may think your hearing aids are having problems when the real problem is a bit too much earwax.

Can earwax affect your hearing?

Well, yes it can. One of the most common problems associated with excess earwax is hearing loss. Usually causing a kind of conductive hearing loss, earwax accumulates in the ear canal, preventing sound waves and vibrations from getting very far. The issue usually clears up when the earwax is removed, and usually, your hearing will return to normal.

But if the accumulation becomes severe, long term damage can develop. And tinnitus is also normally temporary but when earwax blockage lingers, permanent damage can cause tinnitus to become an enduring condition.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

If you want to protect your hearing, then it makes sense to keep an eye on your earwax. It’s incorrect cleaning, not excess production that leads to buildup in most instances (for example, blockage is frequently caused by cotton swabs, which will push the earwax further in rather than removing it).

Often, the wax has become hardened, dense, and unable to clear without professional treatment. The sooner you receive that help, the sooner you’ll be able to hear again (and the sooner you’ll be capable of cleaning your ears the correct way).