Ear Wax Buildup: What You Should be Aware of

Don’t neglect cleaning your ears. It’s hard not to say that in your “parenting” voice. Maybe when you were a child you even recall your parents telling you to do it. That’s the type of memory that can remind you of simpler times as you wrap yourself in the nostalgia of childhood.

But that advice can be rather helpful. Your hearing can be significantly affected by an overabundance of earwax. Still worse, this organic compound can harden in place making it challenging to clean out. In other words, the cleaner you keep your ears, the better off you’ll be.

Excessive earwax? Eww!

Earwax is, well, kind of gross. That’s a viewpoint that most people share. But earwax does have a purpose. Produced by special glands in your ear and pushed outwards by your jaw’s chewing motion, earwax can help keep dust and dirt out of your ears.

So your ears will stay clean and healthy when they produce the ideal amount of earwax. It might seem weird, but earwax doesn’t indicate poor hygiene.

An excessive amount of earwax is where the trouble starts. And, naturally, it can sometimes be a little bit difficult to tell when a healthy amount of earwax begins to outweigh its advantages (literally).

What does accumulated earwax do?

So, what type of impact does excess earwax present? There are numerous issues that could arise due to out-of-control earwax or earwax that builds up over time. Those issues include:

• Earache: One of the most prevalent signs of excess earwax is an earache. It doesn’t have to hurt too much (though, in some cases it can). This typically happens when earwax is causing pressure in places where it shouldn’t be.
• Dizziness: Your inner ear is vital to your balance. You can suffer from bouts of dizziness and balance problems when your inner ear is having trouble.
• Tinnitus: When you hear buzzing and ringing that isn’t really there, you’re probably dealing with a condition called tinnitus. Tinnitus symptoms can show up or get worse when earwax is built up inside your ear.
• Infection: Infections can be the outcome of excessive earwax. In some cases, that’s because the earwax can lock in fluid where it ought not to be.

These are just a few. Neglected earwax can trigger painful headaches. Excess earwax can interfere with the functionality of hearing aids. So excessive earwax might make you think your hearing aids are having problems.

Can your hearing be affected by earwax?

Well, yes it can. Hearing loss is one of the most common problems connected to excess earwax. When earwax builds up in the ear canal it causes a blockage of sound causing a kind of hearing loss called conductive hearing loss. Your hearing will usually return to normal after the wax is cleaned out.

But if the buildup becomes severe, long term damage can occur. The same is true of earwax-related tinnitus. It’s normally not permanent. But the longer the extra earwax hangs around (that is, the longer you ignore the symptoms), the greater the risk of long-term damage.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

If you want to protect your hearing, then it seems logical to keep an eye on your earwax. In many circumstances, earwax buildup is caused not by excess production but by incorrect cleaning (a cotton swab, for example, will frequently compress the earwax in your ear instead of getting rid of it, eventually causing a blockage).

It will usually call for professional eradication of the wax that has become hardened to the point that you can’t get rid of it. You’ll be capable of starting to hear again as soon as you get that treatment and then you can start over, cleaning your ears the correct way.

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