It’s likely that earwax and its buildup haven’t been subjects of significant consideration for you, except perhaps during ear hygiene sessions. Still, it’s essential to have an understanding of its purpose and how it forms.
What causes the buildup of earwax?
Earwax, technically identified as cerumen, is a dense combination of debris, hair, skin particles, sweat, and ceruminous gland secretions. This earwax presents with a waxy texture and can exhibit shades of orange, yellow, gray, or brown.
In most instances, kids tend to produce more earwax than adults. Moreover, adult earwax tends to be darker and harder compared to that of kids.
Earwax passes the outer ear canal naturally, eventually reaching the ear opening, where it either self-expels or gets washed out during bathing.
Why do we need earwax?
Earwax serves several essential functions, such as:
- Stopping itchiness and dryness by moisturizing and safeguarding the lining of the ear canal.
- Before things such as dust, dirt, or other outside debris get further up into the ear canal, earwax acts as a barrier.
- Helping prevent ear infections.
Obstructions caused by earwax
Usually, there’s no imperative need to clean out earwax from your ears unless it becomes impacted, a prevalent problem linked to earwax. In some cases, earwax is unable to easily get to the opening of the ear due to narrow or abnormally shaped ear canals.
Wax can be unintentionally crammed up into the ear canal by utilizing poor cleaning methods like using cotton swabs.
Individuals grappling with hearing loss who make use of earplugs or hearing aids are also predisposed to experiencing ear canal obstructions.
How is hearing affected by too much earwax?
Auditory health might be impeded and you might feel slight discomfort.
Ringing in the ears, or tinnitus, may also occur.
Neglected earwax obstructions may escalate into middle ear infections, perforated eardrums, or enduring hearing impairment as a result of acoustic trauma.
How do you tackle impacted wax?
It’s essential that you get in touch with us as soon as you can if you think your ears are blocked by earwax. You may be advised to use over-the-counter products such as a bulb syringe or earwax softening drops to clear the wax out, depending on the extent of the obstruction.
Give us a call right away if you need some assistance with an earwax obstruction.