Ear Wax Buildup: What You Need to be Aware of

Don’t neglect cleaning your ears. Whenever you say that, you inevitably use your “parent voice”. Maybe you even remember getting that advice as a child. That’s the sort of memory that can remind you of simpler times as you wrap yourself in the nostalgia of youth.

But it’s also excellent advice. Out-of-control earwax accumulation can cause a substantial number of problems, especially for your hearing. Still worse, this organic substance can harden 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’s actually important for the health of your ears. Earwax is manufactured by glands inside of your ears and is then pushed out when you chew in order to keep your ears free of dust and dirt.

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

The troubles begin when your ears generate too much earwax. And, understandably, it can sometimes be a bit challenging to tell when a healthy amount of earwax starts to outweigh its usefulness (literally).

What is the impact of excess earwax?

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

• Infection: Excessive earwax can lead to ear infections. In some cases, that’s because the earwax can lock in fluid where it ought not to be.
• Earache: One of the most prevalent signs of excess earwax is an earache. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt that bad, and other times it can really hurt. This is typically a result of the earwax producing pressure someplace it shouldn’t.
• Tinnitus: When you hear buzzing and ringing that isn’t really there, you’re usually dealing with a condition called tinnitus. Earwax buildup can cause tinnitus symptoms to worsen or to appear.
• Dizziness: Your ability to manage balance depends greatly on your inner ear. So when excess ear wax causes your inner ear to get out of whack, your balance can be affected, causing you to feel dizzy.

This list is just the beginning. Headaches and discomfort can happen because of unchecked earwax accumulation. If you wear hearing aids, excess earwax can impede them. So too much earwax may make you think your hearing aids are malfunctioning.

Can earwax impact your hearing?

The short answer is yes. One of the most typical problems associated with excess earwax is hearing loss. Normally producing a kind of conductive hearing loss, earwax builds up in the ear canal, stopping sound waves and vibrations from getting in. Your hearing will typically return to normal after the wax is cleared out.

But if the accumulation becomes severe, long term damage can occur. And tinnitus is also usually temporary but when earwax blockage persists, long-term damage can cause tinnitus to become a lasting condition.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

If you want to safeguard your hearing, then it seems logical to keep an eye on your earwax. It’s improper cleaning, not excess production that leads to buildup in most cases (a cotton swab, for instance, will often compact the earwax in your ear rather than getting rid of it, eventually leading to a blockage).

It will often call for professional eradication of the wax that has become hardened to the point that you can’t remove it. The sooner you receive that help, the sooner you’ll be able to hear again (and the sooner you’ll be able to start cleaning your ears the right way).