Earwax

Overview

Earwax is a natural substance that your body makes to protect the ear canal. It's a mixture of skin, sweat, hair, and debris (such as shampoo and dirt) held together with a fluid that comes from glands inside the ear canal (ceruminous glands). The ear canals are self-cleaning.

Earwax helps filter dust and keeps the ears clean. It also protects the ear canal from infection. Normally, earwax is a self-draining liquid that doesn't cause problems. As the skin of the ear canal sheds, the wax is carried to the outer part of the ear canal and drains from the ear by itself.

Earwax ranges in color from light to dark brown or orange. In children, earwax is usually softer and lighter than the earwax produced by adults. Children produce a lot of earwax. This tapers off as they grow older.

Earwax is normally produced only in the outer half of the ear canal. It won't cause a blockage unless it is pushed in. The ear canal may become blocked (impacted) when you try to clean the ear with cotton swabs, bobby pins, or your finger and push wax deeply into the ear canal. Impacted earwax may cause some hearing loss. It can also cause other problems, such as ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a full feeling in the ears, or vertigo. Poking at the wax with cotton swabs, your fingers, or other objects usually just further presses the wax against the eardrum.

Most earwax problems can be handled with home treatment. Professional help may be needed to remove tightly packed earwax.

Self-Care

Don't try to remove earwax if you have ear pain or a discharge that looks different than earwax, if you think you have a ruptured eardrum, if you have had ear surgery, or if you have tubes in your ears.

You may be able to remove earwax yourself. Here's how.

1. Soften and loosen the earwax.

   Use warm mineral oil or a mixture of hydrogen peroxide mixed with an equal amount of room-temperature water.

   1. Place 2 drops of the fluid, warmed to body temperature, in the ear twice a day for up to 5 days.

      Be sure to warm the fluid. Cold fluid can cause pain and dizziness.

2. Remove the wax.

   When the wax is loose and soft, all that's usually needed to remove it from the ear canal is a gentle, warm shower.

   1. In the shower, let water flow into the ear.
   2. Then tip your head to let the earwax drain out.
3. Dry your ear.
   1. Use a towel to gently dry your ear.
4. Use wax softener for stubborn earwax.
   1. Use a nonprescription wax softener if the warm mineral oil and shower don't work.
   2. Then flush gently with an ear syringe each night for a week or two.

      Make sure the flushing solution is body temperature. Cool or hot fluids in the ear can make you dizzy.

Protect your ears.

• Don't use cotton swabs, bobby pins, or other objects to clean the ear.
• Do not use a dental irrigation device, such as a Water Pik, to remove earwax. The force of the water injures the ear canal and ruptures the eardrum.
• Do not use ear candles. They have no proven benefit in the removal of earwax. They can cause serious injury.

When to call for help during self-care

Call a doctor if any of the following occur during self-care at home:

• New or worse bleeding or drainage.
• New symptoms, such as hearing loss or dizziness.
• The ear canal or skin around the ear becomes red, swollen, itchy or painful.
• Symptoms occur more often or are more severe.

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