What You Should Know About Earwax Accumulation

When you shower, always remember to wash your ears. It’s difficult not to say that in your “parenting” voice. Maybe when you were a child you even remember your parents telling you to do it. That’s the type of memory that can take you back to simpler times as you wrap yourself in the nostalgia of childhood.

But that advice can be pretty helpful. Your hearing can be substantially impacted by out-of-control earwax. Even worse, this organic compound can solidify in place making it challenging to clean out. Bottom line, you’ll be best off keeping those ears clear.

Excessive earwax? Eww!

We get it, earwax isn’t the most appealing of substances. And we’re not going to attempt to change your mind about that. But earwax does have a purpose. Produced by special glands in your ear and pushed outwards by the chewing motions of your jaw, earwax can help keep dust and dirt out of your ears.

So your ears will stay clean and healthy when they generate the right amount of earwax. However counterintuitive it sounds, the truth is that earwax itself is not a sign of poor hygiene.

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

What does excess earwax do?

So, what kind of impact does excess earwax have? Earwax that gets out of hand and, over time, builds up, can cause a number of issues. Those problems include:

• Dizziness: Your inner ear is essential to your balance. You can suffer from bouts of dizziness and balance issues when your inner ear is having trouble.
• Tinnitus: Tinnitus is a condition where you hear a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ears. Earwax buildup can cause tinnitus symptoms to worsen or to emerge.
• Earache: One of the most prevalent signs of accumulated earwax is an earache. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt that much, and other times it can really hurt. This is usually a result of the earwax creating pressure somewhere it shouldn’t.
• Infection: Excess earwax can lead to ear infections. If fluid accumulates, it can get trapped behind impacted earwax.

This list is only the beginning. Neglected earwax can cause painful headaches. If you use hearing aids, excess earwax can impede them. So excessive earwax might make you think your hearing aids are malfunctioning.

Can your hearing be impacted by earwax?

The quick answer is yes. Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent problems linked 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 typically return to normal after the wax is cleaned out.

But if the accumulation becomes severe, permanent damage can develop. And tinnitus is also normally temporary but when earwax blockage persists, permanent damage can cause tinnitus to become a lasting condition.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

If you want to safeguard 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 cases (for example, blockage is frequently a result of cotton swabs, which will push the earwax further in rather than getting rid of it).

Frequently, the wax has become hardened, thick, and unable to clear without professional help. You’ll be capable of starting to hear again after you get that treatment and then you can start over, cleaning your ears the correct way.