What You Should Understand About Earwax Accumulation

When you shower, always remember to wash your ears. Whenever you say that, you unavoidably use your “parent voice”. Maybe you even recall getting that advice as a kid. As you get wrapped up in past nostalgia, that kind of memory can take you back to simpler times.

But that advice can be rather helpful. Your hearing can be substantially affected by an overabundance of earwax. And on top of that, earwax can solidify inside your ear and become really difficult to clean. Bottom line, you’ll be best off keeping those ears clean.

Excessive earwax? Eww!

Earwax is, well, sort of gross. That’s an opinion that most individuals share. But it’s actually essential for your ear’s health. Produced by special glands in your ear and churned outwards by your jaw’s chewing motion, earwax can help keep dust and dirt out of your ears.

So your ears will remain clean and healthy when they produce the ideal amount of earwax. It may seem strange, but earwax doesn’t suggest poor hygiene.

The problems start when your ears produce too much earwax. And it can be somewhat challenging to know if the amount of earwax being created is healthy or too much.

What does excess earwax do?

So, what develops as a result of excess earwax? There are several issues that may arise due to out-of-control earwax or earwax that accumulates over time. Here are a few:

• Dizziness: Your ability to manage balance depends heavily on your inner ear. You can suffer from episodes of dizziness and balance issues when your inner ear is having problems.
• Tinnitus: When you hear buzzing and ringing that isn’t really there, you’re probably suffering from a condition known as tinnitus. Earwax accumulation can cause tinnitus symptoms to worsen or to emerge.
• Infection: Infections can be the outcome of excessive earwax. If fluid accumulates, it can become trapped behind plugged earwax.
• Earache: An earache is one of the most common symptoms of excess earwax. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt that much, and other times it can really hurt. This is usually a result of the earwax producing pressure someplace it shouldn’t.

These are just a few. Headaches and discomfort can happen because of uncontrolled earwax buildup. If you use hearing aids, excess earwax can interfere with them. So too much earwax may make you think your hearing aids are having problems.

Can earwax impact your hearing?

The short answer is yes. One of the most common problems associated with excess earwax is hearing loss. When earwax builds up in the ear canal it causes a blockage of sound causing a form of hearing loss known as conductive hearing loss. The issue usually clears up when the earwax is eliminated, and normally, your hearing will go back to normal.

But there can be long-term damage caused by excess earwax, especially if the buildup gets severe enough. And tinnitus is also typically temporary but when earwax blockage lingers, long-term damage can cause tinnitus to become an enduring condition.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

If you want to safeguard your hearing, then it seems logical to keep an eye on your earwax. In many instances, earwax accumulation is caused not by excessive production but by incorrect cleaning (a cotton swab, for instance, will often compress the earwax in your ear instead of getting rid of it, eventually leading to a blockage).

It will often call for professional removal of the wax that has become solidified to the point that you can’t get rid of it. You’ll be able to start hearing again after you get that treatment and then you can start over, cleaning your ears the correct way.