Ear Wax Cleaning

Contrary to popular misconception, ear wax is not waste or dirt. Ear wax, technically known as cerumen, serves some very important purposes in the ear, and it is usually not advisable to remove it. Many people think it is necessary to “clean” their ears by removing the wax. However, the fact is that there is no need for this – any cleaning that needs to be done happens naturally, and with the help of the ear wax itself. Manually cleaning your ears is not only unnecessary, it is also dangerous.

Dirt, dead skin, and other dead matter does collect inside your ears, but it is discarded by a natural process. Jaw movements that occur whenever you speak or chew help to move the ear wax in very small quantities to the opening of your ear, and the ear wax takes all the debris along with it. If necessary, you can regularly wipe the opening of your ear to get rid of this miniscule amount of ear wax, although this is not really necessary. Removing the wax from inside your ear is however certainly unnecessary and harmful. In addition to cleaning your ears, cerumen also protects them from certain bacteria and fungi. Removing ear wax leaves your ear exposed to these pathogens, and thus vulnerable to infection. Ear wax also keeps your skin moisturized and lubricated.

In very rare cases, ear wax may accumulate in the ear and cause discomfort or temporary hearing loss. However, even in such cases, it is better not to mess around with your ears yourself. If you feel you must take some action, you can work with the natural cleaning mechanism chew gum. This movement should dislodge any wax that is blocking your ear. If this does not work within a couple of days, you can put a couple of drops of olive oil in your ear, and continue to chew gum. If even this is unsuccessful, you need to consult a doctor. Digging around in your own ear may push the accumulated wax further into the ear canal, and can cause other damage too.

Your doctor will probably use a syringing technique; this involves the use of slightly warm water. Do not try this at home the technique used is very important, besides which the water needs to be just the right temperature. Water that is below or above body temperature often causes dizziness when used for this purpose.