Ear Wax Accumulation: What You Need to be Aware of

When you take a shower, always remember to clean your ears. Whenever you say that, you inescapably use your “parent voice”. Maybe you even remember getting that advice as a kid. That’s the kind of memory that can take you back to simpler times as you wrap yourself in the nostalgia of youth.

But it’s also excellent advice. Your hearing can be significantly impacted by out-of-control earwax. Still worse, this organic compound can harden in place making it challenging to clean out. In a nutshell, the cleaner you keep your ears, the better off you’ll be.

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. Created by specialized glands in your ear and pushed outwards by your jaw’s chewing motion, earwax can help keep dirt and dust out of your ears.

So your ears will remain clean and healthy when they produce the right amount of earwax. However counterintuitive it seems, the reality is that earwax itself is not a sign of bad hygiene.

An excessive amount of earwax is where the problem begins. And it can be somewhat difficult to know if the amount of earwax being generated is healthy or too much.

What is the impact of accumulated earwax?

So, what develops as a consequence of accumulated earwax? Earwax that gets out of control and, over time, builds up, can cause a number of issues. Those problems include:

• Tinnitus: Tinnitus is a condition where you hear a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ears. Earwax accumulation 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 bad, and other times it can really hurt. This usually happens when earwax is causing pressure in places where it shouldn’t be.
• Dizziness: Your inner ear is vital to your balance. So when accumulated ear wax causes your inner ear to have issues, your balance can suffer, causing you to feel dizzy.
• Infection: Excess earwax can lead to ear infections. If fluid accumulates, it can become trapped behind plugged earwax.

These are only a few. Headaches and discomfort can occur because of unchecked earwax buildup. If you wear hearing aids, excess earwax can impede them. So too much earwax may make you think your hearing aids are having problems.

Can earwax affect your hearing?

The short answer is yes. One of the most typical issues connected 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. Your hearing will usually return to normal after the wax is cleared out.

But if the buildup becomes extreme, permanent damage can appear. The same goes for earwax-caused tinnitus. It’s normally not permanent. But the longer the excess earwax hangs around (that is, the longer you disregard the symptoms), the bigger the risk of long-term damage.

Prevention, treatment, or both?

It’s a good idea to keep track of your earwax if you want to protect your hearing. In many cases, earwax buildup is caused not by excessive production but by improper cleaning (for instance, blockage is often a result of cotton swabs, which will press the earwax further in rather than removing it).

Often, the wax has gotten hard, dense, and unmovable without professional treatment. You’ll be able to start hearing again after you get that treatment and then you can start over, cleaning your ears the right way.