Earwax

Earwax

Formed by glands near the outer ends of the ear canals, earwax is there to trap dirt and dust particles and lubricate the skin in the ear canals, thus protecting your sensitive inner ears. It also has antifungal and antibacterial properties, which protect you from infection. Normally, it is formed in a thin translucent layer that gently migrates toward your outer ear, where it dries up and flakes away.

Sometimes, the wax can build up and block your ear canals. And the older you are, the more wax problems you may have, says Michael Wynne, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of otolaryngology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. “Older adults tend to have more problems with wax, and that’s just simply because the rate of skin growth in the ear canal doesn’t occur as rapidly,” Dr. Wynne says. That can cause the natural migration of the earwax to slow down.

Seniors, however, can also have the opposite problem, says Ernest Mhoon, M.D., professor of otolaryngology at the University of Chicago. Wax glands can atrophy, causing an underproduction of wax and, consequently, itchy ears.

Wax is not simply a cosmetic problem. Wax can become so impacted that it can block the ear canal and cause hearing loss. That needn’t happen if you use these strategies.

Try This First

Follow your mom’s advice. To take care of earwax, all you may need is a warm, wet washcloth. Use it to clean out the bowls of your ears every time you bathe or shower. This can help ensure that you don’t have wax pileups in your ear canals, explains Dr. Mhoon.

Other Wise Ways

Soften it up. The worst thing about wax accumulation is that it can also harden, becoming like a rock in your ear canal. To avoid that, use an eyedropper and put one or two drops of warm oil into your ear a couple of times a week. You can use mineral, baby, or vegetable oil. The warm oil keeps the wax soft and lets it continue to migrate out of your ear, says Dr. Wynne.

Put in some peroxide. Some hydrogen peroxide that is diluted by 50 percent with distilled water can soften up the earwax, helping it on its natural journey out of your ear, says Dr. Wynne. Using an eyedropper, tilt your head to one side—the problem ear should be facing the ceiling—and squeeze two or three drops of the hydrogen peroxide/distilled water mixture in your ear. You can place cotton in your ear to keep the hydrogen peroxide from leaking out of your ear canal. After a couple of minutes, remove the cotton and allow everything to drain out.

Watch the wax kits. Earwax kits that you buy in the pharmacy can be effective, but you have to use them correctly, says Jennifer Derebery, M.D., otologist at the House Ear Clinic and Institute and assistant clinical professor of otolaryngology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. The kit comes with a rubber bulb that you fill with water, then squirt it into the ear.

But if you use one of these kits, you have to follow the instructions carefully. Before you use the bulb, you have to tilt your head and pull your ear up and back to straighten out your ear canal. If it’s not lined up just right, you might end up pushing the wax deeper into your eardrum.

Your best tactic is to enlist the aid of a family member, advises Dr. Derebery. And be sure you don’t use this method if you know or suspect that you have a hole in your eardrum, she warns. The water can get into the hole and cause an infection.

Trim that hair. In older men, ear hair can get tangled with the earwax, preventing it from migrating out of the ear, says Dr. Wynne. Keep the hair in and around the opening to your ear canal trimmed if this is a problem.

Give your hearing aid a rest. Like ear hair, hearing aids can block the natural path of earwax and trigger a buildup, says Solomon Greer, M.D., ear, nose, and throat doctor in private practice in Chicago. “People with hearing aids can have high accumulations of wax because the wax doesn’t come out as easily as it should.” The best thing to do is make sure you clean your hearing aid nightly. Wiping it off with a tissue should do.