Why Do I Have So Much Earwax?

An excess of earwax can be embarrassing and lead to additional health complications.

While earwax may seem unpleasant, it serves an important purpose in ear health. Excessive build-up, however, can occur in some people. To help prevent this, here are tips for keeping ears and wax in a healthy state and removing build-up safely at home or with an audiologist’s help.

What is earwax?

Earwax plays a vital role as part of the ear’s self-cleaning system.

Officially called cerumen, this oily substance traps dirt, germs and debris, stopping them from going deeper into the ear canal. Cerumen also protects the delicate skin of the ear canal from irritation when water enters.

Do I need to clean my ears?

Earwax is surprisingly beneficial: there is no hygienic reason to clean out wax from your ears.

Regular movements of your jaw, like chewing, naturally move earwax to the outer ear. There, it flakes off or is rinsed away while showering. Your ears are normally self-cleaning, so you don’t need to clean them.

The earwax process is normal and should be left alone, as interfering often causes more harm than good.

“Too much earwax can cause symptoms ranging from pain to hearing loss or even a reflex cough. Ringing in the ear, itching and dizziness can also occur.”

Should I use cotton swabs or ear candles to remove earwax?

No. Rather than removing earwax, cotton swabs actually push it deeper into the ear canal, trapping it there. Using cotton swabs can also irritate and dry out the delicate skin of the ear canal.

Similarly, ear candling is an ineffective and potentially harmful method of earwax removal. The heat and pressure from ear candles may damage the sensitive tissues of the ear canal and eardrum. It’s best to avoid putting foreign objects like cotton swabs or candles into the ear canal altogether.

The same rule goes for not putting anything else into your ear, especially pointy things like bobby pins or car keys (yes, people have been known to try this). Anything pointy could potentially puncture your eardrum.

Sticking things into your ear can have very negative consequences and can also be one of the main causes of earwax impaction.

What is earwax impaction?

When earwax is pushed deeper into the ear, it can get trapped and cause a blockage or even an infection. Earwax can become impacted from using cotton swabs, earbuds or earplugs. Impaction can also become more likely with age.

How do I know if my earwax is impacted?

Having too much earwax build-up can lead to unpleasant symptoms that may worsen over time, including ear pain, hearing loss, ringing or itching in the ear, dizziness, coughing, a feeling of fullness or blockage in the ear, and a bad odour.

What can I do for impacted earwax?

Your audiologist can help with impacted earwax removal.

If you have continuing problems with earwax build-up or any other concerning problems, like a fever, drainage or bleeding from your ears, contact your audiologist. If you wear hearing aids, you may need to have your ears checked more often, as the aids may block the normal escape of earwax.

If you have hearing loss due to earwax build-up, the good news is that it’s most likely temporary.

Your hearing should return to normal after the wax is removed.