Earwax is made in the wax glands. Of these, about a thousand to two thousand are in the outer part of the ear canal. Together with sebum, hairs and keratin from shed skin flakes, they form the stuff that is in your ear.
From that outer part of the ear canal it is slowly worked out through the ear hairs. You may rather lose it than get rich, but earwax has an important function. It protects the ear against water and drying out and traps dust particles and insects. Its high acidity protects against viruses or bacteria.
Wet and dry earwax
There are two types of earwax: the wet and the dry variety. In Europeans you mainly see the wet earwax, which is yellow or brown. The dry variant is more common in Asians, which is a bit more greyish. In old people, the earwax usually also becomes drier and grainier. Your earwax also gets darker as you get older.
The amount of earwax varies from person to person. But little is known about why some suffer more than others. It seems to be mainly genetically determined. But irritation of the ear can also play a role. For example, if you spend a lot of time in smoky areas, clean your ears too hard or often put earplugs in and out.
Have ears sprayed out
A large amount of earwax only becomes really annoying when it starts to form a clot that blocks the ear canal. The result is that you hardly hear anything. This may be due to a too narrow ear canal. But also because with age, the earwax becomes thicker and harder. The clot can also be caused by pushing wax back into your ear canal with a cotton swab, or by pushing your earplugs too far into your ear.
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Some people say they benefit from loosening stuck wax by dripping oil into their ears. But it has never been scientifically proven that it really works. Usually, with such an ear plug, there is nothing else to do than to have your ears sprayed at the doctor’s office.
Did you already know this about earwax?
- Earwax was once used as a home remedy for parched lips.
- According to the ancient Greeks, earwax would help against snake and scorpion bites.
- In the Middle Ages, earwax was used to make needles slide more smoothly through leather and stiff fabric.