CNN – Earwax is a largely invisible entity — more often felt than seen. Notice a feeling of blocked or congested ears, or a smothered sense of hearing, and the wax in your ears might be becoming problematic.
It also has a clinical name — cerumen. In part, it’s made of oils and sweat from glands lining the ear canal. The majority of earwax though is keratin, the natural protein that toughens skin, hair and nails.
This is because the ear canal is lined with skin, all the way up to the eardrum. In mixing with the secretions, shed skin produces a waxy substance ranging in colors across the brown spectrum.
Fresh, healthy earwax tends to be yellow to honey-brown in color, whereas older, thicker earwax becomes darker brown, sometimes even black. Notice red or green staining?
Then blood or bacteria may be mixing with the wax. Among other diagnoses, this raises the possibility of an ear infection, especially if there’s also a runny or foul-smelling discharge.
Like many of the other bodily secretions, cerumen also traps debris and other nasties (even insects) that could irritate or damage the delicate eardrum. But problems arise if the wax builds up or hardens too much, blocking conduction of sound to the drum, and dampening your hearing.
Nothing smaller than an index finger (with well-trimmed nails) should ever go in your ear canal. Stop cleaning with cotton buds, too.
All this does is compress cerumen into little impacted cakes. Instead, medicinal olive oil from the pharmacy can help soften it down, making it easier for the ear to clear it naturally.
Blood, sweat and tears — and wax, skin and mucus — can cause many commonplace issues. But look beyond these minor ailments and be grateful that they’re there. You’d be sorry if they weren’t.
