Earwax 101
January 8, 2004

Dear HouseCall Docs:
Why do my ears keep filling up with wax and what can I do to clean it out?
Max in Tuolumne

Dear Max: While ear wax can be annoying, it actually has a very useful purpose. Wax (or Cerumen) is a mixture of oils secreted by glands in our ear canals. This oil coats and protects the skin of the ear canal from bacteria and helps trap foreign objects like dust and dirt. The skin of the ear canal is very thin – there is only a layer of skin over the bone or cartilage. There is no fatty tissue or muscle like in other parts of our body, so this skin can be easily damaged. Therefore, this skin develops a wax coating to protect itself.

The ear canal is designed to be self-cleaning, and for many people this is true. The skin of the ear canal grows out from the eardrum to the opening of the ear canal. As the skin grows out, it takes older wax with it, and whatever the wax has trapped. At times you may feel a little bit of wax fall out of your ear – that is because the skin of your ear canal has helped clear that wax out. It is easy, however, for us to interrupt this process. We do so by putting something in our ear to prevent the wax from working its way out on its own. What do we put in there?– most commonly hearing aids, fingers and Q-Tips.

Many of us use a Q-Tip to clean our ears. I’m sure you have been told this before, but it bears repeating – don’t use them to clean inside your ears. They are fine for cleaning the outside of the ear, but should never be put inside the ear. When you put it in your ear and then see some wax on the end of the tip, there is most likely even more wax that you just pushed back into your ear, disrupting the self cleaning process.

So, how should you clean your ears? First, more often than not, leave them alone – and never put anything smaller than your elbow in them! If you feel like you have a little bit of water in your ear after showering, you can take a tissue and roll one corner up, like a wick, and put that in your ear, it will draw the moisture out without pushing the wax back in. If there is too much wax and it needs to be removed, you can use a self-cleaning kit that can be obtained at a local drug store. This kit includes drops to soften the wax and a syringe to flush your ear. The drops alone will NOT remove the wax. It will only soften the wax so it flushes out easier. If you use the drops but don’t flush the wax, it will only harden up again. If this doesn’t work you may need to see a doctor who has special equipment dedicated to flushing out ears.

If you have any health questions you would like answered please send them to us at docs@twainhartetimes.com. Until then stay healthy and happy!

Dr. Matt and Dr. Bob

Bob Uslander, MD and Matthew Personius, MD founded Sierra HouseCalls Medical Group, a local company providing at-home physician visits to the Tuolumne County area. Ph: 532-4287.

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