Have you heard? Earwax isn't wax

RODALE NEWSROOM, EMMAUS PA—Though about 12 million people seek medical care for problems relating to earwax every year in the U.S, there have been no clinical-practice guidelines. Now a new report from the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery offers guidance. Which makes this a good time to consider five things you didn’t know about earwax:

1. Earwax isn’t wax. Yeah, it seems waxy. But in fact, earwax is a mix of secretions from the outer ear canal, mixed with dead skin from the ear canal and ear drum, explains Richard Rosenfeld, MD, chairman of otolaryngology at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, and a spokesperson for the Academy. “Plus hair, dirt and whatever else is in there,” he says. The medical term for earwax is cerumen, much nicer than dirt-and-dead-skin-ear-ooze.

2. Earwax is antibacterial. Why is the wax there? It keeps the skin of your ear lubricated (dry ears = itchy ears). It also protects, and not just because it acts as a barrier. “It has anti-infective properties, it will actually kill certain bacteria and germs,” says Rosenfeld, who helped author the new guidelines.

3. Earwax is migratory. There’s no need to make earwax removal part of your grooming routine. Left alone, it will slowly flow to the outside of the ear, dry out and flake away unnoticed. Poking at it with, say, a cotton swab or your little finger is likely to push the wax deeper and possibly block the ear canal (and your hearing in that ear). You’ll also risk scratching the ear canal, opening the possibility of bleeding or infection. So don’t.

4. Earwax is water-soluble. If excess earwax seems to be causing discomfort or affecting your hearing, the good news is that warm water can dissolve the wax. In fact, water works as well as specialized wax-removal drops. “Just use an eye dropper or medicine dropper to put some body-temperature tap water in your ear canal,” says Rosenfeld. You can also use a low-pressure bulb-type syringe available at any drug store. If that doesn’t work or your symptoms are severe, see your doctor or an otolaryngologist.

5. Sticking a candle in your ear is no answer. You’d think we wouldn’t have to say this, but it bears repeating: Placing a lit candle in your ear will not get rid of your earwax. The use of an “ear candle,” a cone-shaped candle that supposedly draws out wax by a chimneylike effect, is a folk tradition that doesn’t bear up to scientific scrutiny. Plus there’s the possibility of setting yourself on fire. If your ears make more wax than you’d like, you can try an occasional drop of mineral oil in the ear canal to help it flow out. Regular users of hearing aids or mp3 player earbuds may want to see a doctor every few months for a cleaning, since the earpieces can cause a build-up.