Ear Wax

Ear Wax Removal

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What Is Ear Wax?

Ear wax build up can be annoying and even embarrassing when it becomes visible to others. But normally, ear wax serves a useful function because it guards the ear canals against small foreign objects and pesky intruders like insects.

Ear wax isn't actually wax, of course.  It's a sticky substance secreted by the cerumen glands and it's natures way of trapping dirt, pollutants or living things that might get inside and do damage. Ear wax, then, is like fly paper. When it comes in contact with a potentially harmful or dangerous substance, it traps the substance and immobilizes in place.

Despite its obvious benefits, too much ear wax is not a good thing, especially if it hardens and begins the clog the ear canal. Too much ear wax can cause sound to become muffled and make it difficult to hear. It can cause a "tickle in the throat" because the ear shares some of the same nerves the throat does, causing an urge to cough. It may also cause a "ringing in the ears" sensation which may or may not be a condition called tinnitus.

Impacted, hardened ear wax can be painful. When ear wax build up reaches this stage, the ear wax should be removed. Also see ear candling.

Excessive ear wax build up can happen to anyone, any time.  You can even have a lot of ear wax in one ear but not the other, all at the same time.

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Ear wax is also known as cerumen.

There are actually two different kinds of ear wax, and they're genetically determined.

• The wet type, which occurs in Caucasian and African populations. This type of ear wax is yellowish or honey-brown and moist.
• The dry type is more likely to be found in Asians and Native Americans. It is more of a greyish color and is flaky in nature.

Anthropologists have actually used fossil records of ear wax types to track human migratory patterns throughout history.

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