Remember how Shrek literally pulled out a candle from his ear for the dinner table? Ever tried doing it yourself? Well, the stuff in your ears may be called wax, but it can t really be used to make a candle. However, it certainly can signify a lot about your health. Though the idea of discussing earwax is rather disgusting, it actually plays a pivotal role in keeping your ears healthy and functioning. Earwax protects your eardrums by barring the entry of insects, fungi, bacteria, dust and bacteria. In clinical terms, earwax is also known as cerumen. 

Studies indicate that children typically produce more earwax than adults. The earwax in your ear is a combination of alcohol, shed layers of the ear, unsaturated and saturated long-chain fatty acids and squalene. In order to clean earwax, you should not insert objects too deep in your ear, instead, you can just wipe it off with a cotton swab.  The color and texture of the earwax removed can actually indicate your overall health condition, stress level, genetic ancestry, etc.

Know what your earwax color says about your health 
Pale yellow to yellow earwax: It is the most common type of earwax and indicates overall good health. Children typically produce soft, pale yellow earwax and in case of adults, the color should remain the same, but the texture tends to be sticky. 
Wet vs. dry earwax: Wet and dry are the genetically determined earwax types, wherein, the 'wet type' is dominant and the 'dry type' is recessive. A research, conducted on Biologic variation in health and illness: race, age, and sex differences (1985) by Overfield, Theresa, established that dry-type earwax indicates East Asian and Native American ancestry, while wet-type indicates African and European. 
Thick, dark and black colored earwax: The production of earwax is also influenced by your stress level i.e. when you are stressed out, the glands that are responsible for the production of earwax work overtime and produce excess amount of earwax. As this earwax collects, it can turn thicker and darker thus, this type of earwax is a sign of increased stress level. And, black colored earwax indicates that it has been accumulating in your ears for quite some time and has not been cleaned. To avoid this, it is essential to clean your ears from time to time and in the right way. 
Dry, gray earwax: The gray color of the wax is an indication of dust build-up and must be cleaned properly at regular intervals. However, if your earwax suddenly seems dry and brittle, it could be the sign of a skin infection. Dry earwax accompanied by itchiness in the ear is usually a sign of eczema.
Bloody earwax: Blood in the earwax should never be ignored. This could be caused by an ear infection or can be a sign of ruptured eardrum and you must consult your doctor immediately. 
Thus it is important that you take proper care of your ears so as to ensure that your hearing is maintained and although earwax protects your ears against infections and problems, it must be cleaned from time to time. It is advisable that you get your ears cleaned professionally, in case you are suffering from certain ailments such as Diabetes.

Earwax - Did You Know Its Color Can Say A Lot About Your Health?

Tinnitus is a disorder which is characterized by a constant perception of a ringing noise in the ears. This is not the condition in itself, rather it signals some other underlying condition such as an ear injury or age related hearing loss. It is not a serious condition, although the symptoms can worsen with age. If you are affected by this disorder, you might experience or  hear  a constant ringing sensation in the ears, even if there are no external sources of noise. These sounds could range from being a buzzing, ringing, to a hissing sound. This condition has mighty chances of interfering with your daily routine.

It is classified into two types:

Objective tinnitus: This disorder is caused by muscle contractions or a blood vessel problem.
Subjective tinnitus: The more commonly occurring type, it is caused by damage to the auditory nerves or regions of the brain that interpret sound.
The causes of this disorder are:

Exposure to loud noise: If you are exposed to loud noises such as the ones emanating from firearms or heavy machinery over a prolonged period, it can lead to tinnitus.
Aging: Aging can cause progressive loss of hearing, thus triggering tinnitus.
Blockage of the ear: There is earwax present in the ears, the function of which is to trap dirt and bacteria. Excessive earwax accumulation leads to loss of hearing, resulting in tinnitus.
Modifications of the ear bone: Any stiffening of the middle bone in the ear could impair your hearing and result in this condition.
Certain factors such as smoking, age, sex (men are prone to this disorder) and heart related disorders increase the risks of being affected by this condition.

Treatment
The treatment of this condition begins with the identification of the underlying condition, if any. The various treatment options are  

Removal of earwax: Excess earwax has gotten rid of which can relieve symptoms of tinnitus.
Suppression of noise: Certain machines, known as white noise machines, produce random sounds such as the sound of rain or the sounds of waves, thus eliminating the  hearing  of sounds which are common to this condition.
Medications: Certain medications such as alprazolam and nortriptyline can help reduce the severity of the symptoms.

Constant Ringing in Ears - Causes + Treatment

An eardrum rupture or perforation is a little gap or tear in your eardrum and the tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane is a thin tissue that partitions the canal of the middle ear and outer ear. This layer vibrates when sound waves enter your ear. The vibration proceeds through the bones of the center ear. Since this vibration allows you to listen, your hearing can be affected if your eardrum is harmed. A ruptured eardrum is additionally called a perforated eardrum. Permanent hearing loss could be an end result in some cases.

A ruptured eardrum, similar to thunder; can happen all of a sudden. You may feel a sharp pain in your ear, or an ear infection that you've had for some time all of a sudden leaves. In some cases, the person may not feel any signs of the rupture.

Some of the causes for such a perforation are:

Infection: Ear infections are a major reason for eardrum rupture, particularly in children. Liquids tend to deposit behind the eardrum in such cases.
Exercises: Exercising can bring about pressure changes in the ear and lead to a punctured eardrum. This is known as barotrauma, and takes place when the pressure outside the ear is not the same as the pressure inside the ear. Activities that can bring about barotrauma include scuba diving or flying on plane.
Other activities: Wounds can likewise burst your eardrum. Any injury to the ear or side of the head can bring about a crack.
Diagnosis: Your specialist can use a few approaches to find out whether you have a ruptured eardrum:

A liquid test in which your specialist tests liquids that might spill from your ear from infection.
An otoscope exam in which a specific gadget with a light is used to investigate your ear channel
An audiology exam, in which your specialist tests your listening to range and eardrum limit
Tympanometry, in which your specialist uses a tympanometer to test the pressure changes in your ear.
Treatment: The treatments are as follows:

Patching: In the event that your ear does not recuperate by itself, your specialist may fix the eardrum. Fixing includes setting a sedated paper patch over the tear in the film.
Antibiotics: Anti-toxins can clear up contaminations that may have prompted your eardrum break. They additionally shield you from growing new diseases from the aperture. Your specialist may endorse oral antibiotics or eardrops.
Surgery: In uncommon cases, surgery might be required to fix the gap in the eardrum. A surgical repair of a punctured eardrum is called tympanoplasty.
A cracked eardrum generally recuperates without any invasive measures. Many patients with cracked eardrums encounter just transitory listening problems.

Eardrum Rupture - Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Ear aches are a very painful condition, which tends to affect mostly children. However, adults can be affected by ear aches as well, which can disrupt their routines and be quite painful. Let's have a look at some of the aspects of ear aches in adults.

Causes of ar aches in adults
There are many causes for ear aches in adults and it may vary from one person to another. However some general causes of ear aches in adults are listed below:

    Infections within the body: If you have a throat infection or cold, it could trigger an ear ache as a side effect. Treating the underlying problems will, thus reduce the ear ache or it will go on its own when the symptoms of the cold subside. 
    Ear canal injury: Adults are most often guilty of putting in sharp objects to clean their ear canal, which may result in an injury and also lead to infections. These injuries can also be infected and cause fluid discharge and ear aches.
    Blockages caused by the regular use of ear buds: Using ear buds or other sharp objects to clean the ear will only result in pushing the ear wax further into the ear. This will result in blockages of the ear canal and cause ear aches.
    Dental problems: Certain dental problems, such as wisdom tooth growth can result in problems. Even gum disorders have been known to create ear aches in adults.
    Jaw pain and facial pain: Jaw pain and even facial nerve pain has been known to affect ears and cause aches as well.

Symptoms that may accompany ear aches
Depending on what the causes of the ear aches are, the symptoms may vary. Still, let's have a look at some of the known common symptoms of ear aches in adults:

    Irritability and lack of focus: Ear aches may initially manifest as a headache and make the person irritable.
    Poor sleep: Fluids may build up within the body and thus cause issues while sleeping as the fluids may shift from one area to another.
    Ear drainage: If in case fluids build up, they may drain from your ear, which could vary anywhere within yellow to dark brown colour. This may even indicate that your eardrum is ruptured.
    Hearing problems: Fluid buildup or other underlying causes may also cause hearing difficulties.
    Fever: Sometimes, fever may run as high as 104 degree C due the very infections, which may be causing the ear ache.

Whatever may be the cause, if you have ear aches for sustained periods without underlying reasons, you should visit your doctor immediately to get it checked out, so that appropriate treatment can start quickly.


Ear Ache in Adults

Common ear infections: What you should know about them

The most common ear infections happen because of bacterial or viral growth in the middle ear, the part which lies just behind the ear drum. Middle-ear infections can be very painful and children are most commonly reported in children. Most of these infections are caused by the blockage of the Eustachian tube, which connects the ear and the throat, causing the build-up of fluids and swelling. Here is a guide to the most common forms of ear infections and their symptoms, ranging from the acute to the chronic.

Acute infections have intense symptoms but can be cured with time and treatment. They generally last for shorter durations.

In Chronic cases of infections, the patient complains of recurrent symptoms multiple times. Chronic ear infections have the potential of causing permanent damage to the ear.

Symptoms reported by most patients with Ear infections:

1. Pain in the ear (Mild to severe):

This is caused due to increased pressure owing to the blockage of the Eustachian tube. Collection of fluid inside the ear would increase the intensity of pain in most cases. Children will keep tugging at their ear and most likely be cranky.

2. Redness and swelling:

Both of these are inevitable accompanying symptoms in case of any infection in the body.

3. Oozing of the fluids:

The blockage leads to the fluid being released from the ear which can be watery, thick yellow or mixed with blood depending on the severity and type of infection.

4. Fever

5. Difficulty in sleeping.

6. In some cases when the infection spreads, difficulty in balancing the body is experienced as body balance is maintained by ears.

7. The patient might also experience increased irritability.

8. Ear infections can also cause a hearing problem if the condition continues to go untreated.

Ear infections should be promptly dealt with to prevent long-term damages. So here is what should be done when you have ear pain symptoms.

1. Consult an ENT who will prescribe pain medication as the first line of treatment.

2. After the necessary tests are done, antibiotics are prescribed in most cases by the doctor. Other medications for palliative treatment (to ease the symptoms) are administered. However in a few rare cases, the infection might be because of non-bacterial causes in which antibiotics might not cure the state.

3. In case the problem keeps recurring, one must visit the doctor again and get further tests and treatment done.

As prevention is always better than cure, care should be taken to avoid all chances of carrying the infection to your ear. Maintain cleanliness in and around, especially in the case of children.

For further queries; we'd be happy to help!

Common ear infections: What you should know about them

What is Type-1 Diabetes?

Type-1 Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus type-1, is a condition which is characterised by the lack of sufficient amount of insulin in the body. This is a chronic condition and cannot be cured. The insufficient amount of insulin in the blood results in the spike in blood sugar levels, which in turn, can damage various organs in the body. However, with proper therapy and treatment, it can be controlled and the quality of life can be improved for the patient.

The tell-tale signs and symptoms of this type of diabetes are the frequent urges to urinate, increase in appetite, increased thirst, and rapid loss of weight. It is most commonly diagnosed in children or young adults and thus, it was previously known as juvenile diabetes.

Glucose and other types of sugars are essential for the body cells to absorb energy. The glucose that is present in the blood is taken up with the help of insulin and utilised for energy. The lack of this hormone renders the glucose useless as it is not being able to enter the body cells. This is precisely type-1 diabetes.

What Causes It?

The cause of type-1 diabetes is not known entirely. Although, there are certain theories that explain the cause  

Genetics: The chances of getting type-1 diabetes are increased in children if either of their parents suffers through from this disease. More than 50 genes are involved in diabetes type-1.

Environmental factors: Environmental factors are also thought to play a role in type-1 diabetes.

Viral infection: A theory suggests that viral infections are responsible for type-1 diabetes. According to this theory, the virus activates the auto-immune system of the body which in turn attacks the pancreatic beta cells along with the cells that are infected by the virus. Viruses like Epstein-Barr virus, Mumps virus, rubella virus etc. are considered to be responsible for the same.

How Is It Treated?

Many people with type-1 diabetes live long, healthy lives. The key to good health is to keep your blood sugar levels within the range your doctor gives you. You ll need to check them often and adjust insulin, food, and activities to make that happen.

All people with type-1 diabetes must use insulin injections to control their blood sugar. Several types of insulin are available.

Type -1 Diabetes - What Is It And Its Causes?

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