Dr. Charutha

Hearing is an essential process in everyone's life. Be it your social life or professional activities, hearing influences every aspect of your life. You can thus, never ignore the health of your ears to enjoy a healthy life. But there are several hindrances to obstruct effective hearing. One of the problems is the accumulation of a natural substance called cerumen produced by the glands present in the ear canal. The accumulated cerumen is medically referred to as Earwax. Over production of cerumen is mainly triggered by the deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and magnesium.

The basic function of the wax is to protect the ear canal from invasion by foreign particles like bacteria and dust particles. This is necessary for the smooth functioning of the ear and its protection from invaders. However, it becomes an irritating problem when the earwax is produced in excess. The problem aggravates when the ear canal is blocked due to accumulation of earwax. In such cases, we use certain objects such as bobby pins, Q-tips or cotton swabs to clean the accumulated earwax from the ear canal. What we do not realise is that pricking the wax using these objects can sometime cause significant damage to the ear. These objects push the wax deep inside the canal, leading to blockage.

The most common symptoms of excessive earwax are as follows:

1. Earache
2. Developing a fullness feeling in the ears
3. Loss of hearing on temporary basis
4. Noises inside the ear
5. Itching

Here are the preventive measures to remove ear wax blockage:

1. In order to prevent blockage of ear wax, try keeping it moist by frequently running water into your ear while taking a bath. This will prevent the ear wax from getting dried up so that it doesn’t get blocked in the ear canal. Make sure, you drain the water from the ear after running it for some time.
2. Don’t use any pointed objects inside the ears as it can cause ear infection while pushing the wax deeper.
3. Avoid inserting cotton swabs or ear buds into the ear canal. You can use them to remove exposed ear wax at the ear opening, but don’t push them deep inside the ear canal. It can push the excess ear wax inside the ear canal, thereby resulting in to an impact.
4. Don’t use candle ear wax remover. Ear candles are another method to remove ear wax, but it can be really dangerous as you need to hold the lighted candle very close to your ear. It can even burn your ear.
5. Don’t use cold water or a strong jet to drain out the excess ear wax. Strong jet can lead to the damage of the ear drum while cold water may result into dizziness.
6. Avoid using any other method to remove ear wax at home, such as suction.
7. Don’t use any type of acidic liquid in order to soften the ear wax.
8. Omega 3 fatty acids are good for mitigating the problem of ear wax. So, include walnuts, avocados, salmon, albacore and ground flax seed in your diet.
9. Consult a doctor if the problem persists even after using home remedies. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ent Specialist.