Why Do We Have Earwax?

Sticky, gooey, oftentimes orange, and homemade within the ears—earwax is considered a gross nuisance that people tend to frequently remove and clean from the body. Whether it’s by cotton swab, an ill-advised and dangerous method, or by an otolaryngologist, people go to great lengths for unobstructed ear canals—but is removing earwax a good idea? Why does our body produce earwax in the first place if we just remove it in the end?

Earwax, also known by the formal name cerumen, is made from a mixture of long-chain fatty acids, alcohols, cholesterol, and the chemical compound squalene. It’s secreted by glands in the outer ear canal in order to block dust, bacteria, insects, and other outside agents from infiltrating the ear canal and damaging the skin in the outer ear and the sensitive inner ear. While it’s incredibly beneficial to the health of the ear, overproduction can cause earwax impaction, blocking sound waves from reaching the eardrum. Use of cotton swabs to clean excessive earwax can lead to further problems, pushing the wax farther into the inner ear canal rather than drawing it out. This has the potential to cause permanent damage to the eardrum and hearing abilities.

A commonly shared rule for cleaning excess ear wax is to never place an object smaller than your elbow into your ear. Given that most elbows are significantly larger than the average ear canal opening, it’s best then not to place anything in the ears to draw out wax. No reason to worry though—the ears are actually proactive self-cleaners. Movement of the jaw and regular production of new earwax tend to push the excess substance outside the ear. If symptoms of earwax impaction do develop, a trip to the otolaryngologist for a safe cleaning is advised.