Should Earwax Be Removed?
Avoid using cotton-tipped swabs
Everything in the body has a purpose, even the earwax that seems to horrify people when they find out they have it in their ears.
Earwax, also known clinically as cerumen, performs important functions — cleaning, lubricating, and protecting your ears. It also has antimicrobial properties to further protect the ears from infections. It is not evil stuff by nature, as many people may think. Thus it should not be removed merely because it is present in your ears.
This is a message that doctors hope will not fall on deaf ears.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation recently issued guidelines on the proper removal of earwax. The guidelines address two important concerns: the determination of the appropriate conditions that indicate earwax should be removed, and the provision of information on the best methods for removing earwax.
Cerumen is a mixture of a watery substance produced by tiny glands in the ear’s outer canal combined with bits of hair and dead skin. The earwax is slowly nudged out of your ear canal by the constant flow of fluid from the glands plus movement of your jaw as you speak or chew food. Moving out, it carries away dirt, dust and other particles.
When this continuous flow is disturbed, or when you insert cotton swabs (or other objects such as matchsticks or bobby pins) into the ear, the earwax can form a lump and block portions of the ear canal. A cotton swab can push excess wax into your ear.
The flow is also disrupted by the common habit of wearing earplugs for various reasons, such as they need to use hearing aids or they just can’t do without listening to music on their MP3 player. These can also cause the wax to build up instead of trekking out.
The result is that about 12 million people in the U.S. need medical attention each year to remove impacted ear wax. Hearing loss (which fortunately can be reversed) can result when cerumen blocks at least 80 percent of the diameter of your ear canal.
Safety tips:
* Get your ears cleaned at least once a year by a healthcare professional. This is especially important if you wear a hearing aid. Damage could happen not only to your ear but also to your hearing aid device.
* Avoid using cotton-tipped swabs, oral jet irrigators and ear candling. Ear candling does not remove any built-up wax at all, and it might even burn your outer ear.
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
del.icio.us |
Digg
- How, Where Shall U.S. Store Nuclear Waste?
- School Bus Accidents Threaten Kids’ Safety
- Should Earwax Be Removed?
- What Can We Do for Children of Alcoholics?
- Do Abused Cows Yield Unsafe Food Products?
John van der WIlligen
on
11/24/08 10:41:17
Randy
on
11/16/08 01:52:42
John van der Willigen
on
11/11/08 12:08:09
John van der Willigen
on
11/10/08 12:18:55
Safety Issues
on
11/04/08 09:58:03
Comments (4 posted):
The American Academy of Otolaryngology discourages the use of cotton swabs, like Q-Tips, because there is a possibility that the earwax could be pushed inwards as you insert the swab.
Excess wax normally migrates toward your outer ear without any need for prompting on your part. Chewing and other jaw movements take care of that. When it emerges on its own and reaches the outer ear, that's the best time to clean it — with a swab.
If you feel the need to do something with your ear, you can lubricate it with drops. The academy finds no evidence that one type of over-the-counter drops works better than another. Actually, plain sterile water or sterile saline water will do perfectly. The drops help loosen the earwax, and your ear will do the rest.
Post your comment