Many people experience the discomfort associated with a wax build-up in their ears. It's a common issue - so why does it happen?
Ear wax is produced by glands in the skin of the outer portion of the ear canal and helps to clean and protect the canal. Fear, stress and anxiety result in increased production of earwax. Excessive earwax may impede the passage of sound in the ear canal, creating the
perception of hearing loss.
The ear canal is self-cleaning. Think of the process as being a bit like how they get cement out of a cement mixer, the rotation of the container moves the thick, viscous material down the vessel to where it exits. Without this movement, the cement would stay in one place and solidify. However, your entire ear canal does not rotate, but the movement of the skin cells in your ear creates a similar effect when partnered with the coiled shape of the ear canal.
Ear wax also lubricates which prevents drying out, itching, and burning of the skin within the ear canal. Recent studies have found that ear wax is antibacterial on some strains of bacteria and has been found to reduce the viability of a wide range of bacteria sometimes by as much as 99%.
We advise customers that they shouldn’t use cotton buds to clean their ears. Cotton buds disturb the natural removal of ear wax and may even push it further back into the ear canal, creating a blockage. The cotton bud could even carry bacteria into the ear canal if it has been left uncovered. Removing too much wax could increase the chance of infection as it has some antibacterial properties, which is why we use a process called microsuction to remove ear wax - other processes such as syringing flushes the majority of the wax away by pumping water into the ear canal. Microsuction uses less water and as a result leaves some of the wax in place to continue protecting your ear.
For those of you who see wax as a less than hygienic thing, bear in mind that it has been seen as a useful by-product in the past. In medieval times earwax was used to prepare pigments used by scribes to illustrate illuminated manuscripts. Before waxed thread was commonly available, seamstresses would use their own earwax to stop the cut ends of threads from fraying. And finally, the 1832 edition of the American Frugal Housewife said that “nothing was better than earwax to prevent the painful effects resulting from a wound by a nail [or] skewer”; and also recommended earwax as a remedy for cracked lips.
However if you experience any issues with a build-up of wax, or simply run out of uses for it - why not give us a call and we can arrange to remove it for you in the comfort of your own home!
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