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Earwax Buildup: The Dos and the Don’ts!

By Sara Butler

Earwax – everyone has it. Some people consider it to be a nuisance and spend a lot of time and even money to get rid of this substance. But what should you be doing about your earwax, if anything? And what is the right way to deal with this rather sticky situation? Here is what you should be doing, and what you should not be doing, about your earwax.

Don’t Put Anything in Your Ear

If a medical professional had a nickel for every time someone stuck something such as a cotton swab in their ear to get at their earwax and did some damage to the delicate structures in their ear, there would be no medical professionals left because they would have all retired to Tahiti. Probably in one of those nice spots right over the ocean.

Sticking something in your ear, such as a cotton swab, can do a lot of damage to the delicate bones of your ear and can even cause hearing loss. They can also cause trauma to the ear canal, rupture the ear drum (ouch!), cause an infection or get stuck in there! Really, it’s best to avoid sticking a cotton swab in your ear.

Where the Wax Comes From

Digging around in your ear canal isn’t going to get the wax out because the wax is actually created in the opening to the ear canal, so it’ll likely fall out on its own. If you stick anything in your ear to try and remove the wax you’re probably only pushing it further back into the canal where it can build up and cause issues.

The Ear is Self-Cleaning

You don’t need to clean your ears because they do it themselves! Isn’t the human body amazing? Earwax is soft and should never need to be removed by a medical professional. Plus, the wax is there for a reason. It’s antibacterial, anti-fungal and is also waterproof – so it serves a purpose and helps to protect your ear.

Some people may require a professional cleaning due to the amount of wax they have built up in their ear canal, but that is a rare occurrence. If you think you may be one of these people you should contact the doctor if you ear ever feels plugged up, you can’t hear properly, or it hurts. You should not use hydrogen peroxide or any implement to get earwax out yourself. And ear candles? Those are useless and can cause serious injury, so forget about them!

If you have questions about your earwax, talk to your doctor or you chiropractor during your next visit!

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