Earwax blockages form from the earwax our body naturally produces, and, contrary to what some people think, they aren’t dirt or a sign of poor hygiene — earwax is a necessary substance with several important functions. It’s produced by the ceruminous and sebaceous glands found in our outer ear canal, which make the substances that combine to form earwax.
When earwax settles in the ear canal, it hardens and mixes with dust, hair and skin cells.
Earwax itself acts as a protective barrier for the health of our ears, since it protects us from bacteria and fungi, keeps the ear canal hydrated and lubricated, and helps prevent irritation if water gets in. All of this protects the eardrum from dirt or dust that might otherwise enter the canal.
What are earwax blockages and how do they form?
Earwax blockages are a build-up of wax that our body produces but doesn’t clear through its own self-cleaning mechanism, forming a plug that blocks sound and reduces our ability to hear.
To keep wax from building up, the body relies on jaw movements — chewing, yawning or talking — which move the wax towards the outer part of the ear canal, where it’s then removed through our regular hygiene habits.
Since the ear canal is constantly producing wax, our natural self-cleaning mechanism can sometimes fail, meaning the wax isn’t expelled properly. This is how a blockage starts to form, which can be uncomfortable and get in the way of hearing well.
Some people are naturally more prone than others to a build-up of earwax, and therefore to developing blockages. This can happen because they naturally produce more wax, or because of a number of factors that make a blockage more likely, such as:
- Having a very narrow ear canal
- Exostosis
- Using cotton buds
- Wearing headphones
- Wearing hearing aids
- Using sleep earplugs
- A lot of hair in the outer ear canal
- Dry skin
Symptoms
The most common symptom of an earwax blockage is a blocked-ear feeling, when the wax has hardened and blocked the whole canal. You might also feel like something inside your ear is moving and causing discomfort when you chew. Other times, you might feel ear pain, itching, dizziness or vertigo, and even tinnitus. If the blockage doesn’t fully seal the canal, sound can still pass through normally, but if it does, it can lead to partial hearing loss.
In any case, an earwax blockage won’t cause deafness, but it’s true that for people who already have hearing loss, an earwax blockage can coat their hearing aids in wax, stopping them from fitting properly and causing them to whistle — so the blockage needs to be removed for them to communicate properly.
Treatment
The way to deal with an earwax blockage is to have it removed, but this needs to be carried out by an ENT doctor or nurse — a specialist who can avoid any potential damage.
A few days before the removal, the patient will usually need to apply wax-softening drops, or hydrogen peroxide, as recommended by the doctor, to soften the blockage and make it easier to remove afterwards.
Among the different removal techniques, the most common is irrigation, which involves using a syringe to introduce warm water into the ear under pressure, causing the blockage to come out. This method can’t be used on people with a perforated eardrum or who’ve had ear surgery. Besides this technique, there’s also suction using a device, or a hook or forceps, which only an ENT doctor uses to remove the blockage.
Prevention
Although some people naturally produce more wax than others, here are a few guidelines for preventing earwax blockages:
- Clean the outer ear using, for example, the corner of a towel, only removing the wax that’s already reached the outside.
- Don’t use cotton buds, as we’ve explained in another article, since they’re one of the leading causes of a perforated eardrum; also avoid using hairpins or other objects to remove wax.
- Always see a doctor if you notice any symptoms. If the doctor confirms it’s a blockage, they’ll remove it.
- Don’t try to remove the blockage yourself at home.
