Excessive Earwax

"I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I have rather lost my liking for them. But, I think I could be safe with a nice toffee. (Eats it) ...Hmm, alas, earwax." ~ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone".

I think of that line every time I am troubled with the accumulation of an abnormal amount of earwax when no matter what I try, I am unable to hear anything clearly at all! A car driver honking away with all his might right behind me seems like a distant sound. I have to say pardon at least an embarrassing 50 times and what can be worse? Oh, even sound through my headphones makes me check the volume level every 5 seconds! How many times can you clean out your ears? And tired, when I finally began to check out a few facts, I find to my utmost chagrin, that what I believe is an excessive earwax buildup, is actually a normal amount! Anyway, here are some other facts about what causes excessive earwax and how exactly to go about earwax cleaning without damaging your ears.

Excessive Earwax Causes

What causes excessive earwax? Basically, the yellowish to dark brownish discharge from the ears is a normal body mechanism to protect the ears from certain problems that may rear their heads in the absence of earwax production. Let us see some common reasons for excessive earwax build up.

• If your body is producing excessive earwax, then there are chances that you are suffering from an infection that has afflicted your outer middle ear. In such a case building up an earwax membrane is the body's way of limiting further entry of any microorganism which could aggravate the situation.
• If you are a victim of ear trichosis, which basically means that you have an overwhelming growth of hair in your ears, then the body often secretes excess earwax to keep the hair growth from irritating the ear.
• With most of us jamming headphones into our ears 24x7, we have given the body just one more reason to produce more earwax. It is said that using the headphones for even an hour, continually, escalates the chances of bacteria flourishing in your ear by at least 3 times. Naturally, the body tries to counter this by the secernment of more wax than usual.
• The earwax of certain people is thicker, harder and more viscous that other people. So, even a small build up seems like a lot of earwax is being secreted. This happens as hard earwax is closely packed and wedged together and thus blocks up the ear faster. Mostly with age, earwax dries up. So, impacted earwax is rampant among old people.
• People with constricted auditory canals feel that an excessive amount of earwax has built up in their ears even when a very normal amount has been secreted.
• Certain drugs enhance all bodily secretions, be it saliva, sweat, sebum, or earwax. So, if your problem cropped up after you started off with a particular medicine, then probably that is the cause of excessive earwax.
• Benign protrusions in the external regions of the ear can also lead to excessive earwax build up.
• Your genes may also lead to the production of excessive earwax. If your ancestors had it, chances are you will go through it as well!

So, basically earwax is the body's cleaning solution which not only flushes out internal impurities but also protects against undesired contaminants and lubricates our ears. But in extreme cases we do see some rather painful excessive earwax symptoms. Let us see what some of them are.

Excessive Earwax Symptoms

• Your ears start to pain from the inordinate pressure that you feel has built up within. It is more of an internal pain and not an auricular one. You even start to feel suffocated due to this pent-up pressure which you seek immediate release from.
• There is a constant ringing or booming noise within your ears. This condition is widely called tinnitus.
• You have the constant urge to poke your finger into your ear and shake vehemently to relieve yourself from the incessant itchy sensation inside your ears.
• Some people even feel giddy or subside into bouts of coughing when their ears secrete excessive earwax.
• Reduced hearing powers is of course the most occurrent symptom.

So, what should one do in such situations? Removing excessive earwax in children and adults should be done with a lot of care as one careless move can damage your ears forever. Let us see how to remove earwax safely.

Excessive Earwax Treatment

Now you have to find out why you are a victim of excess earwax in the first place. If it is induced by a particular drug, then change the drug. If you have an infection, then get it treated by seeking proper medicinal help. But other than that, you will have to indulge in regular excessive earwax removal. Now, how to remove excessive earwax properly? Pay attention to this and follow it carefully.

The best way to remove earwax is squirting some lukewarm water into the auditory canal with the help of a syringe like plunger with an angled nozzle. This rinses off the wax layer and is called the irrigation method of excessive earwax removal. In a similar manner, a few droplets of mineral oil which is just about warm can also be employed in the same way. One must allow the oil to thaw the wax wall for like 5 seconds and then flow out. But remember that the oil mustn't be steaming hot and one must slant his ear downwards to facilitate the exit of the oil. Another way is of course the employment of a curet, which is a surgical instrument molded like a scoop to remove earwax from the ears.

Sometimes, in our attempts to clear out earwax with cotton swabs all we end up doing is embedding the earwax even deeper. Sometimes, vehement plunges with the swabs have even ruptured the eardrums in many cases. In such cases, further uses of cotton swabs must immediately be ceased and then an ENT specialist must be approached. He will either use a curet to remove residual earwax or cerumen, which he shall view through a special microscope or suck the wax out.

How to get rid of excessive earwax in children, you ask? Well, for excessive earwax in children, parents can use hydrogen peroxide for earwax removal. Just purchase 3% hydrogen peroxide, drip it into the ear of the kid with a dropper and then let it stay for some seconds. Lastly, use rubbing alcohol to flush the ear and dry out the auditory canal.

Personally, I feel that it is always better to seek the guidance of a doctor before you try out any of these excessive earwax removal home remedies, especially in case of a child. That way, you may have to spend a little money but at least your body organs will be in safe hands and far from possible damage. After all, the earwax that troubled Dumbledore was a lot less complicated than what we have in our hands or rather ears here!