Ear Wax Cause, Symptoms, and Treatment

EAR WAX or 'cerumen' is caused by production from the skin lining the canals of your ears. Ear wax is natural and protects your ears from dust and from insects crawling in and calling it home.

Normally this ear wax is swept along from the inside of your ear to the outside preventing it from building up. But in some people it's not pushed out as fast as it's made causing it to pile up and dry into a hard deafening plug.

Symptoms of Ear Wax Excess are:

• Itchy ear canals.
• Deafness.
• Ear infections.

Next we'll look at how to get rid of excess ear wax.

Ear Wax Removal Techniques:

• Drop a couple drops of lukewarm baby oil or half strength hydrogen peroxide into the ear once each night to soften it up.
• Irrigate the ear canal with a rubber ear syringe (over-the-counter from most pharmacies) and lukewarm water over a sink (follow the instructions that come with the syringe).
• Try a commercial peroxide based ear cleaner from your pharmacist e.g. Murine or Debrox.

Never use paper clips, tweezers, cotton swabs, or a water pick as you can rip your thin ear drum at the end of the canal. If you can't get any relief, head to your friendly family doctor who can wash out the wax for you with an ear syringe.

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