What Your Earwax Says About Your Health | Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery | Blog (2024)

FAQs

What Your Earwax Says About Your Health | Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery | Blog? ›

This is a common sign of an ear infection. Green earwax or earwax with a foul smell is also an indication of an infection. If there is blood in your earwax, this could be a sign of an injury to the ear or a ruptured eardrum. Gray or black earwax usually means there is a buildup of dust in the ear or impacted earwax.

Dark brown earwax that is tinged with red may signal a bleeding injury. Light brown, orange or yellow earwax is healthy and normal. Children tend to have softer, lighter-colored earwax. White, flaky earwax indicates you lack a body-odor producing chemical.

Your health care provider can remove excess wax by using a small, curved tool called a curet or by using suction techniques. Your provider can also flush out the wax using a syringe filled with warm water and saline or diluted hydrogen peroxide.

Healthy earwax ranges in color and may be: Off-white. Yellow. Orange.

You can use ear drops, available over the counter, to clean your ears. Look for water-based ear drops with ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, acetic acid, docusate sodium, or sodium bicarbonate. You can also consider oil-based ear drops for earwax removal.

Consuming dairy products such as milk, eggs and cheese in high quantities can lead to the excessive production of earwax in your ear canals. This is because dairy foods contain lactose. Dieticians have also noted a link between milk and earwax, but mostly for people who are lactose intolerant.

Ear irrigation

Another option is irrigating or syringing your ear. This involves using a syringe to rinse out your ear canal with water or saline solution. Generally, you should soften the wax first by using a cerumenolytic solution. Then, you'll gently irrigate your ear with a bulb syringe.

Chewing, talking and regular bathing is often enough to move earwax up and out of the ear. Usually, earwax gets rinsed away in the shower without you knowing it's happening. But it's possible – and totally normal – for earwax to come out in balls, clumps or lumps. The bigger problem is when earwax stays in your ears.

Gray or black earwax usually means there is a buildup of dust in the ear or impacted earwax. If you are experiencing hearing loss, this could be a sign of impacted earwax. Your doctor can safely remove the blockade and provide you with tips on how to prevent this in the future.

Black earwax indicates a buildup, or impaction, of earwax or a foreign object in the ears. You can try to soften the wax with eardrops from Ray's Pharmacy in Alexandria, but if this doesn't help, see an ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician to have it professionally removed.

What draws earwax out? ›

You can remove earwax at home using 3% hydrogen peroxide or a 50-50 mixed solution of hydrogen peroxide and water.

Hydrogen peroxide is a solution (liquid) that can be used to treat ear infections or the build-up of wax. It is generally safe to use in all ears. Do not use if it irritates you or causes pain. You can buy 3 per cent hydrogen peroxide from your local chemist – no prescription is required.

Mineral oil works very nicely to treat problems with ear wax buildup. It is safe to use in a patient with ear tubes or a hole in the eardrum.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, as long as the ears are functioning properly, people should not be trying to remove ear wax, and should leave it alone. For the vast majority, ear wax does not cause any problems and there isn't a need to remove it.

If your earwax is dark brown or red-tinged, this could be a sign of an injury within the ear. This could range from a minor scratch in the ear canal to a ruptured eardrum.

Excessive earwax may be caused by the shape of a person's ear, genetics, stress, inserted devices, and hairy ear canal hair. Older adults are also more likely to have larger amounts of earwax. Symptoms of excess earwax may include a cough, hearing loss, ear pain, itchiness, or tinnitus.