Wax-Rx is helping people separate fact from fiction in our efforts to help people protect their ears. Read on to learn seven facts that will have you waxing poetic about earwax!
1. Earwax isn’t wax at all!
Since it’s right there in the name, most people assume earwax is actually made out of wax, but the name stems from what it most resembles - melted candle wax. Earwax is actually made from an oil called cerumen, which collects sweat, dead skin cells, debris, and other secretions made by the body.
2. Earwax can be wet or dry, a trait likely determined by your ancestry.
While everyone has earwax, it can look slightly different depending on the person. In general, there are two types of earwax: wet and dry.
- Wet earwax is more common in those with Caucasian or African ancestry.
- Dry earwax is more common in people who have Native American, Pacific Islander, or Asian ancestry.
- People with naturally oily skin also tend to have wet earwax.
3. Your earwax can change color and consistency.
Several factors impact the color/consistency of your earwax:
- Dry earwax tends to remain the same light color and can range from off-white to a pale yellow.
- Wet earwax can be anywhere from a pale yellow to a dark brown. Typically the darker the earwax, the older it is, and the more debris is stuck in it.
- Age also factors into earwax color: older people tend to have darker, thicker earwax, while children tend to have lighter, more runny earwax.
- Environmental factors such as air pollution or allergens, as well as diet, can also influence the color and texture of your earwax.
4. Earwax is meant to clean and protect your ears from foreign objects.
Earwax is the body’s way of cleaning and protecting the inside of the ear canal. Anything that floats into the ear, like debris, air pollution, dust, or pollen, tends to get stuck in the sticky substance and then naturally flow out and away from your inner ear. This keeps your ear canal clean and the delicate organs of your middle and inner ear protected from irritants.
5. Earwax is antimicrobial and a bug repellent.
If you’ve ever been terrified by the thought of bugs crawling into your ear, you can rest easy knowing that it’s highly unlikely due to the fact that earwax emits a smell that serves as a bug repellent! Additionally, earwax has antimicrobial properties that block bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens from entering your body through your ears.
6. Your earwax production must be perfectly balanced to avoid issues.
Earwax suffers from the Goldilocks problem:
- Too little ear wax can lead to itchy ears and frequent ear infections (remember those antimicrobial properties).
- Too much earwax can lead to earwax-related impactions which can cause hearing loss, tinnitus, earaches, and dizziness.
Every person has their own unique balance of too little versus too much, and there are a number of factors that can throw that balance out of whack.
7. Environmental Factors and Stress Can Lead to Earwax Overproduction
Environmental factors such as pollution, allergens (such as increased pollen or dust), as well as the frequent use of hearing aids or earbuds, can lead to increased production of earwax as the body tries to fight off what it sees as foreign invaders. Your emotional environment, specifically stress, can affect your earwax production as well, leading the body to produce more earwax than it would under normal circumstances.
How to Handle Excess Earwax
Ear impactions are more common than people realize. Each year about 12 million Americans visit the doctor’s office for concerns related to earwax. For people with chronic excess earwax who need to get them cleaned regularly, visiting a doctor’s office multiple times a year gets expensive, both in co-pays and in time. Yet many at-home remedies including cotton swabs, ear picks, and ear candles, only push earwax further into the ear canal and exaggerate the problem.
So what can you do?
The Wax-Rx Ear Wash System is a proven way to remove built-up wax at home. It uses gentle irrigation to safely flush out excess earwax quickly and easily — so easy, in fact, you can do it yourself - no doctor required!
You can also rest easy in the fact that Wax-Rx is from Doctor Easy, the same company that’s been making professional ear washers for doctors, clinics, and hospitals for almost 20 years, so you know it’s safe and effective.
Try the Wax-Rx Ear Wash System today!
