Earwax is essential for ear health, but excess can cause discomfort. Learn everything about earwax—from its benefits to managing build-up safely
What is earwax?
Essentially, earwax is an efficient self-cleaning service for your ears, and helps to protect the sensitive ear canal from things like bacteria and debris that can cause infections.
Produced naturally by glands in the ear canal, you’ll recognise earwax as any colour from yellow, to bright orange, to dark brown. Your body will normally produce enough earwax to maintain health on its own, but sometimes this wax can become hard and impacted, which can lead to problems like discomfort or a change in hearing.
What is the main cause of earwax?
Most of us are familiar with earwax, and probably never think too much of it. But why do we have earwax in the first place? Well, earwax is a good thing to have in your ears as it’s beneficial for the protection and your ear health. That’s why your body naturally produces it.
Anti-bacterial
Its sticky texture prevents bacteria and germs from moving further into the ear, where they can cause infections.
Maintains pH
Earwax lubricates the skin and helps to maintain the ear’s natural pH balance, which prevents irritation and dryness, as well as preserving overall ear health. Its slightly acidic pH is hostile to bacteria, stopping growth and possible infection.
In-built cleaning service
Eventually, the earwax containing any trapped dirt or bacteria will simply fall out without you noticing, cleaning as it goes.
Keeps out unwelcome guests
Earwax is also a natural insect repellent – so if you’ve ever felt a tickling sensation in your ear, you don’t need to worry about anything creepy or crawly.
Why are we so earwax obsessed? Could it be that the nation's ears are getting waxier? Find out more in our report: An Ear in Review
Problems caused by earwax
Earwax is produced naturally by glands in the ear canal, and usually the body knows the right level of earwax to produce to protect the ear and not cause any problems. Sometimes though, earwax production might fall out of kilter, and your body might produce more earwax than it needs, or it becomes drier or stickier than normal.
This can happen for a variety of reasons, like excessive headphone use, having narrow ear canals or as a result of certain skin conditions or ear infections.
What are the symptoms of earwax build-up?
An earwax build-up can cause:
- Itchy ears
- Discomfort, or earache
- Tinnitus
- A change in hearing
- Infections
For hearing aid wearers it can cause:
- Damage or a need for frequent cleaning of the hearing aid
- Discomfort or poor fitting of a hearing aid and its day-to-day wearing
- Hearing aids to make a whistling noise
Earwax and hearing checks
How do you stop earwax build-up?
Since your body creates earwax naturally, there's nothing you can really do to reduce the amount of earwax your glands produce. However, there are safe methods of ear cleaning or earwax removal that can help manage excessive earwax. However it’s important to seek specialist advice, rather than attempt methods you see online without any guidance, such as ear candling.
A build-up of wax in the ears can make it difficult to perform a full hearing check. It can produce inaccurate results and obstruct the view of the eardrum in order for your hearing expert to accurately assess your hearing. It also creates issues if you need to have hearing aids fitted.
To help with this, a hearing expert might suggest that you use drops before your appointment to soften the wax and allow it to fall out of the ear naturally.
It's important that the wax is soft to make the procedure as comfortable and effective as possible. We recommend using medicated oil drops, or a spray such as Earol, once per day in the affected ear and repeat for five days.
What does the colour of your earwax mean?
- Yellow or Orange: Normal and healthy.
- Dark Brown or Black: May indicate older wax; not a concern unless accompanied by symptoms.
- Grey: Could be due to trapped dust or debris.
- White or Flaky: Often linked to dry skin or eczema.
If you notice unusual colours or symptoms, book an appointment with our hearing experts.
How should you clean your ears safely?
Your ears are designed to be self-cleaning and will normally produce enough earwax to prevent problems occurring.
Many people use cotton buds in an effort to ‘clean’ their ears from excess wax, but you’re actually more likely to cause earwax blockage and further issues. Rather than removing the earwax, it pushes it further into the ear, which leads to a build-up, or impacted wax. If not removed, it can lead to infection, which will need to be treated by a doctor.
We recommend you keep cotton buds well away from your ears.
How to remove earwax
Traditionally, medical professionals would use methods such as ear syringing, or candling to remove an earwax build-up. We avoid these methods as they can cause additional complications to your ear health, such as infections, tinnitus, and damage to the eardrum.
Microsuction
At Specsavers, we use microsuction, which is the quickest and safest method of removing earwax. The tool gently sucks the wax from your ears, and has no contact with the eardrum or the sensitive skin of the ear canal. While performing microsuction, our hearing experts also look at the ear canal using a microscope.
So we’ll be able to ensure wax removal quickly, comfortably, and with minimal risk of further complications.
Choose microsuction for safe, effective earwax removal with minimal discomfort. Book your appointment today.
Manual removal
This method of earwax removal is performed with the use of tiny specialist tools to gently tease out the wax from the ear canal.
This would usually be used in minor cases, with soft wax. For cases of impacted or hard wax, the wax would require softening over a few days with drops beforehand.
Experiencing earwax build-up symptoms?
Do you have symptoms of earwax build-up?
- Difficulty hearing or a "full ear" sensation?
- Persistent itching or discomfort?
- Tinnitus (ringing in ears)?
- Dizziness, or ear infections?
If yes, you may have excess or impacted earwax build-up, see a hearing expert to get it removed safely.
Debunking Earwax Myths
Common misconceptions about earwax:
Myth: Earwax is dirty and must be removed regularly.
- Fact: Earwax protects your ears and usually falls out naturally.
Myth: Cotton buds are safe for cleaning ears.
- Fact: Cotton buds push wax deeper, increasing the risk of blockages and infections.
Myth: Ear candles are an effective removal method.
- Fact: Ear candles are unsafe and ineffective. Microsuction is the recommended method
Ear candling
Does ear candling work?
Impacted earwax
Causes, symptoms and treatment
Advice on ear cleaning
Tips on how to clean your ears safely