Ear Wax Removal in Oxford

What is ear wax?

Ear wax is a natural mix of secretions and dead skin found in the ear. It is not a bad thing, it helps to protect the ear against dust, dirt and bacteria. Ear wax (Cerumen to be official!) is made up of skin cells, dust and oily secretions from the sebaceous and ceruminous glands in the ear canal. The secretions lubricate the ear canal and prevent it becoming too dry. Your ear wax is probably not the same as someone else's! Ear wax make up changes from person to person based on diet, age and race. 

What can cause earwax buildup?

Some people just suffer from regularly blocked ears. It can be simply that the over produce ear wax naturally. Causes of earwax buildup can be

1. Overproduction of ear wax
2. Narrow ear canals 
3. Hairy ear canals (it's like a jungle in there!)
4. Dry earwax, (not much moisture in the secretion as you get older)
5. Swimmers ear, bony growths in the ear canal can block the progress of ear wax
6. A tight or hard ear canal bend
7. Using cotton buds in your ear (nothing smaller than your elbow in your ear)
8. Wearing hearing aids (sometimes can cause ear wax build up)
9. Wearing in-ear headphones (same as above)

Symptoms of an ear wax build up

You are deaf, deaf I tell you!!!! Well, no actually, you might not be. But it is one symptom that can show up. Here are all the symptoms of hearing loss:

1. Earache, as it builds up it can press against the ear canal causing pain, yes ear wax can cause pain!
2. Hearing loss, it can deliver to you the gift of hearing loss, especially if you have just gone swimming or had a shower
3. Itchiness in the ear (can be caused by other things though like dry skin)
4. Dizziness, a spinning sensation without the use of GIn (lovely Gin)
5. Tinnitus, surprisingly enough it can give you a sense of buzzing or ringing in the affected ear

What can you do about ear wax build up?

If earwax isn't causing you problems, just leave it alone. The ear is self-cleaning and once the process is not interrupted the wax should just drop out. Sometimes though, probably because you have been fiddling with it, ear wax may build up in the canal. Normally once the build-up starts, it will just continue unless it is washed or sucked out. Eventually, the ear wax plug will grow to fill the ear canal. 

This is when you start to have problems, usually, the first indication of it for you is when water gets into the ear during swimming or showering. This usually causes the ear wax to swell. This blocks the ear canal and you know about it immediately. If the wax build-up has got to the stage where it is causing deafness, problems with hearing aids, or is uncomfortable, it needs to be removed.

There are several types of ear drops that you can use to loosen and soften ear wax. the drops can include olive oil, almond oil, bicarbonate of soda and hydrogen peroxide. Here is the thing, they might not be suitable for you. If you have had a perforation of your eardrum in the past, ear drops aren't a good idea.