If a big ball of wax came out of your ear and you’re wondering if something is wrong, this post is for you.

Everybody has a substance called cerumen in their ears, it’s commonly called earwax, and is normal for your body to produce it. Earwax actually helps protect and lubricate your ears. If you didn’t have earwax, your ears would probably be itchy and dry. Earwax even has antibacterial properties, which means your ears are self-cleaning. Earwax is like a filter for your ears, keeping out harmful things like dirt and dust, and trapping them so they don’t go deep inside. However, sometimes earwax can clump up and fall out of your ear, but it is nothing to be alarmed about.

Why did a big ball of wax come out of my ear?

If a big ball of wax came out of ear don’t be alarmed. Earwax is made partially of skin cells from the ear the canal. This area contains skin that is always renewing itself. Earwax also consists of secretions from two glands — specifically, the ceruminous and the sebaceous glands. The ceruminous gland is a sweat gland that rests just outside the auditory canal. The sebaceous glands excrete oil that helps lubricate the skin. As dead cells drop off, they mix with these secretions to produce earwax. If a big ball of wax falls out of your ear every so often that isn’t a problem. If this is a regular occurrence then you might want to see a doctor because it could indicate that your body is producing too much earwax - this can be caused by a range of things from allergies to medications or diet.

What can cause impacted ears

Sometimes, too m uch earwax can become clogged in your ear canal, this isusually called impacted. Normally,  the ears have their own built-in cleaning system. However, some people may produce too much ear wax or don't efficiently clear it. If you don't know how to remove excess ear wax by yourself, your healthcare professional can remove it with special tools to avoid rupturing your eardrum or pushing the wax even further into your ear. If you have a digital otoscope you can look inside your ear canal and determine how clogged your ear is, and also try to clean out the wax yourself. There are a number of possible causes of impacted ears, including hygiene, diet, allergen, and genetic dispositions. If you repeatedly get impacted ear wax your should consult with a doctor to try and determine why this is happening.

Should I clean my ears?

It’s important to note that most people never need to clean their ears. Ears are designed to clean themselves. Impacted ears often happen when people use items like cotton swabs or bobby pins to try to clean their ears. This only pushes the earwax farther into the ears and can also cause injury to the ear. Ear wax in your ear canal might not bother you at all, but if it builds up it can become itchy and irritating. If it builds up so much that it clogs the ear canal this can lead to more symptoms. We say that earwax is impacted when it has built up in the ear canal to such a point that you can’t see the ear drum anymore and your hearing has deteriorated. There may be other symptoms including dizziness, tinnitus, pain or discharge. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should consider going to a doctor, but it may be a good idea to clean your ears regularly to prevent your ear wax from becoming clogged again in the future.

When to seek professional help

Using an at-home digital otoscope to examine your ears is a great way to determine if you need to seek professional help or not. Use the otoscope to look in your ear canal and see if you can see your ear drum at all or if the canal is completely clogged. If your canal is clogged attachments on the otoscope can be used to gently scrap away the earwax and try to remove it. If it seems to remove easily you should be able to clean out the wax at home. Sometimes impacted ear canals can be very hard and tenacious so if that is the case you should seek the help of a health professional. Whatever you do, don’t push the earwax deeper into your ear canal.

Shop ScopeAround Otoscopes Today

ScopeAround brought the first digital otoscope with camera for consumers to the market over five years ago so they have more experience and customer feedback to make the best digital otoscopes available. ScopeAround makes a complete range of digital otoscope products including free-standing models to USB-connected, Lightning cable-connected, and WiFi-connected devices with an otoscope camera app for your mobile device. 

 

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