Wondering “why do my ears always feel wet?”  Read on to find out why.

If you frequently ask yourself, ‘why do my ears feel wet inside?’ then read on as we try to unravel this mystery. 

Why do my ears always feel wet?

Your ears feel wet because they are making more wax. It really is that simple. Ear wax (properly referred to as cerumen) is a sticky substance that serves as a skin conditioner, dust catcher, insect repellent, and has pretty impressive antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Earwax is a combination of skin cells that slough off your ear canal and secretions from your ceruminous and the sebaceous glands. As skin cells are shed, they mix with these secretions to produce earwax. The wetness that you feel in your ear is mostly the secretions from the glands in your ear that help form earwax.

Why are my ears wet when I wake up?

If you are wondering why do my ears feel wet when I wake up - well that is because earwax forms in your ears while you sleep and sometimes it accumulates because you aren’t running around like you do when you're awake. The earwax in your ear sometimes feels wet because it’s fresh and wetter than old earwax. As it ages earwax tends to dry out and get darker. If you are curious why do my ears itch and feel wet inside or why do my ears feel wet inside and itchy, then that is probably because the sticky earwax is irritating the hairs in your ear canal, which can cause an itchy sensation.

If your ears also hurt when you wake up, see our blog post "Why does my ear hurt when I wake up?"

If you are asking why are my ears always wet then you just might produce a lot of earwax - this can even be genetic and might have been passed onto you by your parents, but it isn’t a problem, you just might have to clean your ears more frequently.

Why do my ears get wet when I use earbuds

Earbuds can cause your ears to get wet for two reasons. First, if you are listening to loud music the sound can irritate your ears and this may stimulate earwax production. Second, the plastic or rubber material the ear buds are made of can also irritate your skin and this might also stimulate earwax production, although there’s nothing wrong with producing more earwax. These are two reasons why it is largely believed by ear doctors that over-the-ear headphones are a better choice. Over ear designs do not funnel sound directly into your eardrums. They also do not push earwax into your ear canal. Many also feel that over-the-ear headphones are also more comfortable to wear than earbuds - although this is subjective. 

Should I clean my ears?

If your ears are dirty then you should probably clean them, but keep in mind that the presence of earwax itself does not mean that your ears are dirty. Earwax actually acts like a filter to trap dirt and other contaminants before they can go into your ear canal. If you have an excess build up of earwax or dirt in your ears then you should clean them. If you are simply asking why are my ears wet when I wake up, then that alone doesn’t mean you need to clean your ears, but a gentle washing with warm water might flush out loose wax or other contaminants as well as alleviate the itch.

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 ear scope camera or otoscope camera 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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