Understanding Earwax 101: What It Does, What Goes Wrong, And How To Fix It

Let’s Learn About Earwax 101

Think earwax is just gunk to wipe away? We break down the surprising science behind this natural defense system and share practical ways to keep your ears clear without risking irritation, impaction, or hearing loss. With Dr. Jill Copley in the studio, we unpack why some people produce dry, flaky wax and others battle sticky buildup, how ear hair and canal shape affect clearance, and what that “underwater” feeling might really mean.

We get specific about home care: when warm water irrigation can help, how hydrogen peroxide drops soften wax, and why daily use of drying solutions can backfire by making wax tougher over time. We explain exactly when to skip DIY methods—like if you have a perforated eardrum, ear tubes, or a history of ear surgery—and why professional removal from an audiologist or ENT is the safer route for narrow canals or recurring blockages. You’ll also hear why ear candling is a myth with messy side effects, and how Q-tips often push wax deeper rather than pulling it out.

From quick fixes after a haircut to setting a monthly maintenance cadence, we share a balanced plan to protect your hearing, prevent impaction, and keep the canal’s self-cleaning process on your side. Clear hearing supports better communication and a calmer mind, and small changes in ear care can make a big difference. If this helped you rethink your routine, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves their Q-tips a little too much, and leave a review with your biggest ear-care question.

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https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
(469) 809-4487

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Topic Setup
• 0:27 What Earwax Is And Why It Exists
• 2:22 When Wax Becomes A Problem
• 3:45 Home Removal Methods That Work
• 5:11 When To See A Professional
• 7:32 Why Overproduction Happens And Q-Tip Risks
• 9:51 Closing And Next Steps

Transcript

Welcome And Topic Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference, where we help you experience life through better hearing. Hosted by the experts of Total Hearing Care, a leading private audiology practice serving the DFW Metroplex, we are here to provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus, and the latest advancements in audiology. Transform your life through better hearing. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Sticky, stubborn, and surprisingly misunderstood. Let's clear up the facts about earwax. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Dr. Jill Copley. Dr. Copley, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Going great, Sophia. Um, I'm excited to talk about earwax because it's one of our most common questions. If ever I do an event, there's always a question about earwax. So it's really important to patients, and it's really important for us to help patients understand what's going on in their ears.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

So yes, and I certainly feel like this is definitely going to be an interesting one. So today's topic is earwax 101. Take it away for us.

unknown 1:15

Okay.

When Wax Becomes A Problem

SPEAKER_02 1:17

So let me describe what earwax is supposed to do. So earwax is a protective mechanism in the outer ear in the ear canal. And it's um produced by oil and sweat blands, and um it creates a film in your ears to help keep other things out of your ears. So like little little pieces of of lint or pollen or or things like that. Um, sometimes we've even seen bugs in there. Now, I've never seen a bug, but um, you can get bugs, especially in areas where people are outside a lot or they have um a lot of uh what was I saying, like kind of bad weather where you have a lot of bugs and mosquitoes and things around, and you're outside and you're playing and and kids will get bugs in their ears. Um, so it's meant to protect the rest of the ear, like the eardrum and beyond the eardrum from things getting down into that area of the ear. And so uh what happens when people start to get too much earwax, there could be several reasons, and it can do a lot with um your body chemistry. And so people can have different body chemistries, and sometimes they produce drier wax. Like for me, um, my wax is pretty dry. And then other people, it can be very moist. Um, for some people, and I see this a lot in men, when they have a lot of hair in their ears, the earwax will develop around the hair to keep hairs from getting down to the eardrum. Now, um, what some people will tend to do is they get want to clean that out, and so they'll try cleaning it out with different methods. And part of the problem is is the wax may not come out for you, and so you're actually pushing it deeper in the ear, which can make the situation worse. And that's when we start to have wax in the ear that can start to block your hearing and feel like things are maybe underwater, you just don't hear as well. And that's when we need to remove it.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

So oh my goodness, well, we never want that, right?

Home Removal Methods That Work

When To See A Professional

SPEAKER_02 3:32

No, it can be uncomfortable to remove it, you know. If it gets deep in there, um people don't it it's a small space, and so people don't necessarily want you in their ears. It's a very sensitive area. The skin in the ear canal can be very thin, it's overbone, and so certainly um we want the ear to kind of naturally remove the wax. Most of us, um, the ear will naturally remove it and push it out as you talk and chew. It moves it out. But then again, for some people, they produce too much and it needs to be removed by professional. I don't agree with uh candling. Um, I remember a patient I had and he used to he did that. And when I looked in his ears, it looked like soot. It looked like ash was in there. So there's a couple of ways people could try to remove it at home. And one way is just to irrigate their ears with with like warm water. I'll sometimes tell people if the skin is sensitive, you can use warm water and like white vinegar and create a solution, half, half and half, although that can get a little smelly. Um, but there's also drops, and it usually has hydrogen peroxide drops that you can get over the counter at a pharmacy, and that helps soften the wax and kind of keep it from sticking to your ear canal, and then you flush your ear out with water, and that can help remove it. So those are some things you do at home. But you typically it's going to involve irrigation in some way. So, having said that, if you're someone who has had like um eardrum surgery or has a hole in their eardrum that you know of, you should not use water in your ear. And so that's when you need a professional to remove it, such as an audiologist, a physician, or um an ear nose and throat doctor. It really depends on the ear and how sensitive it is. Like for me, if I get some wax in my ear, I will just use water. And so you use like a bulb syringe, like you'd use um with with babies, but you use that bulb syringe, you put some water in there, and then you kind of um hold your ear kind of up and back, and that will straighten the ear canal, and you just push that water in and it can help bring it out. Um, for me, using the over-the-counter drops, it has peroxide, but it also has a little bit of um rubbing alcohol in it, and that kind of burns my skin. So I just use water. But other people aren't bothered by the peroxide and the alcohol, and so that's perfectly safe to use. Now, having said that, it's not something you want to use every day. So if people feel like they have wax a lot and want to remove it, I might say, okay, let's use this for four days once a month. So you don't want to use it every day because it does have alcohol in it, it is a drying agent, which means it can cause your ear to start producing drier and drier wax because it's drying out your ear. So it's not something you want to do all the time. If you really have a lot of wax and you're producing a lot, um, it's probably safer to see a professional and have it removed than use a lot of drying agent in your in your ear. So I had a lady who had very, very narrow ear canals, um, very small, very narrow, and her ear would get clogged pretty quickly. And so she would come in every three to four weeks and we'd remove it. And it didn't take very long to remove it. Um, and if you looked at it, you would say that's not much wax, but for her little ear canals, it was. And so it would have been hard for her to remove that on her own. So that's something to think about too. And some people can remove it, some people can't. We have to step in and help them.

Why Overproduction Happens And Q-Tip Risks

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Wow, Dr. Copley, one final question for you today. How does an overproduction of ear wax even happen?

SPEAKER_02 7:40

So there could be several reasons. I mentioned one, like having hair in your ears. So I I will tell people, you know, especially men, when they um get their hair trimmed or have little hairs here trimmed, they might get in the ear canal and they should really rinse out their ears to keep that from happening. You can also just have an overproduction of oil in your ears from those oil glands and sweat glands. And some people just produce more wax than others. We can usually tell if it's fresh wax or if it's been in there a long time. Um, we didn't really talk about Q-tips. I mentioned irrigation, but a lot of people will try to use Q-tips to clean out their ears. And while that sounds like a good idea, it actually can push the wax in further and cause an impaction. And we can usually tell when somebody's used them because it looks like um that's kind of shape of a Q-tip. And so if you get it impacted and it gets past the area where the um ear canal will naturally try to get it out, then it has to be removed some other way. So we don't really recommend Q-tips because um I'll say, you know, if you need to soak up some water or something, maybe use it right here, but don't go in the ear canal because that can actually make things worse. So I think the the final answer to that is if you are producing a lot of wax for whatever reason, you want to make sure you're irrigating it or having it removed. And it's just hard to know why someone might produce more wax than the other. We can we we don't have a lot of, you know, you have some data, but really it just depends on the person. And we'd have to see your ears to be able to tell if you're someone who's gonna produce a lot of wax or not.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Well, Dr. Copley, thank you again. Appreciate your insights on a topic that's often overlooked. We'll see you next time. Okay, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing Care Difference. If you're in the DFW Metroplex and ready to take the next step toward better hearing, call 469-809-4487 to book an appointment. Or visit totalhearingcare dot com because when you hear better, you live better. See you next time.