Brock Press

Issue date: 12/1/09 Section: Health

Media Credit: Erika Hughes

For most of us, cleaning our ears is a daily occurrence. Whether you do it when you get out of the shower, before you go to bed or sporadically throughout the day, ridding our ears of that dreaded brown wax is always the ultimate goal.
But have you ever stopped to think why our bodies produce it in the first place? We are biological miracles, fine-tuned over thousands of years for ultimate performance, so then why is it that our bodies produce something so unwanted?
The answer is to point out the problem with the question. Ear wax isn't unwanted at all; in fact, our ears want it very badly.
Earwax, which is medicinally referred to as cerumen, is produced in the outer-third of the ear of many mammals to assist in the cleaning and lubrication of our ear canal. It also protects the ear from unwanted entrants, such as bacteria and dead skin, by trapping them in the sticky wax and preventing them from getting farther into our ear and potentially causing harm.
You are probably thinking that the pros of earwax may be fine and well, but that doesn't change the fact that it looks disgusting and needs to be taken care of.
One little known, but rather interesting, fact about ears is that they are self cleaning when left to their own prerogative. When we move our jaws, earwax makes its way from the inner portion of our ear to the visible portion we see on the side of our heads before it falls out.
If you can easily access the wax, wash it out. There is no need to stick anything into your ear - if you can't reach it with a washcloth, it is in there for a reason.
By inserting something into your ear, you are moving the ear wax to places that it isn't supposed to be. Remember, earwax is only secreted in the outer-third of the ear and that's where it is supposed to stay. You also run the risk of hitting your ear-drum which is very sensitive and can lead to hearing loss.
Doctors recommend getting your ears cleaned at your next check-up, specifically if you have a bad cold. Doctors can do one of two things. They can use a process known as oral jet irrigation, which is a fancy term for shooting water down your ear canal to get rid of any loose cerumen, or they could use ear candling, a process that involves inserting a beeswax cone into an ear. Both are safer than using a cotton-tip.
So next time you go to clean your ears, think twice. You might just be doing yourself a favour - even if its not always pretty to look at.

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