earwax

We Make Earwax? What’s That All About?

What Is Earwax?

I’ve often wondered what is earwax (otherwise known as cerumen) all about but never specifically investigated it. Well today I just happened across this article on the BBC News website in the Health section and now I am the wiser.

It’s entitled: ‘Secretion secrets: things you didn’t know about earwax’. It discusses the following five issues:

  1. How it gets out of an ear.
  2. It’s anti-microbial properties.
  3. It matters where your family is from.
  4. A vacuum rather than a syringe might help clear it out.
  5. It can be a pollution monitor.

I expect people with earwax problems may find section 4 above of interest since it says ears can be cleaned with a specialised vacuum cleaner. See example below:

earwax
THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISMENT. OTHER EAR WAX REMOVING TOOLS MAY BE AVAILABLE.

It goes on to describe how this is a more pleasant and more efficient procedure than syringing. If you haven’t seen it here is the cross section through a human ear:

earwax

WARNING: Do not try using a domestic vacuum cleaner for cleaning ears.

Syringing The Ear To Remove Cerumen

Here is a video of a professional removing earwax using a syringe.


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