Earwax or Cerumen
Plugged ears? Have a professional look into your ears, do not try to clean your ears yourself! Why? You can’t see what you’re doing, you might push the wax deeper in your ear canal. You might also go to deep and puncture your own eardrum, OUCH!
Earwax or cerumen can be a yellow or brown substance which secretes out of the ear canal. It’s a defense mechanism, it cleans and protects the ear canal from bacteria, fungi, insects, water and wax filters (from hearing aids). There’s also impacted wax, which is a black hard type of wax. If you have impacted wax, the best thing to do is buy some mineral oil or baby oil and put a couple of drops in the ear twice a day for about two or three days before you go see your doctor to get your ears flushed out. Another way to remove wax is to let a hearing healthcare professional remove the wax by using a curette. Another way to remove wax is by candling, I personally don’t believe in it.
Plugged ears or impacted wax can occlude the external auditory canal and/ or press against the tympanic membrane or eardrum which can impair your hearing. If you have plugged ears, you shouldn’t get a hearing test since the results won’t be accurate and you will have to do it again once wax is removed.
Wax is also a big problem with hearing aids! If your hearing aid doesn’t sound right or seems week, it’s probably because of wax. Have a professional look at it, they have the tools and resources to clean it.
