We all experience pollution, and the extent of contamination in your body can be seen through your eyes, nose, ears, hair, and more. But did you know that earwax can reveal how polluted your body is? Do you understand why some people have excessive earwax? Today, our editor will introduce health-related issues concerning earwax. If you're interested, come take a look!
Why Do We Produce Excess Earwax?
No one enjoys discussing earwax in formal settings—it's a topic we avoid like other bodily secretions, reserved only for private moments of gentle removal.
Yet for many, earwax holds a mysterious allure. In ancient times, people used it as lip balm or ointment for wounds.
In reality, its benefits extend far beyond that. Recent studies suggest earwax can reveal the accumulation of pollutants within the body—and may even aid in diagnosing certain conditions.
How earwax is expelled from the ear
The cells lining our ear canals are unlike any other cells in the body—they possess the unique ability to migrate.
"You can place a tiny ink dot on the eardrum and observe its displacement over weeks, achieved through the movement of these cells," explains Professor Shakeel Saeed of the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital in London.
If these cells couldn't migrate, the tiny dead-end space of the ear canal would quickly become clogged with dead skin cells shed during metabolism.
This movement also carries out earwax—secretions from modified sweat glands within the ear canal. Activities like eating and talking, which involve jaw movement, further promote this process.
Professor Saeed's research at London's Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital also indicates that as humans age, earwax gradually darkens in color—a symbolic reflection of the inevitable accumulation of impurities over time.
Some men experience increasingly prominent ear hair as they age, with density sometimes trapping earwax within the canal.
Earwax possesses antibacterial properties
Earwax (cerumen) contains waxy oils, primarily composed of keratinocytes—dead skin cells. The remaining components are a mixture of substances.
Approximately 1,000 to 2,000 glands secrete antimicrobial peptides. These sebaceous glands near the hair follicles produce a mixture including alcohols, an oily substance called squalene, cholesterol, and triglycerides.
Earwax production shows little correlation with gender or age—though one small study found triglyceride levels in earwax gradually decrease from November to July.
Earwax also contains lysozyme—an antibacterial enzyme that breaks down bacterial cell walls. However, other researchers disagree, believing earwax provides an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.