What is ear wax?
Ear wax is a natural substance produced by glands in the ear canal. It’s made mostly of dead skin cells and oily secretions (sebum).
When it’s first made, ear wax is soft and colourless. When it comes into contact with air, it gets harder and becomes yellowish-brown.
The ear has 3 main parts – the outer ear (the ear canal and ear lobe), the middle ear (which is behind the eardrum and linked to the throat via a small tube), and the inner ear (which has the nerves that help to detect sound).
Why do we have ear wax?
Ear wax has an important job. It’s a filter for your child’s ear, protecting the ear canal from water, infection, trauma and foreign objects like insects.
Why does ear wax build up?
The ear canal’s lining constantly renews itself. Along with chewing and talking, this process of renewal usually moves wax out of the ear.
Ear wax might sometimes build up if the wax has been pushed in – for example, by someone using ear buds.
If this happens, the ear wax build-up can block the ear canal.
What are the symptoms of an ear wax build-up?
When ear wax builds up, it can cause:
- discomfort like an earache
- dizziness
- mild hearing loss
- ringing in the ear.
Does your child need to see a doctor?
You should take your child to the GP if they have a build-up of ear wax that won’t soften with drops from the pharmacy.
Also see your GP if your child has sudden hearing loss, dizziness, ringing in the ear or unmanageable pain in their ear.
How to remove ear wax build-up
Ear wax build-up is usually harmless and easily managed.
Often, you can encourage the ear to clean itself by softening the ear wax. You can do this with:
- drops from the pharmacy
- a few drops of olive oil.
If your child has a regular build-up of ear wax, your GP might prescribe special ear drops to soften the ear wax.
Sometimes your GP will use:
- a syringe to flush out or remove the wax
- microsuction to gently suck out the wax.
In more serious cases of ear wax build-up, your child might need to see an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Don’t use cotton buds to clean your child’s ear. They can push ear wax in deeper, cause it to build up, or even damage the ear canal or drum. If you do need to clean your child’s ear, gently use the twisted corner of a tissue.