{"id":1759,"date":"2020-03-24T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2020-03-25T14:00:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T18:00:26","slug":"understand-your-earwax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/understand-your-earwax\/","title":{"rendered":"Understand Your Earwax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax, is a<a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/ent\/ear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" sticky substance created in the ear canal (opens in a new tab)\"> sticky substance created in the ear canal<\/a> to keep your ears safe. While you may never have paid your earwax much attention, it plays a crucial role in your health. Understanding what is normal and when something is wrong can help you seek help faster to prevent irreversible damage. <\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-do-we-need-earwax\">Why Do We Need Earwax?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-1280x852.jpg\" alt=\"doctor looking into patients ear\" class=\"wp-image-1760\" width=\"394\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-1280x852.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-256x170.jpg 256w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/full-iStock-164190338-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kidshealth.org\/en\/kids\/earwax.html\" title=\"What's Earwax? | Kids Health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Earwax has a number of important roles<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Moisturizing the\nskin of the ear canal, preventing dry skin and an itchy ear. <\/li><li>Preventing dust,\ndirt and debris from entering the ear.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"earwax-colors-and-textures\">Earwax Colors and Textures<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Healthy earwax is a light yellow or orange color and wet or sticky in consistency. The darker and dryer the earwax gets, the older it is. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/326093#earwax-colors\" title=\"Earwax color chart: What to know | Medical News Today \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Earwax can be other colors (opens in a new tab)\">Earwax can be other colors<\/a>, however: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Green earwax is a\nsign of an infection.<\/li><li>Earwax with blood\nindicates an injury to the ear or a ruptured eardrum.<\/li><li>Gray earwax means\nthere is a buildup of dust or other debris in the ear.<\/li><li>Black earwax tells\nyou there is impacted earwax, which can also cause temporary hearing loss.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"safely-remove-excess-earwax\">Safely Remove Excess Earwax<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>If you are prone to earwax buildup, your ear, nose and throat doctor may give you permission to remove the excess at home. <a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/ent\/ear\/earwax-removal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Always get medical approval before attempting this (opens in a new tab)\">Always get medical approval before attempting this<\/a>, as you could damage your ear if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baby oil, mineral oil or hydrogen\nperoxide can be used to soften the earwax. Place the liquid in an eyedropper\nand add a few drops to the ear canal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a few days the earwax should be\nsoftened. Use a rubber-bulb syringe to squirt warm water into your ear canal.\nPull on your ear while tilting your head to help straighten your ear canal.\nOnce you are finished, tip your head to the other side to drain out all the\nwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will then need to dry your outer ear\nwith the use of a towel or a hair dryer set on low. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may need to be repeated a few times\nbefore all the excess earwax has fallen out.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"clean-your-ear\">Clean Your Ear<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Keeping up with routine ear cleaning can\nprevent impacted earwax in the future. The good news is this can be easily\nincorporated into your daily shower routine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of inserting anything into your\near, such as a cotton swab, which can push the earwax deeper into the ear,\nwashing the ear with mild soap and water is all that is needed. Rinse the ear\nwith the streams of water from the shower to clean away any wax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about earwax or how to\nproperly clean your ear, contact the experts at Augusta ENT today. <\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"learn-more-about-ear-health\">Learn More About Ear Health<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"How to Prevent Ear Infections (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/how-to-prevent-ear-infections\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Prevent Ear Infections<\/a><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Apple Cider Vinegar: A Viable Treatment for Ear Infections? (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/apple-cider-vinegar-a-viable-treatment-for-ear-infections\/\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Cider Vinegar: A Viable Treatment for Ear Infections?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/surfers-ear-and-other-summer-related-disorders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Surfer\u2019s Ear and Other Summer-Related Disorders (opens in a new tab)\">Surfer\u2019s Ear and Other Summer-Related Disorders<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax, is a sticky substance created in the ear canal to keep your ears safe. While you may never have paid your earwax much attention, it plays a crucial role in your health. Understanding what is normal and when something is wrong can help you seek help faster to prevent&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"14","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"(706) 868-5676 | Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax, is a sticky substance created in the ear canal to keep your ears safe.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ear-nose-throat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1759"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1774,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759\/revisions\/1774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/augustaent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}