About earwax build-up
Earwax is a naturally produced substance that occurs inside your ears. The purpose of ear wax is to keep ears clean and free anything that shouldn’t be in there. It usually passes out of the ears harmlessly and on its own, but sometimes too much can build up and block the ears -meaning you have to seek other alternatives.
A build-up of earwax is a common problem that is often treated using eardrops bought from a pharmacy. However, this can also often only be a temporary fix that needs reoccurring treatment soon after.
To avoid this, there are other, more thorough treatments available such as microsuction ear wax removal at our ear wax removal clinic in Kent.
What causes an earwax build-up?
To understand how to prevent ear wax build up, you have to know what causes it in the first place. In many cases, there is no significant contributing factor to why you have an ear wax build up. Some people just regularly get blocked ears because they naturally produce a lot of earwax.
Other factors that can increase the risk of an ear wax blockage:
- producing naturally harder or dryer earwax
- being of older age as earwax becomes drier and heavier with age
- having a narrow or hairy ear canal
Earwax can also block your ear if you frequently insert objects into your ear canal, such as cotton buds, headphones, ear plugs or hearing aids.
Think you have a build up of wax? Well,
A build-up of earwax in your ear can cause:
- tinnitus (a ringing sound from inside your body)
- earache
- hearing loss
- vertigo
These problems will usually improve or subside once the earwax blockage has been removed.
What to do if you think your ear is blocked
Never try to remove a build-up of earwax yourself with your fingers, a cotton bud or any other object as this can often make it worse and push the blockage deeper, making it more difficult to be professionally removed.
If the earwax is only causing minor problems, you can try buying some eardrops from a pharmacy. Using drops may make your hearing or symptoms worse before improving however, and you only see real results after an extended period of time rather than instantly. For this reason, we suggest our microsuction ear wax removal treatment as this is often an instant fix where you can see results in real time.
Preventing an earwax build-up
Now that your ears are cleared, what can you do to avoid this happening again?
Well, as we have already discussed, some people are just naturally prone to earwax building up in their ears and may need frequent or more serious treatment to remove it when it becomes a problem.
Some doctors recommend using eardrops regularly to keep your earwax soft, however this is not proven to reduce the amount of earwax produced, just thin it.
Other than that, try and reduce the time you use in-ear headphones, avoid cotton buds or sleeping with anything in your ears so that the wax can pass naturally.
Speak to your doctor for advice if earwax builds up in your ears regularly or visit our new ear clinic in Rochester for support. Our ear wax removal in Kent will leave you feeling confident and comfortable!