Why do the elderly develop cerumen embolism? Do I need to go to the hospital frequently to clean my ear canals?

As the saying goes, if you don’t clean your ears, you won’t be deaf, but if you don’t clean your ears all year round, it will cause stuffy ears and roaring in the ears. Hearing experts say that the elderly are particularly prone to cerumen filling their ears, which may cause a series of discomforts, so individuals should pay attention to picking their ears every once in a while.



Why do the elderly develop cerumen embolism? Do I need to go to the hospital frequently to clean my ear canals? Why does cerumen occur? The skin of the cartilage of the external auditory canal has cerumen glands, and their light yellow and sticky secretions are called cerumen, commonly known as earwax. Cerumen becomes flake-like after drying in the air; some cerumen is like sticky grease, commonly known as "oil ear". Cerumen has the function of protecting the skin of the external auditory canal and adhering to foreign objects. Usually, cerumen is expelled by itself through chewing, mouth opening and other movements. If the cerumen gradually condenses into clumps and blocks the external auditory canal, it is called cerumen embolism.
Dry earwax mostly occurs in people of Asian descent (80%--95%);
Wet earwax mostly occurs in people of African and European descent (97%--100%).

At the same time, researchers also found that people with wet earwax sweat more and have stronger body odor.

If the cerumen embolism does not affect hearing and there is no other discomfort, you can leave it alone temporarily. But if it causes hearing loss, you need to go to the hospital for treatment, and you cannot clean it up at home. Because large cerumen embolism may have been connected to the tympanic membrane of the middle ear, if you forcefully deal with it at home, you may damage the tympanic membrane. In addition, if the cerumen is not treated and water enters the ear canal, the cerumen will be soaked by the water and cause pain in the ear canal. So it’s better to deal with it.

How to prevent cerumen embolism?

The first thing is to keep the external auditory canal clean and dry. If you have inflammation of the external auditory canal, seek medical advice promptly. Check whether there is cerumen before swimming. The most important and common thing is not to pick your ears at will. If unfortunately you have had cerumen embolism before, please go to the hospital for regular follow-up visits.

I have cerumen embolism, what should I do?

The most important things are: first, never pick out your ears to prevent the earwax from getting deeper and deeper; second, don’t let water get into your ears (for example, don’t go swimming) to prevent the earwax from swelling.

The correct thing to do is: go to the hospital! ! ! Go to the hospital! ! ! Go to the hospital! ! ! (Important things must be said three times)

Generally, after the otologist checks the cerumen in the ears, if it is full and there are no other symptoms, he will prescribe corresponding ear drops to soften the earwax. After removing the cerumen, rinse the ear canal, which is what we commonly call "ear cleaning". Of course, if there isn't that much cerumen, the otologist will just use tweezers to remove it.

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