3 ms·

The thing that's lost on a lot of the discussion around earwax is that your ears will generally adjust to producing the right amount of wax, taking into account

The thing that's lost on a lot of the discussion around earwax is that your ears will generally adjust to producing the right amount of wax, taking into account what activities you do. In the spring, when I first swim, I won't have enough earwax because I haven't been swimming, and water gets stuck in my ears. By the summer, they adjust, and water stays out of my ears. In the fall, when I stop swimming, I find that I now have too much ear wax and it feels uncomfortable. It tapers off in the winter back to the proper level. Note also that if I use q-tips, this will also increase ear wax production, but will remove the protection it provides, and water will get stuck in my ears until it builds up again. I've also found that using earplugs will increase production, as will drinking alcohol.

halpmeh 4y ago
Yes, this one surprising realization I came to during the pandemic. I habitually cleaned my ears before leaving for the office. When I needed to WFH, I stopped cleaning them because the habit had been disrupted. There was a lot of wax at first, but now I have just the right amount and never need to clear them.
- RC_ITR 4y ago
  The secret behind grooming (I've made it, I've finally discussed proper hygiene on HN and its contextually relevant) is that it boils down to 3 types: 1) Preference/Social - This is primarily smell and appearance-based. For example, you won't see medical problems from irregular bathing (as long as you keep wounds/orifices clean), not cutting your hair, or not wearing deodorant, society just politely asks that you do those things. 2) Modern-life Adaptions- This is things like tooth brushing. We need to do it more because of our modern diets than anything else. 3) Comfort - This is things like cutting your finder nails so you don't scratch yourself. Using this framework, you realize you can get away with not doing a lot: pretty much everything except 2 is medically optional (especially after you let your body get back to homeostasis) - but keep in mind just because you and those close to you can't smell you, that does not mean strangers can't smell you. Ear cleaning, FWIW falls mostly in 3, but maybe in extreme cases it becomes 1; if you're swimming a lot maybe it's a 2, but rarely is that true. But also, given the above, please be considerate of others and do as much 1 as you're capable of.
  - the_gipsy 4y ago
    Swimmers and divers usually rinse their ears with fresh or sterile water after being in the water. I don't think many do q-tip cleaning.
  - PhasmaFelis 4y ago
    Interesting fact, ear-cleaning can be medically necessary in extreme cases. Some rare people overproduce earwax to the point that it impacts their hearing. I knew a kid in middle school who was perfectly articulate but had a strange, guttural accent, because he'd been nearly deaf for his first several years of life, and hadn't quite caught up on intonation after diagnosis and treatment.
    - radlad 4y ago
      This happens to me routinely.
PhasmaFelis 4y ago
This is interesting to me, because water doesn't get stuck in my ears, ever. I can literally fill my ear with water and it flows right out as soon as I tip my head. I don't have much earwax, but I do have an unusually large head 2XL hats barely fit), so I wonder if it's just that my ear canals are too big for surface tension to hold water against gravity.
the_gipsy 4y ago
How does water get stuck in an ear? How could earwax possibly prevent water getting stuck? I.e. disallowing entry of water would also mean disallowing air and thus being clogged by wax.
- sacrosancty 4y ago
  It's a water repellant. My guess is that it's hydrophobic and causes the water to bead and roll out instead of smearing over the surface and clinging on.
- jollyllama 4y ago
  Have you ever seen (in real life or a movie or a cartoon) when someone is hitting the side of their head against their hand after being submerged? Or hitting their hand against the side of their head, but this can be harmful. That's a thing people do when they get water stuck in their ear. You can feel it rolling around inside but it doesn't get out no matter how you orient your head. Only force, time, or special ear drops will dislodge it.
  - googlryas 4y ago
    That isn't the question. It's how does earwax stop water from staying in your ear. I suspect it's the opposite. If you have almost no earwax and your ear canal is fully open, water can drain out. But if the canal is say 80% smaller at one point due to wac buildup, then perhaps water can be forced in from pressure and be difficult to drain.

halpmeh 4y ago

Yes, this one surprising realization I came to during the pandemic. I habitually cleaned my ears before leaving for the office. When I needed to WFH, I stopped cleaning them because the habit had been disrupted. There was a lot of wax at first, but now I have just the right amount and never need to clear them.

RC_ITR 4y ago
The secret behind grooming (I've made it, I've finally discussed proper hygiene on HN and its contextually relevant) is that it boils down to 3 types: 1) Preference/Social - This is primarily smell and appearance-based. For example, you won't see medical problems from irregular bathing (as long as you keep wounds/orifices clean), not cutting your hair, or not wearing deodorant, society just politely asks that you do those things. 2) Modern-life Adaptions- This is things like tooth brushing. We need to do it more because of our modern diets than anything else. 3) Comfort - This is things like cutting your finder nails so you don't scratch yourself. Using this framework, you realize you can get away with not doing a lot: pretty much everything except 2 is medically optional (especially after you let your body get back to homeostasis) - but keep in mind just because you and those close to you can't smell you, that does not mean strangers can't smell you. Ear cleaning, FWIW falls mostly in 3, but maybe in extreme cases it becomes 1; if you're swimming a lot maybe it's a 2, but rarely is that true. But also, given the above, please be considerate of others and do as much 1 as you're capable of.
- the_gipsy 4y ago
  Swimmers and divers usually rinse their ears with fresh or sterile water after being in the water. I don't think many do q-tip cleaning.
- PhasmaFelis 4y ago
  Interesting fact, ear-cleaning can be medically necessary in extreme cases. Some rare people overproduce earwax to the point that it impacts their hearing. I knew a kid in middle school who was perfectly articulate but had a strange, guttural accent, because he'd been nearly deaf for his first several years of life, and hadn't quite caught up on intonation after diagnosis and treatment.
  - radlad 4y ago
    This happens to me routinely.

PhasmaFelis 4y ago

This is interesting to me, because water doesn't get stuck in my ears, ever. I can literally fill my ear with water and it flows right out as soon as I tip my head. I don't have much earwax, but I do have an unusually large head 2XL hats barely fit), so I wonder if it's just that my ear canals are too big for surface tension to hold water against gravity.

the_gipsy 4y ago

How does water get stuck in an ear? How could earwax possibly prevent water getting stuck? I.e. disallowing entry of water would also mean disallowing air and thus being clogged by wax.

sacrosancty 4y ago
It's a water repellant. My guess is that it's hydrophobic and causes the water to bead and roll out instead of smearing over the surface and clinging on.
jollyllama 4y ago
Have you ever seen (in real life or a movie or a cartoon) when someone is hitting the side of their head against their hand after being submerged? Or hitting their hand against the side of their head, but this can be harmful. That's a thing people do when they get water stuck in their ear. You can feel it rolling around inside but it doesn't get out no matter how you orient your head. Only force, time, or special ear drops will dislodge it.
- googlryas 4y ago
  That isn't the question. It's how does earwax stop water from staying in your ear. I suspect it's the opposite. If you have almost no earwax and your ear canal is fully open, water can drain out. But if the canal is say 80% smaller at one point due to wac buildup, then perhaps water can be forced in from pressure and be difficult to drain.