The most common way people clean their ears is with a Q-tip (aka cotton swab). For the majority, ear wax doesn’t need to be cleaned – our ears can take care of themselves. Some people produce a lot of wax, some people produce very little. It ranges from light colored, dry and flaky to thick, dark and moist. Different people make different types and quantities of ear wax. It keeps our ear canals moist, prevents dust and grime from getting deeper into our canals, helps migrate dead skin cells out of our ear canals, and it actually helps prevent infections. Cerumen serves a purpose, several purposes, in fact. Everybody’s ears make wax – also known as cerumen.
