The American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation on Friday released the first comprehensive clinical recommendations meant to help health-care professionals identify patients with impacted wax and treat them properly.
Earwax, which is created by a mixture of secretions from glands that line the ear canal, sloughed-off skin cells, and bits of hair, acts as a cleaning agent and should only be cleaned once it emerges on its own.
Lead author of the guidelines, Dr. Peter Roland, an ear specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said that if the ears are functioning, and there is no problem, most people should do nothing.
People should also resist the urge to use a cotton-tipped swab to clean out the ear, as the action can actually drive excess wax in farther, he said. Then, medical attention is often needed to remove it.
Usually, excess wax eases its way out of the ear without any prompting, helped along by the movement of the jaw. It is then that it can be cleaned out a bit, the guidelines say.
The guidelines do not apply to earwax impaction related to certain conditions, such as skin diseases of the ear.
The guidelines are published in the September issue of Otolarynology-Head and Neck Surgery.
