Cerumen impaction is the medical term for earwax blockage. Earwax (cerumen) plays an important role in ear health. It cleans your ears and protects them from dust, dirt and infection. Despite its many benefits, earwax can cause issues if too much of it builds up. Cerumen impaction may result in ear pain, itchiness, ringing in your ears, hearing loss or other issues
Causes of Cerumen Impaction
According to an article on WebMD published on 19th July 2022, causes of Cerumen Impaction include:
Use of pin objects: The most common cause of impactions is the use of cotton swabs (and other objects such as bobby pins and rolled napkin corners), which can remove superficial wax but also pushes the rest of the wax deeper into the ear canal.
Hearing Aids: Hearing aid and earplug users are also more prone to earwax blockage and cause cerumen impaction.
Natural buildup: Some people get earwax buildup simply because they naturally produce more earwax and can simply cause blockage
Others: You have dry or hard earwax, lots of ear hair and narrow ear canals.
And finally, even if you clean your ears correctly, you may still get wax buildup, whether it’s because of the way your ear canals are shaped or the way your body makes wax. If it’s more than an occasional problem for you, you may need to make softening agents a regular routine and always contact your healthcare provider for proper care.
