​What to do if your ear hurts when you dig out earwax

Many friends have the habit of digging earwax frequently, but they don’t know that this is very dangerous. If earwax does not affect hearing, there is no need to dig it out frequently. Digging earwax too hard can cause ear inflammation and other problems. So what should you do if your ears hurt when you dig out earwax? It is recommended to stop digging earwax at this time. If serious infection occurs, you need to seek medical attention and let a professional doctor help deal with it.

The scientific name of earwax is "cerumen", which is a yellowish viscous liquid secreted by the cerumen glands in the cartilaginous part of the external auditory canal. It can block dirt from entering the external auditory canal from the outside and protect the eardrum; at the same time, it covers the surface of the skin in the ear canal, which can keep the skin at a certain humidity and maintain the stability of the environment in the ear canal.

The healthy external auditory canal of the human body has its own self-cleaning function, so there is no need to clean it frequently. In most cases, earwax will slowly move from the ear canal to the ear canal opening, dry in the air and form yellow flakes, which will continuously fall off and be discharged from the ear through the movement of the mandibular joint during chewing. Generally, it will not block the external auditory canal.

Earwax only needs to be cleaned when it blocks the entire ear canal and causes symptoms such as ear pain and hearing loss. Never pick your ears randomly to avoid infections and other accidents. In short, there is no need to remove earwax if there are no symptoms. If you really have those uncomfortable symptoms, please make an appointment with an ENT doctor and ask him to help you.

Routine hospital treatment

One is that the doctor uses forceps to pick it up under direct vision;

Second, if it is difficult to handle, soak it in ear drops first, wait for it to soften, and then go to the hospital to rinse it with warm water using special equipment.

It should be noted that some patients feel that earwax is blocking the ear canal, but they can't get it out no matter how hard they try. It has affected their hearing and even caused ear pain. This may be a case of external auditory canal cholesteatoma.

External auditory canal cholesteatoma is not a true tumor, but a cystic mass formed by the desquamation of the skin of the external auditory canal, the accumulation of cholesterol crystals, and epithelial wrapping due to the patient's decreased self-cleaning ability of the ear. Over time, it will grow larger and larger, squeezing and damaging the ear canal and causing pain. If it is not cleaned, it will continue to invade the middle ear and form a middle ear cholesteatoma, which must be cleaned professionally.

Develop the habit of protecting your ears every day

1. Protect your head

The importance of the head is self-evident. No matter what accidents happen in life, please protect your head. Injury to the head can cause hearing loss, and in severe cases, lead to deafness.

2. Refuse to clean your ears frequently

Frequent ear cleaning can cause damage to the ear canal or infection, leading to hearing loss.

3. Prevent water from flowing into the ears

When washing your hair or taking a bath, water flows into the ears, which can easily cause external otitis.