Is earwax poisonous? What causes earwax?

Are you familiar with earwax? Everyone has earwax in their ears, but the amount varies. Do you understand earwax? In particular, do you know that earwax is poisonous? I guess many people are not very clear about it and really don’t know. Today I will explain to you in detail whether earwax is poisonous or not. If you are interested, let’s take a look.

1. Earwax is relatively soft at the beginning. Some of it can fall off by itself, but some of it does not fall off and will become hard. If it is not easy to come out, it will block the eardrum and affect hearing. At this time, you need to go to the hospital to remove it. The cerumen glands in the skin of the external auditory canal secrete a yellowish, sometimes sticky substance, commonly known as earwax, which is called cerumen in medicine. There is no scientific basis for the claim that ingesting earwax will make you mute.

2. People believe that earwax (commonly known as "deafness") should not be thrown away randomly, as it would be harmful to their health if others step on it. If you swallow your own earwax, you will become mute or deaf. In short, even though earwax has left the self, it can still have a magical effect on the self, so it should be avoided. What does earwax consist of? From a physical perspective, earwax is usually a pale yellow waxy dry flaky substance that tastes bitter and is insoluble in water, alcohol or ether. From a chemical analysis perspective, earwax contains oil, stearin, fatty acids, protein and yellow pigment, as well as 0.1% water and a small amount of chalk and elements such as potassium and sodium.

3. Earwax is rich in oil, which can moisturize the fine hair on the skin of the ear canal. These fine hairs can block dust particles blown in from the outside. Earwax and fine hair can also prevent insects and other microorganisms from invading the ears. Small insects that accidentally break in will be blocked by the dense and fine hairs; earwax tastes bitter, and when the small insects taste the bitterness of earwax, they will "retreat in the face of difficulty." Earwax containing oil can keep the ear canal warm and moist, especially preventing the eardrum deep in the ear canal from drying out, thus keeping the eardrum in optimal motion. Earwax rich in fatty acids forms an acid film on the surface of the ear canal skin, making the external auditory canal an acidic environment and having a mild bactericidal effect. Some people have shown that the chemical components in earwax can inhibit the growth and reproduction of several types of bacteria.

Earwax and fine hair can not only absorb dust that enters the ear canal, but also keep the ear canal clean. They can also narrow the ear canal cavity, filter and buffer the incoming sound, and prevent the eardrum from being damaged by strong sound.