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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Earwax blockage occurs when earwax (cerumen) accumulates in your ear and becomes too hard to wash away naturally.
Earwax is a helpful and natural part of your body's defenses. It protects your ear canal by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria. It's not known why some people experience earwax blockage or why earwax blockage often occurs in only one ear.
If earwax blockage becomes a problem, you or your doctor can take simple steps to remove the wax safely.
- Earwax. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/earwax.cfm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- McCarter DF. Cerumen impaction. American Family Physician. 2007;75:1523.
- Dinces EA, et al. Cerumen. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Clinical practice guideline: Cerumen impaction. Alexandria, Va.: Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/Practice/upload/FINAL-CerumenImpaction-Journal-2008.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Beatty CW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 2, 2009.
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