People who produce a lot of earwax are more likely to develop a blockage in their ear than those who only produce a small amount.
Who's at risk?
Your risk of developing problems due to a build-up of earwax is increased if you have:
- narrow ear canals or ear canals that aren't fully formed
- a lot of hair in your ear canals
- benign (non-cancerous) bony growths in the outer part of your ear canal (osteomata)
- a skin condition of your scalp or preauricular area (the area just in front of your earlobe)
- hard wax, because it's more likely to become impacted (firmly lodged in your ear canal)
- a history of recurrent impacted earwax
- repeated ear infections
- learning difficulties (the reason for this is unknown)
Elderly people are also more at risk of having earwax problems, because earwax becomes drier with age.
Impacted earwax
If you produce a lot of earwax, further blockages may occur, even after you have had an earwax plug removed.
Further blockages are also likely to occur if you have particularly narrow ear canals that become blocked more easily.
Your chances of developing an earwax blockage are also increased if you:
- use cotton buds: they can push earwax deeper into your ear and pack it harder together, which creates an earwax plug
- wear a hearing aid or earplugs: they can stop earwax falling out of your ear naturally
