Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesAppearanceTreatmentWhen to See an ENTAt-Home RemovalRisks
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Appearance
Treatment
When to See an ENT
At-Home Removal
Risks
The color of your earwax, otherwise known as cerumen, can vary depending on several factors, including how old it is, whether there’s an infection present, or if there is debris or dust in the ear. Earwax can sometimes be black. It’s usually not a cause for serious concern, but black earwax can be a sign of an earwax blockage (impacted earwax).
If you have hearing loss and black earwax together, you may have impacted earwax and should seek treatment from an otolaryngologist, a specialist in ear, nose, and throat disorders, also called an ENT.
This article discusses the causes and symptoms of black earwax and when you should see a doctor.
shironosov / Getty Images
Causes of Black Earwax
Your earwax is designed to protect the ear canal from foreign debris and substances. The ears are also self-cleaning, meaning any excess wax is moved out of the ear through jaw movements. If earwax is pushed back into the ear canal through the use of cotton swabs or otherear-cleaning methods, it can increase the risk of a person developing various ear diseases.
In some cases, pushing wax back into the ear canal can cause it to become impacted. Impacted earwax is a condensedbuildup of earwax.Impaction can also cause the earwax to turn black because it remains within the ear for long periods.
Black Earwax and Fungal Infections
The Dangers of Using Q-Tips for Earwax
How Black Earwax Looks
How Common Is Earwax impaction?Up to 6% of the U.S. population will develop impacted earwax at some point in their lives. It is often most likely to occur in the first 10 years of a person’s life or after age 60.
How Common Is Earwax impaction?
Up to 6% of the U.S. population will develop impacted earwax at some point in their lives. It is often most likely to occur in the first 10 years of a person’s life or after age 60.
What Is a Fungal Ear Infection or Otomycosis?
Treatment to Remove Impacted Black Earwax
To treat dark or black, impacted earwax, you can try two at-home methods: ear drops and irrigation.
Ear drops made of mineral or other oils, includingoliveand almond, or a 1-to-1 combination of hydrogen peroxide and room-temperature water may help to loosen the wax for removal. This method requires you to use two drops in the ear twice daily for up to five days.
Ear irrigationis another at-home method to remove black, impacted earwax. To perform ear irrigation, you must fill a rubber bulb syringe with warm water, insert it into the ear canal just until it is stopped, and squirt the water into the ear canal with your ear pointed toward the ceiling.
Once the water has been inserted into the ear, hold it for up to two minutes and then tilt your head to the side, allowing the earwax to drain from your ear. Sometimes, using a combination of earwax-softening drops and irrigation works best.
How to Manage and Relieve Ear Pain
Before Trying At-Home MethodsBefore trying any at-home methods, you should speak to a healthcare provider. They will assess your impaction and earwax to determine whether an at-home removal method suits you. You may also have to see an ENT for a proper diagnosis before proceeding with any treatments.
Before Trying At-Home Methods
Before trying any at-home methods, you should speak to a healthcare provider. They will assess your impaction and earwax to determine whether an at-home removal method suits you. You may also have to see an ENT for a proper diagnosis before proceeding with any treatments.
Excessive Earwax in Children: What to Do
When to See an ENT Specialist
While at-home methods often are effective, seeing a healthcare provider is crucial if the symptoms worsen or you’ve developed impacted earwax more than once.
An ENT will assess the health of your ears and the impaction and take down symptoms to see if any underlying issues are causing black earwax and earwax impaction to develop.
In-clinic treatment options include:
Can You Safely Remove Black Earwax Yourself?
There are at-home ways to remove black earwax yourself, as mentioned above. Proper hygiene can prevent earwax buildup and impaction before the wax turns black.
Since the ears are self-cleaning, the best way to avoid impaction is to let them do their job without interference. That means avoiding cleaning your ears with cotton swabs or other tools.
In some cases, a healthcare provider may recommend different medications that can help reduce earwax production, effectively hindering buildup and impaction.
When to Seek Medical Help for Earwax BuildupYou should seek care from a healthcare provider if you develop harmful symptoms, such as dizziness, pain, and hearing loss.
When to Seek Medical Help for Earwax Buildup
You should seek care from a healthcare provider if you develop harmful symptoms, such as dizziness, pain, and hearing loss.
Hydrogen Peroxide in Ear: How Well Does It Work?
Risks of Doing Nothing About Black Earwax
While black earwax rarely causes severe effects, some complications are associated with leaving the impaction alone. They include:
How to Prevent Ear Infections and Fluid in the Ears
Summary
At-home and in-clinic treatment options are available, and your healthcare provider will help you choose which is best for you. The best way to avoid black earwax is to practice good ear hygiene and avoid digging in the ear with cotton swabs or other instruments.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Oladeji SM, Babatunde OT, Babatunde LB, Sogebi OA.Knowledge of cerument and effect of ear-self-cleaning among health workers in a tertiary hospital.J West Afr Coll Surg.2015 Apr-Jun;5(2):117-133.Adegbiji WA, Alabi BS, Olajuyin OA, Nwawolo CC.Earwax impaction: Symptoms, predisposing factors and perception among Nigerians.J Family Med Prim Care.2014 Oct-Dec;3(4):379-82. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.148116Anwar K, Gohar MS.Otomycosis; clinical features, predisposing factors and treatment implications.Pak J Med Sci.2014 May;30(3):564-567. doi:10.12669/pjms.303.4106MyHealth Alberta.Earwax blockage: Care Instructions. February 28, 2023.Radford JC.Treatment of impacted ear wax: A case for increased community-based microsuction.BJGP Open.2020 Jun 23;4(2):bjgpopen20X101064. doi:10.3399/bjgpopen20X101064Michaudet C, Malaty J.Cerumen impaction: Diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician.2018 Oct 15;98(8):525-529.Sjoukes A, Venekamp RP, van de Pol AC, Hay AD, Little P, Schilder AG, Damoiseaux RA.Paracetamol (acetaminophen) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alone or combined, for pain relief in acute otitis media in children.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016; 12(12):CD011534. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011534.pub2.Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al.Clinical practice guideline (update): Earwax (cerumen impaction).Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017;156(1_suppl):S1-S29. doi:10.1177/0194599816671491Cedars Sinai.Impacted earwax.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Oladeji SM, Babatunde OT, Babatunde LB, Sogebi OA.Knowledge of cerument and effect of ear-self-cleaning among health workers in a tertiary hospital.J West Afr Coll Surg.2015 Apr-Jun;5(2):117-133.Adegbiji WA, Alabi BS, Olajuyin OA, Nwawolo CC.Earwax impaction: Symptoms, predisposing factors and perception among Nigerians.J Family Med Prim Care.2014 Oct-Dec;3(4):379-82. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.148116Anwar K, Gohar MS.Otomycosis; clinical features, predisposing factors and treatment implications.Pak J Med Sci.2014 May;30(3):564-567. doi:10.12669/pjms.303.4106MyHealth Alberta.Earwax blockage: Care Instructions. February 28, 2023.Radford JC.Treatment of impacted ear wax: A case for increased community-based microsuction.BJGP Open.2020 Jun 23;4(2):bjgpopen20X101064. doi:10.3399/bjgpopen20X101064Michaudet C, Malaty J.Cerumen impaction: Diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician.2018 Oct 15;98(8):525-529.Sjoukes A, Venekamp RP, van de Pol AC, Hay AD, Little P, Schilder AG, Damoiseaux RA.Paracetamol (acetaminophen) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alone or combined, for pain relief in acute otitis media in children.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016; 12(12):CD011534. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011534.pub2.Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al.Clinical practice guideline (update): Earwax (cerumen impaction).Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017;156(1_suppl):S1-S29. doi:10.1177/0194599816671491Cedars Sinai.Impacted earwax.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Oladeji SM, Babatunde OT, Babatunde LB, Sogebi OA.Knowledge of cerument and effect of ear-self-cleaning among health workers in a tertiary hospital.J West Afr Coll Surg.2015 Apr-Jun;5(2):117-133.Adegbiji WA, Alabi BS, Olajuyin OA, Nwawolo CC.Earwax impaction: Symptoms, predisposing factors and perception among Nigerians.J Family Med Prim Care.2014 Oct-Dec;3(4):379-82. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.148116Anwar K, Gohar MS.Otomycosis; clinical features, predisposing factors and treatment implications.Pak J Med Sci.2014 May;30(3):564-567. doi:10.12669/pjms.303.4106MyHealth Alberta.Earwax blockage: Care Instructions. February 28, 2023.Radford JC.Treatment of impacted ear wax: A case for increased community-based microsuction.BJGP Open.2020 Jun 23;4(2):bjgpopen20X101064. doi:10.3399/bjgpopen20X101064Michaudet C, Malaty J.Cerumen impaction: Diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician.2018 Oct 15;98(8):525-529.Sjoukes A, Venekamp RP, van de Pol AC, Hay AD, Little P, Schilder AG, Damoiseaux RA.Paracetamol (acetaminophen) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alone or combined, for pain relief in acute otitis media in children.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016; 12(12):CD011534. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011534.pub2.Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al.Clinical practice guideline (update): Earwax (cerumen impaction).Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017;156(1_suppl):S1-S29. doi:10.1177/0194599816671491Cedars Sinai.Impacted earwax.
Oladeji SM, Babatunde OT, Babatunde LB, Sogebi OA.Knowledge of cerument and effect of ear-self-cleaning among health workers in a tertiary hospital.J West Afr Coll Surg.2015 Apr-Jun;5(2):117-133.
Adegbiji WA, Alabi BS, Olajuyin OA, Nwawolo CC.Earwax impaction: Symptoms, predisposing factors and perception among Nigerians.J Family Med Prim Care.2014 Oct-Dec;3(4):379-82. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.148116
Anwar K, Gohar MS.Otomycosis; clinical features, predisposing factors and treatment implications.Pak J Med Sci.2014 May;30(3):564-567. doi:10.12669/pjms.303.4106
MyHealth Alberta.Earwax blockage: Care Instructions. February 28, 2023.
Radford JC.Treatment of impacted ear wax: A case for increased community-based microsuction.BJGP Open.2020 Jun 23;4(2):bjgpopen20X101064. doi:10.3399/bjgpopen20X101064
Michaudet C, Malaty J.Cerumen impaction: Diagnosis and management.Am Fam Physician.2018 Oct 15;98(8):525-529.
Sjoukes A, Venekamp RP, van de Pol AC, Hay AD, Little P, Schilder AG, Damoiseaux RA.Paracetamol (acetaminophen) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alone or combined, for pain relief in acute otitis media in children.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016; 12(12):CD011534. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011534.pub2.
Schwartz SR, Magit AE, Rosenfeld RM, et al.Clinical practice guideline (update): Earwax (cerumen impaction).Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017;156(1_suppl):S1-S29. doi:10.1177/0194599816671491
Cedars Sinai.Impacted earwax.
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