Earwax Is Your Ear Filter

Earwax is produced by the ear to clean and protect itself, and glands in the skin lining the outer half of your ear canals secrete it nonstop. This sticky wax, together with tiny hairs in the canal, traps dust, dirt, and other foreign particles before they can travel inward. As the wax slowly moves outward, it carries this debris with it and eventually flakes or washes away. By catching these particles early, earwax helps shield delicate inner structures such as your eardrum from irritation and damage.

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