“Can ear wax buildup cause deafness?”
My ears are naturally very waxy. It doesn't bother me but I don't really do anything about it. Can it cause severe problems in the long run?
8 Answers
No permanent deafness. Just temporary reduction in hearing or clogging
Hello,
It can cause temporarily decreased hearing if it impacts the ear canal. It can rarely cause severe problems.
Dr. D
It can cause temporarily decreased hearing if it impacts the ear canal. It can rarely cause severe problems.
Dr. D
Ear wax similar to an ear plug will decrease you hearing if it totally blocks your ear canal. Also like an ear plug your hearing goes back to normal once removed.
Ear canal cerumen does not cause nerve hearing loss, only blockage of the ear canal. Topical ear wax treatments over the counter usually are sufficient to alleviate the problems.
There are no long/delayed problems specifically related to cerumen (wax) accumulation. But short-term problems that can occur include hearing loss, pain, tinnitus (“noise in the ears or head”), outer ear infections, and imbalance.
Usually not, but if water from a shower gets in the ear canal, the wax can get wet and expand to completely close off the canal, this would cause a hearing loss called a conductive hearing loss, once the wax impaction is removed the hearing returns to normal.
Yes it will cause a conductive hearing loss that will resolve by cleaning the ear canal
Mild conductive decrease in hearing. Should resolve with cleaning.
