Can excess ear wax cause tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a sound that only you can hear. It can take the form of a ringing, buzzing, hissing or whooshing sound. There are a wealth of reasons that a person could be suffering with tinnitus but is excess ear wax one of them?

What is ear wax?

Ear wax is part of the ear’s self-cleaning mechanism. The skin inside the ear canal grows outwards taking wax, dirt and dead skin with it. This all comes out of the ear naturally with ear wax. The actions of chewing and yawning help to move any ear wax outwards along the ear canal.

Ear wax is necessary for the health of your ears therefore, you don’t need to remove it. Ear wax blockages are most often caused after people have tried to “clean” their ears by sticking things in them. This then pushes the wax further down the ear canal and creates a blockage. There are also some people who are just susceptible to creating more wax than others and who will need it professionally removed from time to time. If an ear wax blockage is left, the wax can become compacted and affect your hearing.

Why can ear wax cause tinnitus?

It is at this point that excess ear wax can cause tinnitus. When the blockage builds up and becomes impacted, the pressure in your ear canal can stimulate your nerves. Your brain may then interpret the nerve activity as a sign that a sound is present. The brain will then try to compensate for this and generate an internal sound that is not really there. Once the blockage is removed, the tinnitus will go away. If it does not stop, there could be another reason causing the tinnitus which will need to be investigated by a hearing healthcare professional.

How is excess ear wax removed?

Excess ear wax can be removed safely, quickly and painlessly by a hearing healthcare professional. It can be removed via endoscopic, microsuction or irrigation ear wax removal. We regularly use the endoscopic and microsuction methods to remove ear wax and an appointment can be booked easily on our website. We ask that olive oil drops are used in your ears for a few days prior to an appointment. This is to ensure that the wax is softened ready for removal.

If you’d like to book in for an ear wax removal appointment, or for further advice, don’t hesitate to give us a call.