The urge to extract earwax with fingers is quite common, and more so among Bhutanese. But it is not advisable according to experts. Doctors say the ear has a natural self-cleaning mechanism. When people try to remove earwax, they often push it further inside the ear where it hardens and leads to hearing problems. This condition, known as impacted wax, has emerged as the leading hearing issue among Bhutanese students.
During the Hear, Listen and Speak programme that screened over 115,000 students, nearly 6,740 impacted wax cases were recorded.
Of it, over 3,280 children received treatment.
Dr Tika Ram Adhikari, ENT Specialist of JDWNRH said, “Normally, the body has a self-cleaning mechanism, so as the skin gets you know, usually it comes out from the air canal on its own. So, it is not wise to clean the wax. If people try to use the cotton bud, or sometimes some people use feathers, or in fact any object, that is when the wax gets pushed inside. So, when the wax gets pushed inside, that’s where it gets impacted. It is not a very good habit to clean the air.”
He added that impacted earwax occurs when natural cleaning fails and is often worsened by using cotton swabs, wearing hearing aids, or having narrow ear canals.
“So, if there is impaction, then one of the problems is hearing difficulty. They will feel a blocked sensation in the ear, usually after taking a bath, the wax swells up by absorbing the water, and they will feel the ear is blocked. The other thing can be it may lead to pain and some discomfort, fullness in the ear.”
He said that cleaning the ear can also lead to other complications including damaging ear drum.
“We expect the people to come to the hospital and get a removal under direct supervision without traumatising them. So, there are instances when people try to clean their own ear, and then they perforate the ear drum. Sometimes they cause less resistance or a wound in the ear canal, leading to bleeding. So, it invites more problems. It does more harm than doing anything good.”
The doctor said impacted wax is treated by first letting the wax soften using ear drop for a week, and then it is cleaned within 10 to five minutes.
With impacted wax emerging as the most common hearing issue among students, health officials stress awareness, early screening, and safe treatment as key to protecting children’s hearing.
Singye Dema
