Ear Care: Do-It-Yourself Wax Removal (1/2)

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Some people's ears produce wax like busy little bees. This can be a problem even though earwax appears to serve an important purpose. Experts say it protects and cleans the ear. It traps dirt and other matter and keep insects out. Doctors think it might also help protect against infections. And the waxy oil keeps ears from getting too dry.

So earwax is good. It even has a medical name: cerumen. There are two kinds. Most people of European or African ancestry have the "wet" kind: thick and sticky. East Asians commonly have "dry" earwax.

But you can have too much of a good thing. The glands in the ear canal that produce the wax make too much in some people. Earwax is normallyexpelled; it falls out of the ear or gets washed away. But extra wax can harden and form a blockage that interferes with sound waves and reduces hearing.

People can also cause a blockage when they try to clean out their ears, but only push the wax deeper inside. Earwax removal is sometimes necessary but you have to use a safe method or you could do a lot of damage.

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一些人的耳朵耳垢特别多。这可能会是个问题，尽管耳垢看起来似乎是会有些重要的作用。专家说它会保护，清洁耳朵。它会吸附灰尘或者其他的东西并且阻挡昆虫进入耳朵。医生们认为它有助于预防感染。同时耳蜡也可以避免耳朵过于干燥。

所以耳垢是有益的。它甚至还有个医学名字：耵聍。通常有两种。大多数欧洲或者非洲血统的人耳垢是湿的，厚的，有粘性的。东方亚洲人通常会有干的耳垢。

但是好的东西也不宜太多。在有些人中，耳道中的腺体会产生过多的耳垢。耳垢一般会被清除，它会掉出耳朵或者被水冲走。但是多余的耳垢会变硬，会形成干扰声波，降低听力的一种屏障。

人们试图清洁他们的耳朵时也可能造成阻碍，但这只发生于他们将耳垢推入耳朵更深处时。清除耳垢往往是必要的，但是你必须要使用安全的方法，否则你可能会（对耳朵）造成很大的损害。

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