Excess ear wax happens when the glands in your ear canal produce more wax than your ear can naturally push out, or when something prevents the wax from migrating outward the way it normally does. The causes range from genetics and aging to everyday habits like wearing earbuds. Understanding what’s behind the buildup can help you figure out whether it’s something temporary or a pattern worth addressing.
How Earwax Is Made
Two types of glands line your ear canal and work together to produce cerumen, the medical term for earwax. Sebaceous glands, attached to tiny hair follicles, secrete an oily substance called sebum that keeps the skin inside your ears from drying out. Ceruminous glands, which are modified sweat glands, add antimicrobial proteins that fight off germs. The wax itself is mostly sebum mixed with dead skin cells, hair, cholesterol, fatty acids, and other naturally occurring compounds.
Under normal conditions, your ear canal has a built-in conveyor belt. Jaw movements from chewing and talking slowly push old wax toward the opening of the ear, where it dries up and falls out. Problems start when wax is produced faster than this system can clear it, or when something disrupts the migration process entirely.
Genetics Determine Your Wax Type
A single gene, ABCC11, controls whether you produce wet or dry earwax. The wet type is sticky and yellowish brown to dark brown. The dry type is crumbly and gray to tan. Wet earwax is dominant, meaning you only need one copy of that gene variant to produce it. Most people of European and African descent have wet earwax, while dry earwax is more common in East Asian populations.
People with the dry earwax genotype actually produce less of the ABCC11 protein overall, which researchers interpret as a partial loss of function in the gland. If you inherited the wet type, your glands are simply more active. That sticky consistency can also make it harder for wax to travel out of the canal on its own, raising the odds of gradual buildup over time.
Hearing Aids, Earbuds, and Other Obstructions
Anything you regularly place inside your ear canal can trigger increased wax production. Hearing aids are a well-known culprit. The device sits in or near the canal for hours each day, and the ear responds to that consistent physical contact by ramping up wax output. This isn’t a hygiene issue. It’s a mechanical reaction. The same principle applies to earbuds, earplugs, and in-ear monitors.
These devices also physically block the canal’s natural outward flow. Wax that would normally migrate to the opening gets pushed back inward instead. Over time, that combination of increased production and blocked exit creates a plug. If you wear hearing aids or earbuds daily, periodic wax checks are a practical habit to adopt.
Cotton Swabs Make It Worse
Cotton swabs are one of the most common reasons wax becomes impacted. The swab may remove a small amount of wax near the opening, but it pushes far more of it deeper into the canal, past the point where the ear’s self-cleaning mechanism can reach. Repeated use compresses the wax against the eardrum, creating a hard plug that’s difficult to remove without professional help. The ear canal is also delicate, and swabs can irritate the skin, which may trigger the glands to produce even more wax in response.
How Aging Changes Wax Production
Earwax buildup becomes significantly more common with age. The glands tend to produce more wax as you get older, while the skin of the ear canal thins and the natural self-cleaning mechanism slows down. Coarser, drier hair in the ear canal can also trap wax and keep it from moving outward. The result is a much higher rate of impaction: estimates suggest that between 19% and 65% of adults over 65 have cerumen impaction, depending on the population studied. In nursing homes, about 25% of residents have impacted wax, and that number climbs to 34% in facilities without specialized nursing staff trained to check for it.
For older adults, the problem often goes undiagnosed. Gradual hearing loss from wax buildup can be mistaken for age-related hearing decline, which means the simplest fix gets overlooked.
Skin Conditions That Affect the Ear Canal
Psoriasis and eczema can both contribute to excess earwax. Psoriasis causes the immune system to attack healthy skin cells, forcing them to copy and replace themselves far too quickly. The result is a buildup of dead skin cells on the surface. When this happens inside the ear canal, those extra skin cells mix with the wax and create a thicker, harder mass that doesn’t move out easily. Dead skin cells accumulating inside the canal can eventually block enough of the opening to cause noticeable hearing loss.
Eczema in the ear canal causes similar problems. The inflamed, flaking skin sheds more cells than usual, and the irritation can stimulate the ceruminous glands to increase their output. If you have either condition and notice frequent wax buildup, the skin condition is likely a contributing factor.
Narrow or Unusual Ear Canal Shape
Some people are simply born with ear canals that are narrower or more curved than average. A tighter canal leaves less room for wax to pass through, making blockages more likely even with normal production levels. Children with Down syndrome, for example, have higher rates of ear canal narrowing. One study of 107 children with Down syndrome referred to ear specialists found that 39% had a narrowed canal frequently complicated by wax impaction.
Bone growths in the ear canal, called exostoses, can also obstruct wax migration. These growths develop slowly, often in response to repeated exposure to cold water and wind, which is why they’re sometimes called “surfer’s ear.” As the bony lumps narrow the canal over time, wax and dead skin get trapped behind them, leading to recurrent buildup and a higher risk of ear infections.
How to Tell When Wax Has Become a Problem
Not all earwax needs to be removed. Wax only becomes a medical concern when it causes symptoms or blocks a healthcare provider’s view of your eardrum. The signs of impacted earwax include a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear, earache, hearing loss that may worsen gradually, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), itchiness, discharge or odor, and dizziness. If you experience any combination of these, a provider can check your ears with an otoscope in a quick office visit.
Certain groups face higher impaction rates overall. Adults with developmental disabilities have impacted wax at rates of 28% to 36%. Hospitalized adults over 65 show impaction rates around 35%. These numbers highlight how common the problem is, and how often it goes unnoticed, especially in people who may not be able to describe their symptoms clearly.
Why Some People Produce More Than Others
In most cases, excess earwax comes down to a combination of factors rather than a single cause. Your genetics set the baseline for how much wax your glands produce and how sticky it is. Your habits, like earbud use or cotton swab use, determine whether that wax can exit the canal normally. Your age affects both production and clearance. And underlying conditions like psoriasis, eczema, or a narrow canal can tip the balance further toward buildup. If you find yourself dealing with frequent blockages, identifying which of these factors apply to you is the most useful starting point for managing it long-term.