Can you hear me now? If the answer is no, it might not be your cellphone reception.
It could be wax in your ears. As in that natural, yellowish stuff better known in medical circles as cerumen.
Usually earwax coats and protects ears and then is naturally expelled. Sometimes it gets impacted, which can cause problems ranging from diminished hearing to pain and odor.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation recently issued the first comprehensive clinical guidelines to help health practitioners identify patients who have impaction.
Most of the time, earwax, which actually is a water-soluble mixture of dead skin, hair and secretions produced in the outer third of the ear canal, isn't much of a problem.
It serves a protective function for the ear and should be left alone, says Richard Rosenfeld, chairman of otolaryngology at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y.
But the new guidelines state doctors should routinely check for impacted earwax. If it becomes impacted, it should be treated by a professional, he says.
The guidelines outline how to deal with cerumen in the doctor's office, not at home:
*To remove impacted wax, use dissolving agents such as water and saline; irrigation or ear syringing; and manual removal with special instruments or a suction device.
*Do not stick a cotton swab into the ear. That will only push the earwax in farther.
*Other treatments on the do-not-do list include oral jet irrigators (some people use dental water jets to clean ears, which is a big no-no) and ear candling, which is popular at spas. That's when a special candle is put in the ear and burned. The intent is to draw out earwax, but studies have proved it does nothing for earwax and sometimes causes damage, Rosenfeld says.
"We're not recommending everyone run out and get treated for earwax," Rosenfeld says. "That's for sure. But you want it taken care of safely and properly."
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