What Does Earwax Color Mean?

Earwax can tell us about our ears’ health, and monitoring its texture and color can tell us a lot about the health of our hearing and our inner ear health. 

Earwax is produced when the glands and hairs inside your ear secrete oils. The wax this process has prevents germs, bacteria, and debris from entering your ear. To avoid earwax buildup, jaw movements move it from the inside of your ear to the outside.

The ear itself is self-cleaning, and while popular opinion has in previous years stated otherwise, simply washing your hair can be enough to pass any excess wax out of your ears that may have become lodged – thoroughly cleaning your ears with warm water can be of great help to your overall ear health.

However, earwax can still build up and can lead to health problems for some people. Some of us naturally produce more earwax than others, but earwax can also become compacted in the inner ear through earphones and hearing aids, as well as cotton swabs to clean the ears (not a good idea!). 

One way of understanding what is happening inside your ear is to look at the color of your earwax – this can tell you what is happening inside your ear canal.

From off-white to yellow, brown to orange, different earwax colors can indicate healthy ear functions and signal infection or injury. It can also tell you the length of time wax has stayed in your ear. The wax from your ear should work its way out before darkening in color or hardening with every movement of your jaw – the motion of your jaw when you eat or talk works the wax out of your ear. The more extended wax stays in your ear, the darker its color becomes.

While a change in the color of your earwax can initially signal you a potential problem, it is also essential to monitor the texture of your earwax. This can also tell us about the inner workings of your ear and help in its treatment. Therefore, This blog will talk about the texture and color of earwax. 

Normal Earwax Colors

Healthy earwax can be several colors, all of which signal different things. It is helpful to think about the spectrum of color mentioned earlier: the lighter in color, the fresher the earwax, and the darker the earwax, the older it is. Similarly, dry earwax has been in the ear longer than wet earwax.

Off-white to yellow-colored earwax is fresh and, therefore, nothing to worry about. Similarly, earwax that is yellow to orange in color is also new. As the earwax remains in your ear, it darkens in color. Dark orange typically indicates older earwax and may have a sticky or flaky texture as it picks up debris.

Earwax that is orange to brown, sticky, or thick is still older. Once the earwax has been in your ear for even longer than this, it begins to dry out, turning pale orange in turn against the trend of darkening color. 

Abnormal Earwax Colors

Your intuition is likely to be right regarding unhealthy earwax colors. Running close to the full spectrum, infected ear wax colors come in gray, green, and even yellow. Besides other fluids in your earwax, this can indicate poor inner ear health and should lead to treatment. 

If you have yellow or green earwax with a runny consistency and pussy discharge, you may have an ear infection. If the ear infection has developed in severity, it may emit a foul odor and appear green. 

Materials like dust or particles or a buildup of dead skin cells can turn earwax gray, indicating that debris has become stuck and built up inside the ear. If you have black earwax, then this buildup of earwax has become impacted and should be looked at by a health professional.

If you find blood in your earwax, and its consistency has become wet and runny, this can signal that you may have a ruptured eardrum or that there has been other trauma to your ear canal. You can also have dark brown or red earwax that can signal more minor internal traumas, such as a scratch in the ear canal.

When to visit a hearing professional or doctor

If you are experiencing discharge from your ear, or if it appears in any of the colors mentioned under the ‘abnormal’ heading, it is likely time to seek medical help. If you are experiencing hearing loss, you should also check with a health professional about your hearing health and earwax.

If you are in the Las Vegas area, head to Hearing Associates for a hearing evaluation today. With expertise in hearing aids, tinnitus, and speech aids, they are the people to consult for comprehensive health care when it comes to your ears. 

The process will begin with a consultation, followed by a series of tests designed to measure the quality of your hearing (including a physical inspection to look at earwax buildup and health). 

Then, they will advise the best course of action.

If you are experiencing concerning changes to the color and texture of your earwax, consult a doctor today or head to Hearing Associates for those local to Las Vegas.