Tinnitus – what is it and can ear wax cause it?

Ever experienced a buzzing or ringing sound in your ear? Most of us have at some point. But are you experiencing it continuously? If so, you could be suffering with tinnitus.

Tinnitus is when you hear noises or sounds that don’t come from an outside source. It’s not a disease, but a symptom of an issue within the auditory system. You might hear unexpected noises in one or both of your ears. The sounds can come and go or stay continuously. There are many causes, from medical conditions to changes in pressure and altitude. However, another common cause is ear wax build up.

How does ear wax build up cause tinnitus?

Ear wax is a totally natural and essential part of our ear health. It keeps bacteria and germs out, prevents infection and helps clean the ear canal. However, it can build up and cause problems, such as tinnitus.

When ear wax builds up, it can block the ear canal. When this happens, it can become hardened and impacted leading to hearing loss or infection. This can restrict the amount of information being sent to the brain.

Normally the brain receives too much information from the world around us, such as background sounds like traffic noise. It usually filters out these unnecessary sounds, however if it starts receiving less information than normal, for example, due to ear wax build up, it will try to get more information from the ears. This manifests as the ringing sounds we call tinnitus. So, tinnitus is actually caused by brain activity, not by the ear itself.

Will removing ear wax help tinnitus?

If ear wax build up is the cause of your tinnitus, removing it should help it. There are many clinically approved methods of ear wax removal, but it’s important to know that you should never try and remove ear wax by using cotton buds, ear candles or ear wax removal tools with cameras often incorrectly called ‘otoscopes’ online. This could push impacted wax deeper into your ear and worsen your symptoms.

If you’re suffering from tinnitus, you shouldn’t use ear drops like Otex until you have sought advice from a professional, such as a GP or audiologist. They can determine if your tinnitus is being caused by ear wax build up or something else, then advise the right course of treatment for you. If your tinnitus isn’t caused by ear wax, you can find out more information about your condition and steps to take via the NHS website here.