You probably don’t think about your earwax too often. You might clean your ears out every once in a while, but you may not know that your earwax can reveal certain health problems. So, you may want to pay more attention to the gunk inside your ears.
Here are some things to watch out for when it comes to your ears and earwax.
1. If your earwax is yellow, green, white, or black, it could be a sign of an infection
Normal earwax is generally light orange, brown, to dark brown. If you notice that your earwax has changed colors and is yellow, green, white, or even black, it could mean that you have an infection. Ear infections are pretty common and treated easily with antibiotics. Certain things like swimmers ear can also trigger an infection and change the color of your earwax.
2. Your earwax seems dry and flaky
If you notice that your earwax and ear canal are becoming dry and flaky, you may have eczema or psoriasis. You will probably also notice rashes on your body and very dry skin. Did you know that you could get eczema and psoriasis symptoms in your ears too?
3. It smells
Your earwax should never have an odor at all. If you or a loved one notices a smell coming from your ears, that could also be a sign of an infection. See a doctor and have your ears checked out.
4. It drips out of your ears
If you wake up and earwax dripped out on your pillow or is dripping out of your ear at any point, it could be a sign of an ear infection or an ear disease. If your ear feels wet after a workout or when you’re hot, it is probably just sweat.
Read on to the next page for even more signs your earwax might be giving you!