3 interesting facts about earwax
Earwax is one of those bodily substances that none of us likes to discuss in company.
Like other secretions, this is something most of us deal with. But earwax once held a great fascination for many.
In the past it was used as a lip balm and ointment for puncture wounds. But it can serve for other things as well.
Recent research shows that it can indicate a build-up of pollutants in the body and even be used to diagnose certain conditions.
Here are some things you might not know about earwax.
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How it surfaces
Cells inside the ear canal are unique in the human body – they migrate. “You can put ink on your eardrum and see that the ink will move for several weeks, and this is done by the movement of cells,” says Professor Shakeel Saeed, who works at one of the London hospitals.
If this does not happen, the ear canal will soon fill up with dead cells created by the natural process of skin radiation.
This movement also pushes the wax produced by the modified sweat glands that line the ear canal– outwards. It is believed that normal jaw movements – through eating and speaking – help with this movement.
Professor Saeed has noticed that earwax is sometimes darker in color depending on age. There are hairs on men’s ears that grow larger over the years and make it harder for earwax to come out.
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Earwax has antimicrobial properties
Earwax contains waxy oils, but much of it consists of keratinocytes– the dead skin cells. The rest of the earwax is a mixture of substances.
Between 1000 to 2000 glands produce antimicrobial peptides – while the sebaceous glands near the hair cells have added alcohols, an oily substance called squalene, cholesterol and triglycerides .
Production of earwax does not differ much between men and women, young and old, but a small study showed that triglyceride content decreased from November to July.
Earwax contains lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme capable of destroying bacterial cell walls. Other researchers are not so convinced and claim that it is the best medium in which bacteria can grow.
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Where your family is from matters
Asian and non-Asian ears produce different types of earwax, according to scientists at the Monell Institute in Philadelphia. Chromosome 16 is home to a “wet” or “dry” gene for earwax, with the wet variant being dominant.
The small change in the ABCC11 gene is associated with both a dry type of earwax and a reduction in armpit and body odor. This phenomenon has been detected in Chinese, Japanese and Korean people.
A US study measured the concentration of 12 volatile organic compounds found in earwax in groups of East Asian and white men.
In 11 of the 12 compounds, earwax in whites contained higher amounts of odorous particles.
Kate Priggy of Monell is analyzing the smell of earwax, a first step toward finding more uses for earwax, including its possible use to detect disease.
