The vast majority of people of European or African descent have wet earwax. Like honey, it is yellow and sticky. Most East Asian people, however, have dry earwax, which is grey, brittle, and non-sticky.
Human earwax consists of wet and dry types. Dry earwax is frequent in East Asians, whereas wet earwax is common in other populations. Here we show that a SNP, 538G --> A (rs17822931), in the ABCC11 gene is responsible for determination of earwax type.
Ear-picking as a service originated in the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) as part of the leisure options offered by tea house or public bathhouse. The Chinese-style ear-picking process involves specialized tools, massages, sound, and techniques that emphasize cleaning and stress relief.
The earwax from the study's East Asian donors was "consistently drier and colorless." The samples of the white donors were "yellow and sticky in nature." Also mentioned in the study: "Africans" have "wet, yellowish-brown wax," and Native Americans — similar to East Asian folks — typically have "dry, white wax."
Wet, yellowish-brown coloured earwax is commonly found in Caucasians and Africans. The other type is the dry, grey-white coloured earwax, which is more common among East Asians like Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Native Americans.
The frequency of alleles for dry ear wax is most concentrated in East Asia; most notably China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. The allele frequency is highest among the northern Han Chinese and Koreans; followed by Mongols, southern Han Chinese, and Yamato Japanese, respectively.
Earwax is made by apocrine glands that line the ear canal. Caucasians and people of African descent generally have "wet" earwax--a brown sticky goop--whereas Asians and native Americans usually have gray brittle flakes.
Dry earwax is not as effective as wet earwax in trapping foreign particles and is more likely to cause blockages in the ear canal.
People with oily skin are more likely to produce excess earwax. The oiliness of the skin can stimulate the glands in the ear canal, leading to an increase in earwax production.
Interestingly, it was previously reported that the characteristics of earwax are interconnected with the strength of axillary odor, whereby wet earwax is accompanied by a strong axillary odor and dry earwax goes along with a missing axillary odor (Adachi, 1937).
Earwax softeners
Genetic Factors
The type and amount of earwax produced are largely determined by a specific gene called ABCC11. This gene controls whether a person has wet or dry earwax. People with wet earwax often produce more of it. If earwax issues run in the family, it's likely that genetics are at play.
In East Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea, the use of ear picks has been commonplace for centuries. Ear picks resemble small scoops or shovels made from various materials like bamboo, wood, silver or other metals. They are carefully inserted into the ear to scoop and pull out excess wax.
It's wet, brown and gummy in nearly all people of European and African origin; but more than 80% of East Asians have a dry variety that lacks a waxy substance called cerumen. A team of Japanese researchers has now tackled this sticky subject and identified the gene that determines earwax type.
There are some people who produce much more earwax than others. For such people periodic ear cleaning may be needed. Earwax only needs to be removed from inside the ear if it causes symptoms. Examples of symptoms are decreased hearing, discomfort, fullness or blockage.
The body naturally produces earwax to help protect and lubricate the ear canal. You may be more prone to earwax buildup if you wear hearing aids, earbuds, or earplugs frequently. Dust, pollen, cold weather, and skin conditions can also trigger an increased production of earwax.
As a result, the cerumen (earwax) produced by East Asians typically exhibits a dry, white phenotype and is strikingly different from the wet, yellow cerumen produced by non-Asians.
Aging: As we get older, our body produces less ear wax, However, the consistency of the wax can become thicker and drier, leading to blockages. Using Q-tips or other sharp, tiny objects to clean the ears: This can actually push ear wax further inside your ear canal, leading to an impaction or buildup.
Interestingly, while most ethnically African and European populations have the wet type, East Asians mostly have dry earwax. Between 5% to 15% of East Asians have the wet type.
The ears are self-cleaning for most people. Earwax migrates from deeper in the ear canal to the ear canal opening via different mechanisms, including normal skin migration pattern and movement of the jaw joint. These mechanism help push earwax outward toward the ear canal opening.
Earwax often has a slight odor (ranging from sweet to slightly musky) because of the mix of substances it contains. It's natural in much the same way that sweat naturally has an odor. And these odors are different for everyone.
Most East Asian people, however, have dry earwax, which is grey, brittle, and non-sticky. The landscape becomes much more muddied, however, when looking at people from the Pacific Islands, South and Central Asia, as well as Indigenous populations of North America, where 30 to 50% have dry earwax types.
Scholars are agreed that it is impure. If it gets on the body, it is obligatory to wash it off.
The results have shown that human earwax can be a potential source of DNA evidence for human identification up to 30 days after the earwax collection. It is recommended to quickly analyze earwax samples or store them at room temperature or at −10 °C after their recovery from the crime scene.