# What's Ear Wax for?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-ear-wax-for/170632>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 23, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-ear-wax-for/170632 "2003-04-23T17:26:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-ear-wax-for/170632/1 "2003-04-23T17:26:16Z")

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This question was occasioned by the fact that my right ear produces tremendous amounts of this stuff-frequently I have to use ear dropsand a syringe to remove this stuff. Once, I had a blockage that affected my hearing, and after around 25 minutes of rinsing and drops, a huge blot of this useless substance came out. So what function does this stuff have? Why am I overly endowed with it?

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**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-ear-wax-for/170632/2 "2003-04-23T17:48:32Z")

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To push dirt out of the ear. Sorry, no cite.

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**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-ear-wax-for/170632/3 "2003-04-23T17:52:54Z")

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Cecil explains [what earwax is for](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_111.html).