Post Punk Kitchen Forum

This blog just blew my mind. I had no idea there was such a thing as wet, sticky earwax and now I feel a pressing need to know how many of your ear canals are filled with it.

Well, it starts out wet, but then it dries.
I'm naughty, I q-tip those suckers.

I think people get both but I'm not sure. I am bad and q-tip every day because I love the feeling, so I never have any buildup. But sometimes when I wake up, the inside of my ears feel...moist? So I q-tip right away. Bad paprikapapaya.

No, there seem to be two types of earwax produced and you either have the genes for one or the other. I'm sure if you submerged dry earwax in a wet environment for a prolonged period of time it would get kind of wet, or if you dried out wet earwax it would get kind of dry, but they are two distinct types.

Wikipedia has a pretty good picture that has ruined the rest of my day.

Okay in light of this, I vote wet. That makes sense actually, since I can't ever recall having dry, crumbly earwax.

CRUMBLY ear wax?! I've never heard of that before.

Bad LebaLu! And I actually look forward to this every morning. . . .

we all know that earwax is not really WAX. we should really call it what it is. but, uh. what is it?

"Cerumen is produced in the outer third of the cartilaginous portion of the human ear canal. It is a mixture of viscous secretions from sebaceous glands and less-viscous ones from modified apocrine sweat glands.[2] The primary components of earwax are shed layers of skin, with 60% of the earwax consisting of keratin, 12–20% saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids, alcohols, squalene and 6–9% cholesterol.[3]"

I had no idea.

I just want the dry-waxers to know this:

It's not your fault.

I actually have combination earwax. Part wet and sticky, part dry and flaky.

dry. i think...i mean, it's definitely not WET. it's not totally dry, but it's not goopy. and there's no way im gonna look at pics on the internet.

And if you don't believe me, you can check out my ears sometime. They're always full of stuff, no matter how much I irrigate them.

Also useful information from Wiki:

* In medieval times earwax, and other substances such as urine, were used to prepare pigments used by scribes to illustrate illuminated manuscripts.[37]
* The 1832 edition of the American Frugal Housewife said that "nothing was better than earwax to prevent the painful effects resulting from a wound by a nail [or] skewer"; and also recommended earwax as a remedy for cracked lips.[38]

I need a dry heave emoticon.

Wait, how do we really know? How dry is dry? Does the dry stuff just pour out of your ear like sand? Can you not q-tip it? And how wet is wet?

Please, please just call it earwax. Ugh.

Of my three sons, the one with the most prolific earwax production is the one who gets sick the least and heals fastest. I've always wondered if those things are related.

ah, okay so I have wet.

Yeah, me too. Sometimes I get flaky crepe all around the place, other times it's... gloopy. I have to get my ears irrigated by a nurse every so often as it compacts and then I can't hear properly. It's kinda fun to get done! Though I haven't had it done since I've gotten tragus and anti-tragus piercings and now I'm a bit scared to go incase she makes me take them out.

I voted dry, and then I read the article. I actually have wet.
And now I am queasy.

i would say i have combination earwax with wet leanings.

I have also discovered I have wet... I like to think it's pretty dry though. It doens't exactly run out of my ears.

Woah. Confusion! Do we have an imposter IJDI in the house?!

Wet.