Earwax Color: Chart, Infection, Tarry Earwax, And More - Healthline

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What Does Your Earwax Color Mean?

Medically reviewed by Cynthia Taylor Chavoustie, MPAS, PA-C — Written by Jaime Herndon, MS, MPH, MFA — Updated on April 20, 2023

Common earwax colors
Earwax removal at home
How doctors remove earwax
Call a doctor

Earwax can be white, yellow, brown, and even black. It can be soft, hard, or flaky. There’s a lot of variation with earwax, depending on several variables.

Earwax, or cerumen, is a normal, naturally occurring substance that helps your ear stay healthy.

Earwax helps to prevent debris, dirt, and other things from entering the ear canal and also helps to prevent infection. In fact, the ears are self-cleaning, and old earwax, along with dead skin cells, gets moved from inside the ear to the ear opening, where it eventually falls out.

In general, when earwax builds up, it naturally gets forced out of the ear. Sometimes our bodies overproduce earwax, especially if we’re stressed or afraid. If there is an overproduction, and it doesn’t get forced out of the ear, it can cause a blockage.

Read on to learn what different ear wax colors may mean.

Common earwax colors

There are two common types of earwax:

yellow-brown, which tends to be wet
white-gray, which is dry

The color of earwax can vary, depending on a person’s ethnicity and health.

One study found that dry earwax is common among people of East Asian descent. Wet earwax is common among people of most other ethnicities. This is because of a mutation of a gene that aids in making the earwax wet.

There are various types of earwax and other ear discharge, so don’t panic if you see a range of colors and textures over time.

Color of earwax	Reason
Yellow and soft	Newer earwax
Darker and firm/tar-like	Older earwax
Flaky and pale	Older earwax that has moved to the outside of the ear
Blood-tinged earwax	Scratch in the ear canal, ear injury, or side effect of wax removal
Runny and cloudy	Ear infection
Black	Earwax buildup, foreign object in the ear, and compacted earwax

It’s always best to call your doctor if you notice earwax or discharge that is unusual for you.

How to remove earwax at home

There is no reason to ever insert anything into the ears to remove earwax. Earwax is only formed in the outer third of the ear canal. Using things like bobby pins or cotton-tipped applicators to “clean out” the earwax can actually push in the earwax, resulting in an impaction of earwax.

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Ear candling has been touted as an alternative remedy to remove earwax, but this technique is not recommended, as it hasn’t been found to be a successful treatment and can actually cause severe burns or injury.

How to clean the ears at home

Most of the time, the ears do not need to be specially cleaned, and earwax doesn’t need to be removed.

To clean the ears, just wash the outside of the ear with a soft washcloth; nothing needs to be done internally.

How to remove heavy earwax buildup

If there is a slight buildup of earwax, many times, at-home treatments are successful. You can put a couple drops of baby oil or commercial ear drops into the ear, which should soften the wax and facilitate removal.

The day after using the drops, use a rubber-bulb syringe to squirt warm water into your ear. Tilt your head and pull your outer ear up and back, says the Mayo Clinic. This helps to straighten out your ear canal and help the earwax move out.

When you’re done, tilt your head to the side again, and let the water drain out. This might have to be repeated for a few days, depending on the level of buildup. If you don’t feel a reduction of your symptoms, call your doctor.

The only time earwax needs to be specifically removed is when there is a buildup severe enough to cause symptoms like:

earache
partial hearing loss
ringing in the ear
discharge

Your doctor may also remove the buildup if your earwax is preventing them from properly assessing or examining the ear canal. This situation is called cerumen impaction.

How doctors remove earwax

A physician can remove earwax by using irrigation or ear syringing.

This involves putting water, saline, or wax-dissolving drops into the ear canal. About a half hour later, the ears are irrigated and the wax is removed.

Although there are at-home kits, it’s always a good idea to be extra careful and have a physician do it. An otolaryngologist can also manually remove the earwax.

When to call a doctor

Overall, earwax is normal and can vary in its appearance and texture. If you notice earwax that is markedly different than what you’ve seen before, it’s always good to call your doctor and check to see if there’s anything you should be on the lookout for.

If you’re experiencing symptoms of earwax buildup and at-home remedies have not been successful, your doctor might need to manually and safely remove the earwax.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Ear– discharge. (2018). https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/ear-discharge
Earwaxand care. (n.d.).http://www.entnet.org/content/earwax-and-care
MayoClinic Staff. (2017). Earwax blockage. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/earwax-blockage/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353007
TraynorR. (2011). Racial differences in cerumen type and consistency.https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearinginternational/2011/racial-differences-in-cerumen-type-and-consistency
Whyearwax should be left alone. (2017).https://focus.masseyeandear.org/earwax-left-alone
YoshiuraK et al. (2006). A SNP in the ABCC11 gene is the determinant of human earwaxtype. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1733

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Medically reviewed by Cynthia Taylor Chavoustie, MPAS, PA-C — Written by Jaime Herndon, MS, MPH, MFA — Updated on April 20, 2023

Earwax Color: Chart, Infection, Tarry Earwax, And More - Healthline

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