Do you have a dry ear canal?
A person suffers from dry ear canals or simply dry ear when there is a build-up of dry and dead skin cells throughout the ear canal. This phenomenon is usually accompanied by such severe itching that one might tend to insert some objects to stop the itching.
What Causes a dry ear Canal?
A dry ear canal can be caused due to multiple reasons. The main reason why ear canals tend to dry up is due to the inadequate production of ear wax. Our ears require ear wax in the optimal amount to protect the ear from damage. While the excessive build-up of earwax can cause severe problems, too little of it is also a concern.
In some cases, dry ears are caused due to too much cleaning of the ears. If you tend to use buds regularly, this can lead to a dry ear canal, causing severe itching.
Another prominent cause of dry ear canal is some type of skin allergies or other skin related problems like eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. Whatever the cause may be, a dry ear canal can be treated easily in most of the cases. But you need to consult a doctor as soon as you feel the slightest itching or discomfort in your ears.
Best Ways to Prevent a dry ear Canal
The best way to treat or prevent the ear canal from drying up is to stop the cause of irritation or itching (if any) and then to moisturize the ear canal. The type of treatment depends on the root cause of the problem, and in most cases, the cause might be the excessive build-up of dry and dead skin cells.
The doctor might suggest some ear antibiotics or oral solutions ensure that your ears don’t dry up frequently. With that said, ear wax smoothening agents like alcohol or hydrogen peroxide may not be effective in this case.
One of the best ways to prevent dry ear canals is to prevent any excessive build-up in them. Maintaining the optimum level of ear wax and cleaning out the rest can effectively prevent itching and thereby dry ear canals.
Here are some of the best ways to keep your ear canals clean:
1. Ear irrigation kit
Ear irrigation kits focus on the idea of flushing a stream of water to the ear canals. You need to tilt your head in the opposite direction to let the water flow out along with any dead skin cells and ear wax deposit.
This method is effective in keeping your ears moisturized, but it has its own disadvantages as well. If the water stream isn’t flushed inside the ear canal properly, it can damage the eardrum and cause hearing loss. Thus, this isn’t the safest method to keep your ear clean.
Spade by Axel Glade is a battery-operated device with an in-built camera at its tip. Once you insert the camera into your ear canal, you can clearly see the interiors on your smartphone. The device comes with several silicon tips that can be used to scrape out the dead skin cells from the walls of the ear canal. This is not only safe but also an efficient method to get your ear cleaned.