Out of the many causes of cognitive decline and dementia, excessive earwax often in older ears may be a major reason. Yes, you read that right. Unfortunately, this greasy, often gross, accumulation that is common more in older ears than those of the young, often goes unrecognized or not paid much heed to. When it goes unnoticed, it can lead to serious issues, such as hearing loss or ringing in the ears, even vertigo (for some people) that increases the risk of falling. Studies have established a link between hearing loss and cognitive decline that this article aims to throw light on.

Earwax in some amount is actually good for your ears, which is naturally produced by the body to clean and protect the ears, so often the best idea is to leave it alone and let the self-cleaning process go smoothly. Also, a few drops of water may be all you need to remove earwax from your ears. But it can pose difficulty for seniors where wax may accumulate to the point where it can completely block the ear canal leading to hearing impairment which, if left untreated, can affect cognitive ability, possibly increasing the risk for Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Older adults must get themselves checked regularly for earwax because if it goes undetected it can take a toll on one’s hearing.

You must be wondering how untreated hearing loss and dementia are connected, so what happens is that the areas of the brain that are in charge of processing vision or touch can control areas in which hearing is normally processed, but which receive little or no stimulation in case of hearing loss. This makes the brain use more energy to make up for hearing loss, thus increasing the overall workload of the brain of older adults, therefore an increased risk of dementia due to the compensatory changes in the brain.

1.      The first step is to seek medical help for earwax removal.

2.      Using cotton swabs, keys, paper clips, etc. to clean your ears is a big NO (these will bear no fruit, instead push earwax back into the ear). An easy way out is to soak a cotton ball in plain water and drip a few drops into the ears with your head tilted and stay put for a few minutes before tilting the head the other way, and you’ll see the wax along with the fluid draining out.

3.      Eardrops are another way to remove a blockage by breaking the wax up.

It is always wise to ask a doctor before going ahead with an at-home remedy to remove earwax, since they have more expertise in handling such situations without putting you in harm’s way. Not to mention, their advanced tools, such as slender, spoon-like curettes for earwax removal. It is equally important to keep hearing aids clean as recommended by your doctor.