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A member asked:
I have an unusual amount of dark colored ear wax in one ear. is this ear infected?
5 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Maybe not: A person with an ear infection usually has some pain or other discomfort in the ear. Changes in the amount of ear wax cannot tell if there is or is not an infection. Excessive ear wax can hold moisture in the ear canal (after swimming, after showers) and lead to a "swimmers' ear" skin infection of the ear canal. A primary care doctor or ENT doctor can remove the earwax and examine the ears.
Answered 12/13/2019
6.3k views
Probably not: Ear canal wax is normal. Some have more, some less, sometimes more in one ear than the other. For normal ear (no hole in eardrum, no ear canal infection), otc ear wax softening drops and rinse of ear canal (see pkg instructions) should help. If ear canal blockage persists, see ENT md.
Answered 10/11/2016
4.9k views
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