“Earwax is the medical name for cerumen in the external ear canal. There are many sweat glands and sebaceous glands in the skin of the external auditory canal, which continuously secrete into the external auditory canal, sticking together dust and skin debris, which accumulate over time to form cerumen. Cerumen keeps the outer ear canal at an acidic pH level, preventing the growth of mold in the outer ear canal and reducing infections in the outer ear canal. So, if there is no discomfort, having cerumen in the ear is not a bad thing. Often parents use cotton swabs to pull out their children’s ears after they wash their hair or take a bath. This is a very bad habit. Children often break their eardrums because they don’t know how to pull it out, which can be a problem if they get an infection. When do I need to come to the hospital to have the cerumen removed? 1. When you feel that your child has a hearing problem. If your child is watching TV with a loud voice, or if you want to raise your voice when you talk to him, you should go to the hospital to remove the cerumen and check if your child has a middle ear infection or other disease that affects his hearing. 2. When there is a secretion flowing out of the ear. It may be that the water has soaked the cerumen or inflammation and pus are flowing. 3.If it has never been removed before the age of 4 and you plan to take your child to learn swimming, come and get it before swimming. Usually bathing or washing hair does not bring much water into the ear canal, but after swimming in water for a long time, cerumen can rise very large, and many children develop otitis externa as a result.