In keeping with last week’s theme of “bodily excretions that are kinda gross that you don’t really think about but are actually really important”, we’re devoting this episode to earwax, aka cerumen. In one hour, we somehow manage to weave together stories of earwax impaction, misadventures in ear candling, glimpses of earwax in art history, and a whale of a tale as revealed by cetacean cerumen. The biology and history of earwax proves to be surprisingly rich and revealing and will have you second-guessing yourself as you reach for that cotton swab. Armed with this week’s episode on earwax and last week’s on boogers, you’ll be ready to take on even the most daunting office icebreaker.
| History | Biology |
| Beaudry, Mary C. “Bodkin biographies.” The materiality of individuality: archaeological studies of individual lives. New York, NY: Springer US, 2009. 95-108. | Roeser, R.J. and Ballachanda, B.B., 1997. Physiology, pathophysiology, and anthropology/epidemiology of human earcanal secretions. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 8(6). |
| Decamp, Eleanor. “‘Thou art like a punie-Barber (new come to the trade) thou pick’st our eares too deepe’: Barbery, Ear Wax, and Snip-snaps.” The Senses in Early Modern England, 1558 1660 (2020): 74-90. | Alberti, P.W.R.M., 1964. Epithelial migration on the tympanic membrane. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, 78(9), pp.808-830. |
| Dedo, Herbert H. “Observations on a set of Greco‐Roman eye, ear, nose, and throat surgical instruments.” The Laryngoscope 127.2 (2017): 354-358. | Guest, J.F., Greener, M.J., Robinson, A.C. and Smith, A.F., 2004. Impacted cerumen: composition, production, epidemiology and management. Qjm, 97(8), pp.477-488. |
| Hanger, H. C., and G. P. Mulley. “Cerumen: its fascination and clinical importance: a review.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 85.6 (1992): 346. | Robinson, A.C., Hawke, M. and Naiberg, J., 1990. Impacted cerumen: a disorder of keratinocyte separation in the superficial external ear canal?. The Journal of Otolaryngology, 19(2), pp.86-90. |
| Ibraimov, A. I. “Brief communication: Cerumen phenotypes in certain populations of Eurasia and Africa.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 84.2 (1991): 209-211. | olan, M.M., Choi, J.S., Tibesar, M.T. and Adams, M.E., 2024. Cerumen impaction: Prevalence and associated factors in the United States population. Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology, 9(2), p.e1228. |
| Ketten, Darlene R. “Structure and function in whale ears.” Bioacoustics 8.1-2 (1997): 103-135. | Horton, G.A., Simpson, M.T., Beyea, M.M. and Beyea, J.A., 2020. Cerumen management: an updated clinical review and evidence-based approach for primary care physicians. Journal of primary care & community health, 11, p.2150132720904181. |
| Ketten, Darlene R. “Cetacean ears.” Hearing by whales and dolphins. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2000. 43-108. | Michaudet, C. and Malaty, J., 2018. Cerumen impaction: diagnosis and management. American family physician, 98(8), pp.525-529. |
| Matsunaga, E. “The dimorphism in human normal cerumen.” Annals of human genetics 25.4 (1962): 273-286. | Balkany, T.J. and Brown, K.D., 2017. The ear book: a complete guide to ear disorders and health. Johns Hopkins University Press. |
| Mitchell, T. E. “A Brief History of Otology from Its Infancy to the Present Time.” Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal (1884) 13.2 (1896): 73. | Stoeckelhuber, M., Matthias, C., Andratschke, M., Stoeckelhuber, B.M., Koehler, C., Herzmann, S., Sulz, A. and Welsch, U. 2006. Human ceruminous gland: Ultrastructure and histochemical analysis of antimicrobial and cytoskeletal components. The Anatomical Record. 288A: 877-884. |
| Miura, Kiyonori, et al. “A strong association between human earwax-type and apocrine colostrum secretion from the mammary gland.” Human genetics 121.5 (2007): 631-633. | Rafferty, J., Tsikoudas, A. and Davis, B.C., 2007. Ear candling: should general practitioners recommend it?. Canadian family physician, 53(12), pp.2121-2122. |
| Ohashi, Jun, Izumi Naka, and Naoyuki Tsuchiya. “The impact of natural selection on an ABCC11 SNP determining earwax type.” Molecular biology and evolution 28.1 (2011): 849-857. | Seely, D.R., Quigley, S.M. and Langman, A.W., 1996. Ear candles‐efficacy and safety. The Laryngoscope, 106(10), pp.1226-1229. |
| Petrakis, Nicholas L. “Earmarks of art history: cerumen and medieval art.” Otology & Neurotology 21.1 (2000): 5-8. | Nee, S.T. and Athar, P.P., Ear Candling: A Non-Proven Method for Benefits. Clin Surg. 2016; 1, 1088. |
| Prokop-Prigge, Katharine A., et al. “Identification of volatile organic compounds in human cerumen.” Journal of Chromatography B 953 (2014): 48-52. | |
| Purves, Peter Ernest, and Malcolm David Mountford. Ear plug laminations in relation to the age composition of a population of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). British Museum (Natural History), 1959. | |
| Shokry, Engy, et al. “Earwax: an innovative tool for assessment of tobacco use or exposure. A pilot study in young adults.” Forensic Toxicology 35.2 (2017): 389-398. | |
| Straube, Beverly A. “The Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture 2012: Surprises from the Soil: Archaeological Discoveries from England’s First Successful Transatlantic Colony at Jamestown.” Post-Medieval Archaeol 47.2 (2013): 263-80. | |
| Trumble, Stephen J., et al. “Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.42 (2013): 16922-16926. | |
| Trumble, Stephen J., et al. “Baleen whale cortisol levels reveal a physiological response to 20th century whaling.” Nature communications 9.1 (2018): 4587. | |
| Verwaal, Ruben E. “Fluid deafness: earwax and hardness of hearing in early modern Europe.” Medical History 65.4 (2021): 366-383. | |
| Vickers, T. Winston, et al. “Pathology and epidemiology of ceruminous gland tumors among endangered Santa Catalina Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis catalinae) in the Channel Islands, USA.” PLoS One 10.11 (2015): e0143211. | |
| Wang, Jun, et al. “Comparative study of the external auditory canal in humans and large mammals.” The Anatomical Record 305.2 (2022): 436-445. | |
| Yoshiura, Koh-ichiro, et al. “A SNP in the ABCC11 gene is the determinant of human earwax type.” Nature genetics 38.3 (2006): 324-330. | |
| Child, Lydia Marie Frances. “The American Frugal Housewife, Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy.” Women’s Economic Writing in the Nineteenth Century. Routledge, 2023. 125-128. |
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission which helps us keep things running. Thanks!
