Smelly Ear Wax: What Ear Wax Odor Can Tell You About Your Health

You step out of the shower and, even though you know you shouldn't, you reach for a Q-tip to clean your ears. Except when you lower the swab, you can't help but notice… your ear wax smells. Is that ‌normal‌?

Actually, it is, says board-certified ENT Neil Bhattacharyya, MD, a professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Harvard Medical School and a physician with Massachusetts Eye and Ear. But if the aroma is especially pungent, you might be dealing with a medical issue that needs attention.

Here's why ear wax has an odor, what causes extra-smelly ear wax, and how to deal with the stink, including when to see a doctor.

To understand why ear wax naturally has a scent, it's helpful to think about ear wax's purpose in the body.

In truth, "nobody really knows why we have ear wax," Dr. Bhattacharyya says. But there are some good theories out there, one of which is that ear wax exists to help naturally clean out your ears.

Think of it this way, he says: Your ear canal is a blind alley that ends with your ear drum. Along that alleyway, you've got skin, and that skin turns over just like skin on any other part of your body. Except the dead skin cells that slough off along your ear canal don't have anywhere to go, so they naturally build up.

Enter ear wax, a naturally sticky substance produced by special glands in your ear canal. That gunk captures the sloughed-off skin cells and helps them migrate out of the body. During that exit process, the wax can also pick up sweat from the ear canal along with bacteria that's found its way inside (fortunately, your ear wax contains antibacterial enzymes that work to prevent infection from this bacteria).

Altogether, this mixture of wax, skin cells, sweat, bacteria and enzymes produces an odor. That smell can vary from person to person depending on factors like how much wax you naturally produce and even how much you sweat.

And just like your ear wax color can change, its scent can shift over time, too.

Normal ear wax odor is generally pretty mild, but certain things can cause a more noticeable aroma.

If your ear wax smells really bad — we're talking rotten milk or a "sweaty sneaker" smell — you're likely dealing with an ear infection, Dr. Bhattacharyya says.

Ear infections can be caused by bacteria or viruses, usually when these microbes spread to the ear after you've had a cold, sore throat or upper-respiratory infection, per the National Institutes of Health.

The type of ear infection most likely to cause smelly ear wax is an outer ear infection (as opposed to inner or middle ear infections). Beyond a foul odor, symptoms of an outer ear infection often include pain, fluid drainage from the ear and possibly redness of the ear canal.

Stinky ear wax can also accompany an infection known as swimmer's ear (a type of outer ear infection), Dr. Bhattacharyya says, which typically happens when water gets trapped in the ear canal, creating a moist environment where bacteria thrive. Swimmer's ear can also be caused by other things, such as when a child gets a piece of food stuck in their ear.

Other symptoms of swimmer's ear include pain (especially when you touch the ear), drainage, itchiness inside the ear, redness and swelling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ear wax is normal and helps keep your ears healthy, but some people produce more than they really need, Dr. Bhattacharyya says, which can cause the wax to build up and stink.

According to Cedars-Sinai, some people are more prone to ear wax buildup than others, including folks with structural issues in the ear and those with autoimmune diseases like lupus or skin diseases such as eczema. Wearing a hearing aid ups your risk, too.

Signs of excessive ear wax include an earache or a feeling of fullness in the ear, itchiness, hearing loss, dizziness and ringing in the ears. These symptoms usually come on slowly.

The following can lead to smelly ear wax, but Dr. Bhattacharyya says they're much less common than ear infections or wax buildup.

• ‌Perforated eardrum:‌ Trauma to your ear or repeated infections can cause a tear or perforation in your eardrum, which would be marked by a sudden, sharp pain along with hearing loss, drainage, ear ringing and balance issues or vertigo, per the Mayo Clinic.
• ‌Fungal infection:‌ Like the more common bacterial infection, a fungal infection can cause stinky ear wax, pain and itching, Dr. Bhattacharyya says.
• ‌Cyst:‌ Rarely, some people may develop skin growths or cysts in their ears, either from a birth defect or from repeated ear infections, per Penn Medicine. This kind of blockage would cause ear wax buildup and can cause other symptoms similar to an ear infection. In severe cases, cysts can affect the function of the facial muscles.
• ‌Cancer:‌ Ear cancer is extremely rare, Dr. Bhattacharyya says, but it can happen, and smelly ear wax would likely be one of the symptoms.

Dr. Bhattacharyya also notes you would likely notice a smell coming from the ear if a foreign body were stuck inside (think: a small bead or toy in a child's ear). In this case, you wouldn't be smelling your ear wax, though. Instead, the odor would be the result of a foreign body reaction, which would trigger pain, redness, swelling, discharge and possibly hearing loss, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

If you think your child has something lodged in their ear, don't try to remove it yourself, as this can be extremely painful and can make things worse. See your doctor, who will use water irrigation or specialized tools, along with anesthesia if necessary, per the AAFP.

Whether you're dealing with an ear infection, excess ear wax or one of the rare causes outlined above, the best thing to do is see a doctor, who can determine what's going on and how best to treat you. If you've got an ear infection, for example, your doctor may want to prescribe antibiotics to clear it up.

If you're among those folks who just generally produce too much ear wax, though, Dr. Bhattacharyya says you can manage this buildup at home (no, not with cotton swabs). "If you've seen a doctor and there's no abnormality of your ear canal or eardrum, you can use over-the-counter preparations to accelerate the natural cleansing mechanism," he says.

He recommends using Debrox ($8.12, Amazon) about once every three months to keep your wax in check. In a pinch, a few drops of baby oil can also help remove ear wax.

Ear wax is normal and necessary for keeping your ears clean and healthy, but very smelly ear wax may be a sign you're dealing with an infection, excess ear wax or more rarely, a medical issue such as a fungal infection or perforated eardrum. See a doctor if you're concerned about your ear wax odor.