Today on a Moment of Science, Earwax.

Simply know as earwax, this substance is produced by glands lining the skin of the outer ear canal and helps protect your ears from dust, dirt, dead skin, and anything else that enters your ear. Most people think that earwax makes ears dirty, when in fact it does quite the opposite.

By trapping all sorts of dirt and debris, the waxy stuff your ear produces helps keep the ear clean. Q-tips are commonly used to clean the wax from your ear when it gets to be too abundant.

It's all right to use cotton swabs occasionally, but be careful. You may end up risking injury by pushing wax and dirt back against the eardrum and irritating the skin that produces earwax. If you have too much earwax and absolutely must clean it out, use a wet washcloth to clear wax from the outermost part of your ear.