No need to get too deep in there.

没必要“挖”得过深。

Do you have a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in your medicine cabinet right now？ The disinfectant is famous for fizzing up when poured on wounds， and so it fast became a first aid staple. （Though， it actually shouldn’t be poured on cuts and scrapes， per Cleveland Clinic.） In addition， peroxide for ear wax removal has also become A Thing.

你的药柜里现在有双氧水吗？这种消毒液因倒在伤口上会发出嘶嘶声而知名，因此迅速成为了急救的常备药品。（不过根据克利夫兰诊所的说法，实际上不应该把它倒在伤口上。）此外，用双氧水清除耳垢也开始风靡一时。

Earwax， also known as cerumen， is created by glands in the ear canal and it can help prevent infections to the ear， says Elias Michaelides， MD， of Rush University in Chicago， Illinois. “Earwax can also potentially protect the ear from being wet or help it dry quicker if it is wet. However， more research needs to be conducted to learn more about the true purpose of earwax，” he says.

伊利诺斯州芝加哥拉什大学的医学博士伊莱亚斯·迈克利兹介绍道，耳垢也被称为耵聍，是由耳道内的腺体分泌的，有助于预防耳朵感染。他说：“耳垢还可以保护耳朵免受潮湿，或者在耳朵受潮时让它更快干燥。但是，耳垢存在的真正意义还需要更多的研究。”

Should you remove earwax？

应该清除耳垢吗？

Before we get to the question of whether you should use peroxide to remove earwax， let’s back up to talk about whether you should be removing earwax at all. Dr. Michaelides says that the majority of people do not need to bother removing earwax. “The skin of the ear canal grows outwards，” he says—which serves as an ideal avenue for earwax to exit the ear canal. “We simply need to wipe the earwax away when we shower or wash.”

在讨论是否应该用双氧水去除耳垢之前，我们先谈谈是否应该去除耳垢。迈克利兹博士说，大多数人没有必要特意清除耳垢。他说：“耳道的皮肤向外生长（这是耳垢从耳道排出的理想途径），我们只需要在洗澡或洗漱时把耳垢擦掉就行了。”

If earwax is a non-issue for you， you do not need to take the time to try to remove it. However， some people notice that earwax builds up and gets caught in the ear. If there is enough of a build-up， earwax can even block the ear canal causing temporary hearing loss. This is because sound cannot make it past the earwax in order to reach the eardrum. If this happens to you， then it is best to remove the earwax.

如果耳垢对你来说不是问题，就不需要花时间去清理它。