In fact, a 1990 study on the effects of cerumen removal found that 35% of hospital patients over 65 years had impacted earwax and 75% of those individuals had improved hearing after it was removed.

"Wax is composed of three things: dead skin, the oil that everyone secretes onto their skin called sebum, and a specialised form of sweat called cerumen," ENT surgeon Simon Gane told Business Insider.