Have you been paying attention to your earwax? We’d wager not – as far as life priorities go, earwax would probably rank somewhere close to dead-last for most people.
After all, ear gunk sounds like an unlikely indicator of anything beyond the need for a good cleanout.
However, recent findings have claimed that there exists a link between the type of earwax a person has and the intensity of their body odour.
Specifically, it is said that people who have wet earwax have a stronger body odour compared to those with dry earwax.
Is this true?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Earwax, also known as cerumen, is a waxy, yellowish or brownish secretion produced in our ear canal.
This substance - which disgusts many - plays a vital role in protecting our hearing organs as it helps trap foreign particles such as water, dust, fungi and other microorganisms before they can reach the inner ear, and it also acts as a cleaner and lubricant.
So, how is this substance linked to the strength of a person's body odour?
To begin, there are two types of earwax - wet and dry - and the type of earwax a person produces is determined by the ABCC11 gene.
However, this gene doesn't just define our earwax type as it is also a ‘transporter’ protein which is responsible for bringing certain molecules between cells.
When the bacteria that live happily in our armpits feed on these molecules, they break the compoundsdown into different chemicals that cause the stench we associate with body odour.
The link between this and earwax is that people with wet earwax have a normally-functioning ABCC11 gene, while those with dry earwax have a non-functioning variant of the gene which cannot perform its normal functions.
This means that the bacteria in the armpits of such people are left to starve, and is part of the reason why some who sweat do not smell.
As for whether a non-functioning ABCC11 transporter protein gene brings any harm to those born with it, the answer is "no" as such a situation does not seem to have any particular drawbacks that experts know of.
Dry earwax is still able to perform all its earwax functions without any of the stinky downsides.
Of course, it is entirely possible for those with dry earwax to still suffer from body odour for other reasons, some of them medical.
That being said, you do not have to become a hermit just because you have strong body odour as this can be controlled to a certain extent by managing lifestyle choices such as health, diet and personal grooming.
Modern deodorants alone are often enough to significantly mitigate most natural body odour.
However, people who want to take it a step further can consider stocking their wardrobes with natural fibres such as cotton, linen, and bamboo as they do not retain smells, unlike synthetic fibres.
Sources:
1. https://www.health.harvard.
2. https://www.
4. https://my.clevelandclinic.
5. https://health.howstuffworks.
