anything smaller than your elbow into your ear, which disqualifies a cotton swab. If you can’t use cotton swabs to clean your ears safely, how are you supposed to clean your ears? Let’s first take a look at the purpose of earwax and then discover why someone would need to remove it. The Purpose of Earwax Earwax helps your ears stay lubricated and stops water from getting into your ear canal. It also helps prevent dirt and bacteria from getting into your ears. Earwax will naturally loosen and fall out of your ears over time, so typically, most people won’t have to worry about removing it. Why Do You Need To Remove Earwax? Some people may need to remove earwax if they have excessive buildup, otherwise known as impaction. Impaction often occurs in people who use earbuds frequently, wear hearing aids daily, wear earplugs nightly, or have a faster earwax accumulation than the average person.