Because I can never write enough about ear wax.

Q: One of my ears creates a lot of hard crumbly ear wax, and eventually I go deaf and have it suctioned out. (My doctor doesn't recommend syringing or peroxide treatments.)

Smart doctor. It is difficult, if not impossible, to irrigate away this type of wax.

I also occasionally get excruciating itching in that ear, which my doctor treats with GlaxoSmithKline Otomize.

I'm not familiar with that product. For itchy ears, I use a variety of steroid creams (see Itchy and Scratchy, below). Very important to rely upon cream, rather than scratching the itch, since scratching makes it itchier.

When I remember I drop olive oil (virgin of course - only the best!) into my ear to soften the wax. I note you suggest baby oil - would that be better?

I tell my patients: anything but motor oil. Vegetable oil and baby oil are equally acceptable.

But why does it happen - could there be some medical or parasitical cause that my doctor hasn't picked up? Or am I just getting old?

Sometimes I discover an explanation for a change in ear wax, such as ear surgery or radiation to the ear. Far more commonly, such changes remain a mystery. If it makes you feel any better, we see this sort of wax in all age groups, so it has nothing to do with age.

D.