Earwax should be left alone because it offers protection and has lubricating and antibacterial properties, according to national guidelines released by the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.

The guidelines are aimed to assist clinicians in recognizing people with impacted wax and provide them appropriate medical care.

Cerumen, the medical term for earwax, has a great influence in the human ear canal, which secretes it. Moreover, it protects it from bacteria, insects and fungi. Impacted earwax can compress the eardrum and occlude the external auditory canal, thus damaging hearing.

The main aspect of the guidelines “is that the mere presence of ear wax does not require anything," according to Dr. Peter Roland, an ear specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Certain individuals should be more careful with their ear wax status, Dr. Roland advised. People wearing a hearing aid "are much more likely to develop problems with ear wax." The scientific explanation is that the body-worn apparatus "prevents the ear from doing its job," meaning cleaning out excess cerumen naturally.

In line with press release comments from Richard Rosenfeld, MD, the leader of the Guideline Development Task Force, an estimated 12 million U.S. inhabitants seek treatment for impacted or excessive cerumen.

Excessive build-up of ear wax can be treated. Wax-dissolving agents, as well as ear "irrigation," the process of flushing the external ear canal with sterile water or sterile saline, count among the treatments.