It may be something icky that you'd rather not think about, but earwax is a perfectly normal bodily secretion and a fact of life. Knowing how to control that gunk will allow you to hear better and prevent infections, earaches and more. What earwax is and why we have it So what, exactly, is this stuff? Well, earwax (the scientific term is cerumen) is actually a combination of things. Tiny glands that line the walls of the ear canal produce oily secretions that work as a kind o