given the crowd here, i thought someone could tell me why humans (and other
species?) exude "wax" from their ears....  

--k

I'll take a wild but, I hope somewhat educated guess.  It seems to me that
the purpose of ear wax is twofold.  First, ear wax, I would think, keeps
the tympanic membrane pliable.  A rigid ear drum would damp vibrations
resulting in  loss of hearing.  It would also tend to dry and crack.  A
simile that comes to mind is that ear wax conditions the tympanic membrane
as lanolin conditions leather.  Second, it seems ear wax would trap
detritus such as dust, dirt, and sloughed epithelial cells, and push it
from the ear canal.

For a more scientific analysis of this question, check out "Calvin and
Hobbes" for Tuesday.  I think it pretty well settles this issue:  Earwax
is for making candles.

Isn't it a "natural" body defence against physical stress (i.e. loud
noises)?  I swear I heard this somewhere.  Anybody can confirm or deny
this?
--
Vincent Paquin, a.k.a. "The Vinman"
Anthropology student, Universite de Montreal, Canada

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I've been reading a lot about evolutionary medicine, and a couple of the virus-related
books lately, and it may have been "The Coming Plague" by Laurri Garrett, but I could
swear that I recently read that ear wax has antibiotic properties, in addition to helping
exude any undesirable bits and pieces that might happen to fall in.

Rick Lambert

Several responses so far have hit the mark.

It is believe that ear wax serves two primary functions 1) to trap dust
and dirt particles from reaching the timpanic membrane as well as reduce
the amount of bacteria and fungi 2) deters wayward insects from going
farther up the c{*filter*}as they find the "flavor" of the wax to be MOST
obnoxious. FYI, ear wax when first excreated is a clear substance.