Earwax may help diagnose stress-related conditions like depression – INSIDER
A team of international researchers says a new earwax collection device may be a simple, cheap, painless, and effective way of measuring cortisol levels, and in turn, risk for stress-related conditions like depression.
The small study found that earwax contains more highly concentrated cortisol that hair samples, a more traditional method, and isn’t so influenced by momentary stressors or other factors.
While the re…….
- A team of international researchers says a new earwax collection device may be a simple, cheap, painless, and effective way of measuring cortisol levels, and in turn, risk for stress-related conditions like depression.
- The small study found that earwax contains more highly concentrated cortisol that hair samples, a more traditional method, and isn’t so influenced by momentary stressors or other factors.
- While the researchers hope their method may provide clinicians a more objective measure of mental illness, a psychologist told Insider that’s not necessary and may invalidate people’s just-as-real emotions.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Clinicians have long advised against removing earwax with a Q-Tip, since the swabs can plunge too far and cause damage to the sensitive eardrum.
But a team of researchers from the UK, Chile, and Germany say collecting earwax with their new device, called Trears, is not only safe but could be a powerful way to monitor
depression
and other stress-related conditions, according to a study they published this month in the journal Heliyon.
The device works by measuring levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which accumulates in earwax. Cortisol is typically measured through the blood, urine, saliva, or hair samples, but those samples only provide a snapshot of stress levels, which may rise due to the invasive measure of the tests themselves.
Cortisol levels in earwax, by contrast “appear to be more stable, and with our new device, it’s easy to take a sample and get it tested quickly, cheaply and effectively,” lead researcher Dr. Andres Herane-Vives of King’s College London said in a statement.
The method could make diagnosing certain mental illness more accurate, the researchers say, by adding an objective measure to more subjective ones, like in-person behavioral assessments. People can also use the device at home, protecting their eardrums via the built-in “brake.”
With further research, Herane-Vives said, “we hope to transform diagnostics and care for millions of people with depression or cortisol-related conditions such as Addison’s disease and Cushing syndrome, and potentially numerous other conditions.”
The study compared earwax samples with those of blood and hair
To develop Trears, the research team tested cortisol levels in 37 participants’ earwax, first using a standard (and somewhat painful) syringe procedure and, a month later, using the same procedure in one ear and the team’s new procedure in the other.
They also collected cortisol samples from the hair and blood.
They found the earwax contained more concentrated cortisol than hair samples, though not as much as blood. The new technique was the fastest and potentially cheapest, too, and was least influenced by …….
