Woody Childress,, age 9, of Shreveport, Ira., for his question:

What causes wax in the human ear?

The delicate parts of the inner ear are buried safely in the bones of the skull. It is a miraculous hearing organ with miniature tubes and canals and tiny bone. Its doorway is a fragile stretch of skin called the ear drum. The skin lining the inner canals normally secretes a sticky substance that becomes ear wax.

Sometimes gobs of this wax gather in the hard to reach crevices of the outer ear, and we want to be rid of it. But prodding the car is a very risky business and experts advise against it. Never, they say, poke anything smaller than your elbow into your ear. If a bulky gob of wax forms in your ear, let a doctor remove it safely and painlessly. Ear wax is quite normal and small gobs usually disappear with proper daily washing in, around and behind the ears.