ELI5 Earwax - how does your ear canal cleans itself?

How does the ear canal and the eardrum keep itself clear of earwax? Why is only one third of your ear canal able to clear ear wax? What does your jaw have to do with ear wax removal? Did you know that people have one of two types of ear wax based on their genetics? Why have anthropologists done studies on ear wax? 

... We explain like i'm five!

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: akadap, h2opolopunk, rthereanynamesleft, dkf295 and martinonfire.

This wikipedia article was also helpful in research for this episode:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwax

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

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