You might hate the feeling of wax clogging up your ears, but the goo is actually a very important bodily secretion that serves many roles. It flushes dead skin cells out of your ear that don’t need to be there anymore; it prevents dangerous foreign objects from entering your ear and causing damage; and it also has antimicrobial properties that keep out bacteria and other potentially harmful pathogens.

Earwax also says something about the human body to which it belongs. Scientists have determined that there are two main varieties of earwax. There is wet-type earwax, which is the sticky and yellow/brown earwax found primarily in people of Caucasian or African descent. And there is a light and flaky dry-type earwax, common among people of East Asian descent.

These different earwax types are caused by different variants of the same gene. The wet-type is likely the original form, and scientists believe the dry-type evolved in the population of early humans who migrated to northern and eastern Asia.

Earwax type doesn’t just tell you where your ancestors may have come from––it’s also associated with your body odor. The wax is secreted by modified apocrine glands, which are the same glands that release sweat. Bacteria are attracted to apocrine sweat, releasing a pungent smell when they devour it and causing body odor. And people with wet-type earwax tend to be smellier, suggesting the two have to do with each other.

The wax can also be a useful indicator of many other things. For instance, its smell helps diagnose diseases. In fact, conditions like maple syrup urine disease can be identified with earwax quicker than other methods. And because particles from the environment get trapped in earwax, the secretion can also be an indicator for where someone has been.

More research is needed to fully understand the potential of earwax. And while it may bother you at times, it’s good to keep it in your ears.