The outer ear is the visible part of your ear. You may describe it as the flabby, skin coloured cartilage. It’s purpose is to protect the eardrum, or the tympanic membrane which between the inner ear and the middle ear of humans and higher vertebrates, forms the eardrum. It also functions to collect sound waves to the eardrum through the ear canal (or auditory meatus), which produces earwax. Earwax contains chemicals that fight off infections that could harm the skin inside of the ear canal and it also helps collect dirt that keeps the ear clean. Earwax really is gross; but cool.