You must be hard of hearing if you have ignored the overwhelming medical evidence that says you should never clean your ears with a Q-tip.
Shoving a cotton bud down delicate ears is a daily hygiene habit of many but doctors have warned against the practice as ears are self-cleaning and don’t need that much attention.
The Oxford University Hospitals patient guide reads: “The skin in your ears acts like a conveyor belt. It travels along your ear canal from your ear drum bringing any debris with it.”
“If you use cotton buds or anything else to clean your ears, you can disrupt the ears’ natural cleaning system.
“Often the only thing this achieves is to push wax further down the ear canal, making you feel deaf temporarily and causing damage to your ear canal or your ear drum.”
The ear’s micro eco-system is so fragile that the risk of a punctured ear drum should put you off. Anyone who has ever experienced this will know that the pain is severe and your ear can leak a clear fluid – which will likely freak you out – and it takes a long time to heal. It can also lead to conductive hearing loss.
Regular showers should be enough to loosen any waxy build up but for those who have ear issues perhaps a visit to the doctor is in order – they can flush out any deep wax painlessly and safely with minimal risks.
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