Why you should not use ear cleaner

Ear swabs are small tools that are made to remove earwax, but if you are familiar with the structure and physiology of the ear, you know the side effects of ear swabs and therefore you know that you should not use ear swabs. In this article, we will discuss the types of ear swabs and their side effects.

Ear swabs

You are all familiar with ear swabs. Ear swabs are tools made of plastic or wood with compressed cotton on both sides. Contrary to their name, ear swabs are not used for the ear and are used for other purposes such as cosmetics, art, first aid and industry. From now on, when you buy a box of ear swabs, make sure that it says on it that it is dangerous for the ear.

Earwax

Even though you may find earwax unpleasant, it still has vital health benefits for your ears. If you don’t interfere with it, it can do its job, and eventually, your body will remove the excess wax on its own.

Earwax keeps your ears moist

Earwax moisturizes your ears and provides a protective coating for your ear canal. When you repeatedly remove earwax from your ear canal with an earwax swab, your ears may become itchy or your skin may become flaky and irritated. This irritation increases your risk of ear infections.

Earwax fights infections

Bacteria thrive in warm, moist environments rich in protein. So, when water gets trapped in your ears, they are more susceptible to diseases like staph infections. However, earwax repels water and has anti-infective properties. Additionally, earwax’s antimicrobial peptides help prevent infections caused by bacteria and fungi in the ear canal. Earwax acts as a protector for the eardrum The ultimate purpose of earwax is to protect the eardrum. It lines the ear canal and protects the skin. Additionally, because earwax is sticky, it collects dust, debris, and even insects, preventing these foreign invaders from entering the ear and preventing bacteria and dirt from entering the eardrum.

In short, earwax or cerumen is produced by special cells in the ear canal to protect the ears from dust and foreign objects.

Earwax is naturally expelled from the ear, but in some people, due to excessive activity of the producing cells or other factors, the earwax is compressed from time to time and the person will feel heavy in the ear and hear less.

Earwax Complications

Despite the warnings on the box, many people still use earwax to clean their ears. While using an earwax to clean only the outer ear lobe is a safe practice, using it to clean the ear canal can be dangerous.

Are earwax harmful?

According to an October 2017 study published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, 40 percent of eardrum ruptures are caused by cleaning earwax with a cotton swab. A ruptured eardrum is painful and can lead to hearing loss and further infections. There are several reasons to avoid using Q-tips and cotton swabs in your ears, and learning how to clean your ears without a Q-tip can protect your ear health in the long run. Can I use cotton swabs to clean my ears? No! It says right on the back of the box: Do not use in the ear! Like a piston in the ear canal, cotton swabs push earwax further and further in. One problem is that if you push the wax deeper in, there is no way for it to come out. Also, cotton swabs can cause a hole in your eardrum and cause hearing loss. In severe cases, earwax can damage many of the sensitive structures behind the ear canal, causing complete deafness, dizziness long-term nausea and vomiting, loss of taste, and even facial paralysis.

Can I use earwax on my earlobe

Every patient who uses earwax will stress that I am careful about how far I insert the earwax into the ear canal, but it happens once in a while. A patient was recently referred to me after she put a earwax in her ear and accidentally bumped into it, pushing the swab deep into the ear canal, causing immediate pain and bleeding. His eardrum was almost completely gone, leaving only a small incision. Fortunately, his internal auditory organs were not damaged, so we were able to perform surgery to replace his eardrum and restore his hearing. If the cotton swab had been a few millimeters deeper, he could have lost all of his hearing forever.

What is the best earwax remover

Earwax, also known as cerumen, is a natural substance that your body makes that has many beneficial properties – it is slightly acidic, which helps fight bacteria and fungus in the ear, and slightly oily, which creates a waterproof barrier to protect the skin of the ear canal. You usually don’t need to clean wax from your ears because there is a natural cleaning system in the ear canal.