Cleaning ears with a cotton swab is something that most of us do (except for those who choose not to clean their ears!) We do this more often than not because we do not want any sort of dirt in the ear area. Especially when we leave for work, we want to look spic and span.
Whoever felt confident being shabby!
However, cleaning the ears with a cotton swab turns out to be a curse in disguise!
Yes, that’s right… The doctors can’t emphasize enough against the use of an earbud or a cotton swab to clean ears.
What happens when you use an earbud/a cotton swab to clean your ears?
When we use a cotton swab to clear the ears, we actually push the earwax further down the ear canal. Thus it gets closer to the eardrum. This might block the eardrum and impair the hearing. At times the pressure exerted on the delicate eardrum can even cause a minor rupture and lead to a permanent hearing loss.
Secondly, the wax is there for a reason. The ear glands secrete the ear wax as a defense mechanism. It lubricates your ear and avoids itching occurring from the ear drying out.
It is also secreted to prevent some unwanted material, like an insect, from entering your ears.
When you do the ‘noble deed’ of removing the earwax you are actually risking yourself to get infections.
Also, you should know that your body is smarter than you think. The ear is self-cleaning. The skin in the ear acts as a converter belt that gets the wax out at regular intervals. when we move our jaws to talk or yawn or to chew, the dirt is thrown out of the ears.
The best thing to do is to bathe regularly and clean your external ears gently with a cloth.
But in case you have ear pain, then you must consult a doctor. At least, then you can be sure that you are in safe hands.
