Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn’t clean your ears with cotton swabs or swabs, as this could lead to hearing loss, temporary damage, or much worse, said Murat Doğan, an ear, nose, and throat specialist in central Turkey.
Earwax is crucial to protect
Most people use cotton swabs to clean their ears every day, both inside and outside the ear canal. However, the “dirt” or wax in our ears is crucial in protecting the ear from external bacteria.
Speaking to the Demirören News Agency (DHA), Doğan said that what people call cerumen (ear wax) is a combination of secretions, dead skin cells and hair. But it acts as a barrier that protects the ear from bacterial infections, viruses, fungi, and even allergic reactions.
Earwax is naturally extracted from the ear, which means that it cleans itself, and the shape of the ear, which spirals outwards, helps this. Most of the time, the wax will be absorbed into the body, which means cotton swabs are unnecessary.
The effects of cleaning your ears
What cotton swabs do, according to the expert, is push earwax deep into the ear canal, which could lead to earwax retention, hearing loss, infection or injury.
Some people use other small, pointed objects, such as bobby pins, tweezers, keys, pencils, and even paper clips. Which is wrong on many levels, she added.
A 2017 PubMed Central study looked at cotton swab-related ear injuries in children between 1990 and 2010. In addition, it found that about 73% of cotton swab-related ear injuries were associated with cleaning practices of ears.
“Because the eardrum is so delicate, it can easily rupture, especially if a cotton swab is accidentally pushed too deep.” He explained, adding that such adverse interventions could cause trauma to the ear and make it bleed.
For those who have a large buildup of wax, a simple trip to the doctor can solve the problem. Doctors can remove accumulated earwax with a suction machine. For daily cleaning, a wipe on the outside of the ear after a shower to soften the wax is more than enough.
The impact of cotton swabs is not limited to the human body
It is pertinent to remember that plastic swabs end up in landfills or in the seas, harming animals and causing widespread pollution. Considering that millions of people use cotton swabs on a daily basis, the amount of waste generated is in the thousands of tons.
There are reusable and more environmentally friendly options, but still, considering its effects on our health, the use of cotton swabs should be best preserved for arts and crafts, makeup and household cleaning, and NOT for the ears.
Related Notes:
Exercise right after a vaccine can increase antibodies
5 movies to fall in love with medicine again
How to check if you have diabetes with just a glass of water?