May 4, 2024

Here’s Why You Should Never Use Q-Tips To Clean Your Ears – Glam

According to Cleveland Clinic, earwax is made up of dead skin cells, hair follicles, and discharge from two glands within the ear. It has antibacterial properties and lubricates the ear, as well. In other words, earwax is created by the ear in order to clean the ear. But too much of it can make your ear canal feel greasy and itchy. And while most times the act of chewing pushes the wax through the canal and it simply falls out, there are other times when manual ear …….

According to Cleveland Clinic, earwax is made up of dead skin cells, hair follicles, and discharge from two glands within the ear. It has antibacterial properties and lubricates the ear, as well. In other words, earwax is created by the ear in order to clean the ear. But too much of it can make your ear canal feel greasy and itchy. And while most times the act of chewing pushes the wax through the canal and it simply falls out, there are other times when manual ear cleaning is needed. 

In that situation, steer clear of cotton swabs, and don’t even think about using bobby pins, your fingers, or even candles. The inevitable outcome is that you’ll push the earwax further into your ear. “Over time, this causes cerumen to build up and eventually it can dry up and totally block the ear canal,” Dr. Lindsay Bondurant, director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute, explained to Salus University. In worst-case scenarios, you can even rupture the sensitive structures in your ears and cause hearing loss.

You might reason that you’re usually very careful and slow when inserting a swab into your ear, but accidents do happen. It’s better to err on the side of caution and learn to give Q-tips a pass.

Source: https://www.glam.com/969539/heres-why-you-should-never-use-q-tips-to-clean-your-ears/