Take a step into my bathroom and you'll almost always find a jar filled with cotton swabs. That's because I'm kind of obsessed with cleaning my ears. Just the thought of having earwax gunk in there makes my stomach turn. Ugh! Come to think of it, I probably use at least one cotton swab a day. My abuelita always used to advise me against it and it looks like she may have had a point. Apparently these things aren't good for your ears!
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I've been sticking cotton swabs in my ears for as long as I can remember. I always figured if there's ear wax building up in my ear, it's my hygienic duty to clean it, right? Wrong! According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, cleaning your ears with a cotton swab is probably the worst thing you could do. Apparently you can do more harm than good by cleaning out your ears. Don't believe me? Here are five reasons why you should never EVER clean your ears with a cotton swab again!
Your ears need the wax: "Cerumen or earwax is healthy in normal amounts and serves as a self-cleaning agent with protective, lubricating, and antibacterial properties," it says on the American Academy of Otolaryngology's site. "The absence of earwax may result in dry, itchy ears." As gross as it might seem, ear wax is actually good for our ears. It doesn't just keep our ears moisturized but prevents dust, dirt and bacteria from getting in the eardrum.
Your ears self clean: "Most of the time the ear canals are self-cleaning; that is, there is a slow and orderly migration of earwax and skin cells from the eardrum to the ear opening," the site explains. "Old earwax is constantly being transported, assisted by chewing and jaw motion, from the ear canal to the ear opening where it usually dries, flakes and falls out." I guess that makes sense, no?
It can lead to infections: Otolaryngologist Dennis Fitzgerald claims that cleaning your ears with a cotton swab can actually cause you to push the wax in further. "They also scratch the skin of the ear canal and lead to infections. And the real horror stories are that someone's cleaning their ear out with a [swab], and someone happens to hit their elbow, and that [swab] goes through the ear drum into the middle ear," she told NPR.
It can produce more wax: I know it's hard to imagine not cleaning your ears and that's because once you start it becomes a vicious cycle. To put it simply, when you clean out your ears of wax it leads your ears to produce more wax, making it hard to break the habit.
If you really need to clean them: According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the only time you should EVER have your ears cleaned is if you experience an earache, partial hearing loss, a ringing sound, odor or discharge. Under these circumstances, it's probably best you see a doctor to have the wax professionally drained out. If it's less serious then you can wash the external area with a damp cloth, but don't even think about inserting anything into the ear canal!
Image via Corbis Images
