January 22, 2013 1:48 pm
Stop Cleaning Inside Your Ears: It’s Bad for You
Everyone always says you should wash behind your ears. But what about inside your ears? You should pretty much never clean those, and trying sends more people to the hospital every year with cotton swab–induced injuries than show up with wounds from razor blades, according to Real Clear Science. Here’s the basic problem:
For the most part, swabs merely condense and impact the earwax further into the ear canal, where it can cause pain, pressure, and temporarily poor hearing.
“There’s no need to clean your ears with a cotton bud,” writes Dr. Rob Hicks. “The ear has its own internal cleaning mechanism. Fats and oils in the ear canal trap any particles and transport them out of the ear as wax. This falls out of the ear without us noticing.”
Besides, ear wax isn’t dirt. It’s supposed to be there, says the American Hearing Research Association:
First, one should realize that wax isn’t all that bad. It keeps your ear dry and helps prevent infection. Thus, you don’t want to eliminate wax; you want to keep it from blocking your ears.
“In most circumstances, wax is actually beneficial to the ear,” says Simon Baer, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings. “It causes foreign bodies to adhere to it, preventing them from going further into the ear, and it has anti-bacterial properties. Removing it is like taking the wax off the surface of polished wooden furniture. It makes the delicate underlying skin of the ear more susceptible to infection.”
Of course, some people have way too much earwax, but that’s rare. Certainly not common enough to support the huge earwax removal industry. The Wall Street Journal writes:
Some 12 million Americans visit medical professionals annually for earwax removal. Millions more have it done at spas and ear-candling parlors, which theoretically suck out earwax with a lighted candle. North Americans also spent $63 million last year on home ear-cleaning products, from drops to irrigation kits, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.
Removing wax yourself can be dangerous, though. Thousands of people go to the hospital every year because of those pesky cotton swabs. So not only is it doing nothing for you, it’s actually perhaps hurting.
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I guess am one of those unlucky few who DO make too much ear wax. Every couple of years there is so much build-up that the path to my ear drum is completely obstructed, and I can’t hear properly.
Comment by Kris — January 22, 2013 @ 4:49 pm
I use cotton swabs because I cannot stand the feeling of liquid in my ears after a shower.
Comment by ELee — January 22, 2013 @ 5:00 pm
Truthful but you overlook the fact that people just don’t care. People don’t remove earwax for medical reasons, they remove for aesthetic reasons. Society has spoken on this one, and it’s against earwax. If it’s going to be removed anyway, perhaps we should concentrate on telling people how to do it safely as opposed to declaring that they shouldn’t do it all.
That last sentence sounds like a pretty good argument against the War on Drugs, hey?
Comment by Andy — January 22, 2013 @ 5:37 pm
Also, ear-candling is alt-med nonsense.
Comment by Andy — January 22, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
The wax is there for a reason. Whoever invented our ears, let’s call that evolution, created the wax as a protective barrier. With wax in your ear, water flows nicely from within the ear canal to the outside of the ear. People who develop an abundance of cerumen, ear wax, usually do so because they use q-tips often, and actually pack the wax in there. It is better to put a couple of drops of olive oil in the canal to keep things lubricate, also helps those with itchy ears (the cotton actually strips the ear of wax, irritates the delicate skin, causes itchiness, which makes people grab another q-tip, further exacerbating the issue). Aesthetics? totally confused there, the wax is produced from within the ear canal, and with normal chewing, talking, the wax slowly makes its way to the other ear, where it falls out, or is easily removed during normal bathing. nice article, if anyone finds an advertisement that shows a q-tip cleaning an ear, well, that would be something to see for sure…
Comment by greg — January 23, 2013 @ 9:53 am
A few years back I got an incredibly painful ear infection caused by — yes, using cotton swabs. It’s tempting sometimes but I haven’t used one since, the pain was deterrent enough.
Comment by Heather — January 25, 2013 @ 2:42 pm
Using a q-tip saturated in hydrogen peroxide carefully will partially dissolve and lift out ear wax safely. The key is not pushing the q-tip too far into the canal depths. One may also irrigate the canal with H2O2 to good effect. Once or twice a month is adequate. Ear wax is a bug deterrent, not of much adaptive value in modern civilization. Water drainage may be slightly facilitated by wax, but the skin oils themselves also help water bead and flow and the angle of the ear canal is of more importance for drainage, and that angle is set in development.
Comment by Dr. T. — January 27, 2013 @ 12:08 pm
It isn’t just cotton swabs that cause a buildup of earwax. My youngest son had glue ear from a wheat allergy. At two years old, there were thick plugs of wax in his ears that deafened him and delayed his speech. Once they were pulled out, he started speaking. He eats no wheat and now has a normal amount of wax, which isn’t sticky or clumpy. Interestingly, types of earwax vary in ethnicities. My dad and I have white, dry, flaky earwax like Asians and and many native Americans. My sons have yellow, soft earwax like most Caucasians.
Comment by Lisa — January 27, 2013 @ 1:20 pm
I have to clean my ears to remove ear wax because my ears start to itch which drives me crazy. Cleaning my ears ends the itch. I haven’t had an ear infection yet. Yeah, once in a rare moment, I hit my ear drum; but I haven’t ruptured it yet.
Comment by Don — January 27, 2013 @ 2:08 pm
Like Heather I, too, had an infection caused by cotton swabs.
A propos of this, a friend of mine, thinking she was using the olive oil she had previously poured into a small bottle, dropped it into her ear for wax softening, then went to bed. In the low light of the bathroom she had not seen that the bottle was the wrong one. It contained wart remover. Result: a destroyed ear drum and surrounding tissues, ie permanent deafness in that ear.
Comment by Log Salvor — January 27, 2013 @ 2:10 pm
My ears get blocked up every so often and I have to have a physician clear them up (a delightfully icky process when you discover how much crud was in there). But one of the most sublime pleasures in life is going home after having your ears cleaned and listening to Bach pipe organ music on a very large set of speakers.
Comment by DaveM — January 27, 2013 @ 2:12 pm
i use the ear swabs occasionally to remove the outer part of the wax. i never go deep into the canal. i have to do this as i wear hearing aids and if i don’t clean the outer fringes of the wax, it clogs the aids and that’s not good. i think not using them is a good idea, but for some, if they do it gentlely and not that often, i feel ear swabs are ok. when i shower i turn on the high speed shower head and gentlely cover the ear with my hand and let the power of the water, somewhat do a better job of cleaning than the regular dripple. but again am very careful when i do it, and maybe twice a week. all other times, i use the regular shower speed. tom
Comment by thomas stanton — January 27, 2013 @ 2:12 pm
I am a musician, singer, and audio engineer. The slightest bit of excess wax in my ears will block certain ranges of the audio spectrum, depending on where the tiny bit of wax is located. This is why I can’t just leave it there.
My wife had the major ear wax production and would require a visit to the ear nose and throat specialist every five years to restore her hearing.
We are all different, thank goodness, and one prescription is not always applicable to everyone.
Comment by Phil Seymour — January 27, 2013 @ 2:16 pm
I learned from a friend a long time ago and then later a doctor who said it is OK as long as you don’t overdo it and only when you have a very large amount, as this article says, I use Hydrogen Peroxcide.
Do not use the cotton swabs just rub a little and dry out with finger in a towel.
It works. When needed for me about every 3/4 months, I do it while in the shower that way I tip my head once I’ve used it then towards the shower head.
You will hear it bubble a little which is normal.
Do not use if you have an ear infection get proper medication.
Comment by Bill H — January 27, 2013 @ 2:43 pm
Well, yes and no. Last checkup, doctor found lots in left hear, which was in fact affecting hearing of sounds on tv. Right ear clear. I leep on right side, and pillow warmth drains excess wax. Left shoulder injured,no rotator cuff left, too painful after an hour: hence ear in cold and wax settles in. Use tp remove stuff outside the canal with round end of bobby pin. After doctor visit, I tried some dropping of peroxide, and I could hear it sizzling and the wax cracking up, after which, titled head to left and warm peroxide with fragments dropped out, and sounds of life, twigs and distant humming bird flutter fully accepted. Let it drain, let it drain, let it drain. If I could sleep on my left side, I would be 100%, having given up skeet shooting 40 years, finding I preferred Beethoven, life long over occasional clay pigeons in the days before earmuffs for guns.
Comment by Jascha K. — January 27, 2013 @ 3:40 pm
While I appreciate all the warning, my situation is not that simple. I have psoriasis, and the skin flakes add to the problem of large build-up of material in the ear. Furthermore, at my age, I have a fair amount of hearing loss. Without cleaning out my ear, even my hearing aids do not work. So, good advice, but not the complete story.
Les
Comment by Les Vadasz — January 27, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
My ears produce a lot of wax and I’ve had blockages from build-ups, often right against the ear drum. Periodically, I have to flush the wax out using an infant syringe and warm water – as my doctor taught me to do. I’ve never put a swab in my ears to clean them and never had an ear inection in 56 years.
Comment by MaryL — January 27, 2013 @ 5:50 pm
Hearing aids are VERY easily plugged up and require constant cleaning due to ear wax. Easier to remove it from the ear, than constantly trying to get it out of that tiny hole in the aid, without damaging it.
Comment by Russell Vance — January 27, 2013 @ 6:01 pm
Ear wax is fatal to insects. It is there for a reason.
Comment by Luciano — January 27, 2013 @ 6:29 pm
I’m guessing that it’s better to scratch that itch with a cotton swab than with a ball point pen!
Comment by JazzZyx — January 27, 2013 @ 6:48 pm
This is weird. In 1970 a doctor removed the wax in one ear with a warm ‘oil’ flush and said I should carefully remove the wax with a Q-Tip. (Not up to the elbow.) I have had no problems with wax or infection since and not injured my eardrum. One thing I am also careful not to do is to use the same swab in both ears, spreading what may be in one to the other.
Comment by Dan in MO — January 31, 2013 @ 11:06 am
I have used Q-tips after my morning shower for most of my 60+ years and have never had any problem, or any accumulation of ear wax. My wife, on the other hand, never does this and has major accumulations of wax. This clogs up the earbuds for her iPod and contributes to her loss of hearing. She won’t admit to that, but every time she uses an ear-cleaning solution, I notice the difference!
Comment by OFBG — January 31, 2013 @ 6:29 pm
Why do people use Q-tips or other cotton swabs? They’re obviously not the correct tool for earwax removal. Instead, use an earwax spoon, which is widely used in Asia. You can even get models that have a USB camera so you can watch (shudder) as you use it.
Comment by Daniel Kim — February 3, 2013 @ 10:49 am
After I shower simply placing a kleenex AT the opening to my ear canal and gently shaking a little removes the water. I do use a ‘wax melting’ removal liquid drop once every 2-3 months or I will have a completely blocked ear canal that affects my ability to hear. It doesn’t remove it all though, just gently unblocks the wax obstruction and allows it to drain away in the normal manner. Put anything else in my ear? Never.
Comment by Kate — February 12, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
Get a simple asian ear wax spoon and remove the excess. Why have white people not discovered this yet?
Comment by Kenny — February 20, 2013 @ 10:38 pm
@ Kenny
The majority of White people actually have different earwax to the majority of Asian people. Asian earwax is more dry, flakey and crumbly and can be dug out with an ear wax spoon. Caucasion (and African) earwax is wetter and waxier and it’s easier to swab away.
Comment by Mena — March 4, 2013 @ 10:39 pm
If only the wax didn’t itch like blazes…
Comment by The Sanity Inspector — March 11, 2013 @ 5:21 pm
After watching others close to me, I stupidly starting cotton swab cleaning my ears two or three years ago, and have been going increasingly hard of hearing as a result. Now I finally understand why.
Trust your instincts, and self-challenge and investigate any medical change you are about to make. If you don’t, you are damned to discomfort.
Comment by Rudy Haugeneder — March 13, 2013 @ 7:34 am
Turning from side to side in my sleep I have the maddening feeling of something (ear wax)draining from my ears. Onlyt a Q-Tip will allow me to go back to sleep.
Comment by Ann Deluty — March 21, 2013 @ 8:40 pm
I’ve used q-tips for 30 years to remove wax from my ears. As I am not a complete idiot I have never compacted wax into my ear or caused myself an injury. My doctor says I have very nice, clean ears. Who are these idiots who can not use a q-tip correctly?
Comment by adey — April 2, 2013 @ 7:04 pm
I had an ear doctor tell me when I went fishing with him that he tells his patients to run warm shower water into your ear by tipping your ear toward the shower head and letting the water sit for 10-20 seconds. This is the easiest and least invasive way to keep your ear clean and the wax under control. He has recommended this to many people with excessive wax buildup and they have all found that it works sufficiently to not get their wax removed by a professional.
Comment by Ross Wagstaff — April 5, 2013 @ 2:08 pm
I remember waking up one morning everything seemingly good and all of a sudden I went deaf in one ear. Talk about panic and confusion. Went to the doc the next day (Monday) and it turns out it was a load of wax that had caused the temporary deafness. He syringed the ear and Wowza – I could not believe how much “gunk” came out of that one ear but the feeling after it was cleaned. It was like a whole new ear that added new meaning to hearing a pin drop. Quite an experience.
Comment by Gary — April 10, 2013 @ 2:28 am
I have to admit I do tend to clean my ears with a cotton bud from time to time. I am careful and definitely do not probe too deeply down the canal as I am mindful of the fact that it’s not the best practice. My one ear just tends to build an excessive amount of wax as compared to the other and does cause an element of irritation and hence the urge to clean.
Comment by Gary — April 10, 2013 @ 2:33 am
I have allergies and if I did not clean out my ears every few days the itching would drive me crazy. I believe if I left my ears alone as suggested in the article, I would experience substantial hearing loss.
Everyone is different – and like they say in the ads ‘your results may vary’.
Comment by Jeltez42 — April 21, 2013 @ 11:38 am
The person who wrote this report knows nothing. They just repeated something they have heard without doing any proper research.
Research has now proven that the kind of ear wax (sticky, dry, etc) a person has is related to a certain gene.
Ears have to be cleaned one way or the other or it is gross to other people and offputting. I have seen people’s ears full of dandruff, long black hairs and dark yellow wax.
I prefer cotton swabs dipped in alcohol to clean my ears. My ears get itchy unless I clean them.
I have also watched an audiologist pull plugs of wax from a relative’s ear. Wax-plugged ears cannot hear well.
Comment by Jean — April 21, 2013 @ 10:16 pm
I cannot sleep without earplugs. I am an insomniac and in order to sleep I must do many things, and one of them is to use earplugs. However, when I remove the plugs I am greeted with a maddening tickly itching sensation, which seems to be a combination of the little hairs springing back into place after being held against the wall of the ear canal, and the trickling of moisture which builds up during the night behind the plugs. I am driven utterly to distraction until I CAREFULLY use a swab to dry the ear canal and fluff up the hairs. As a result I have sparkling clean ears. I can’t remember the last time I saw a speck of earwax on a swab. And for the record I have an extreme version of caucasian earwax. It is bright orangey yellow and is very thin and sticky. Kind of like really nasty smelling caramel sauce. I can’t imagine an ear wax spoon accomplishing anything. Until someone can find me a way to dry my ears without using an absorbent swab, I shall continue to flout authority.
Comment by Alicia — May 4, 2013 @ 4:57 am
I included this story in my blog today because I have been saying this forever and it is a constant argument in my house! This story makes me feel a little better that I am not willing to put stuff in my ears!
http://tolerantpeople.com/2013/05/04/science-answering-all-our-questions-eventually/
Comment by Kathryn — May 4, 2013 @ 6:22 pm
Re:Greg’s post (#5) who said, “… the wax is produced from within the ear canal, and with normal chewing, talking, the wax slowly makes its way to the other ear, where it falls out…”
I sure hope you meant “outer ear”.
Comment by Kris — May 5, 2013 @ 1:22 am
I did not clean the wax from my ears for five years. Then suddenly one day I went half deaf in my left ear. I bought a wax removal solution and after hours pulled out a plug the size of a peanut. Suddenly I could hear again and realized my right ear was actually a quarter deaf. I pulled out another large plug that cleared my hearing there too. I stopped cleaning my ears in the first place because someone said something to me very similar to this article. It’s stupid advice. If you don’t clean your ears eventually you lose your hearing.
Comment by Harold — May 19, 2013 @ 5:29 pm