How do you clean your ears? The ear specialist told me that it is dangerous to?
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I am a health care professional who has worked in the ear care specialty for decades.
The saying in the medical field is: "Never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear." In other words, no Q-tips at all!
Your ear canals are lined by skin that naturally produces cerumen, or what is known as wax. This wax has a purpose and that is to protect the lining of your ear canals.
If you put Q-tips (or anything else) into your ear canals, you can push the wax deep into your ear canal and block up the canal, which would limit your hearing. Water can get trapped between your eardrum and the wax and cause infection.
You could accidentally puncture your eardrum. The eardrum is really not that far away from the outer ear. Most people believe it is deep inside, but it really is much closer to the surface than you would believe.
Using Q-tips in the ears also makes the lining of the ear canals irritated and itchy. They can easily become swollen, infected, and blocked. That is called external otitis (swimmer's ear) and is extremely painful. If that happens, the best treatment is antibiotic eardrops, antibiotics by mouth, pain medication and sleep medication. External otitis can be so painful that it feels like someone is drilling into your head with a power drill.
The easiest and safest way to clean your ears is to dribble some mineral oil or olive oil into each ear canal and allow it to soak in for a couple of minutes, then let it dribble back out. This is easiest done in the shower. Try not to let water get into or get trapped in your ear canal as it can cause a pseudomonas infection.
If your ear canals are already too unhealthy for you to bring them back to normal condition by yourself, see an ENT specialist (ear doctor). He or she will safely clean your ears out and will treat whatever condition exists at this time. You could have an infection, including a fungal infection, that could be making your ears itchy.
I hope this helps you and please be very careful with your ears. The tiny ossicles (ear bones) that give you hearing are very delicate and are right on the inside of your eardrum. If you rupture your eardrum, you could permanently damage your hearing.
Take care!
Q-tips
Put Olive Oil on the Q-tips. it helps it mosturize it and it feels a lot better
I dont put my Q-tip all the way in my ear canal when I clean them, I swab it around the outside everyday and therefore I never have build up.
there is a saying "put nothing smaller than you elbow in your ear"
but we all do clean our ears, just have to be careful and not push in hard or a long way. Damage to ears tends to be permanent.
i clean mine with a washcloth and warm water since i heard that if you stick Q-tips to far in they could damage your ear
I just use q-tips gently though don't want a hole in eardrum careful
Basically, it is best to use warm olive oil or even baby oil. Tilt your head to one side and, using a dropper, put the oil into the ear while your are pulling backwards and downwards on the earlobe. You will be able to feel the oil enter into the ear canal. Let it sit for a couple of mins. and then put a piece of cotton ball into the ear to prevent the oil from leaking out. Then, do the opposite ear in the same way. This helps loosens any wax buildup and make it easier for the wax to leave the ears. Leave the cotton ball piece in place for about 20-30 mins. and then remove the cotton. Itchy ears are common if you have seasonal allergies. I hope that this helps.
You can buy ear wash solutions from the drug store which are very inexpensive and easy to use, but best of all, you don't have to worry about putting anything into the ear canal, except the solution itself.
i use q-tips very carefully
I use a q tip.
If you tend to have problems with earwax buildup, you can do these things to help yourself:
Don't attempt to soften the wax in your ear if you have ear pain, cold symptoms, or if your eardrum has ever been punctured.
Don't put any object (such as cotton swabs or pencils) inside your ears to try to clean them.
See your healthcare provider if you develop pain or discomfort in one or both ears or if you notice a change in your hearing.
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