Cotton buds will damage your ears – Dr Olufunmilayo
What to do ear wax? If it doesn’t bother you, Then don’t bother. Your ears sort it out in its own.
NEVER USE A COTTON BUD
NEVER USE A BROOM
NEVER USE A BIRO COVER
NEVER USE A HAIR CLIP
NEVER USE A MATCHSTICK
NEVER USE A FEATHER
These things can cause infection and deafness.
Did you know Cotton Buds are actually bad for your ears? Why? Cotton buds take out a little earwax and push the rest further into your ears.
Leave your ears alone. The ears expel the wax on its own. And if you have to do anything, just one or two drops of olive oil is okay.
Ear Wax is actually protective. It sounds shocking but it is true. It protects our ears from infection and damage, it has antibacterial properties, and it traps dust and dirt in the ear canal, which then stops it from reaching the more fragile eardrum located deep in the ears.
Everyone enjoys the sweet feeling that comes from sticking in a cotton bud into the ears, twisting it around and taking it out. It’s almost orgasmic. We tend to do it often because the body feels good and we also wrongly assume that we are taking out “dirt” from the ears.
However, this is not true. What actually happens is Cotton Buds picks on the top of the wax, takes it out while also pushing the rest of the wax further down into the ears. Now the risk with that is that pushing down the ear wax can affect the ear drum and make you deaf.
The ear has a self-cleansing conveyor belt mechanism that automatically pushes out excessive ear wax and then prevents ear wax to build up more than is necessary. But we usually don’t notice because the wax gets expelled in bits in the shower or on the pillow when we sleep.
However there’s a peculiar group of people who have Impacted Ear Wax, who may need a bit of help with getting out their ear wax. This only happens to about 5 out of every 100 people. In these people, there may be difficulties with hearing, itching, ringing and other symptoms.
This impacted earwax can be caused due to old age, long term use of cotton buds which has made wax accumulate, use of hearing aids or it just happens. They can try two drops of olive oil drops in their ears for a few days to soften the wax and it will fall off on its own.
However for some people, wax problems can be quite unsettling and nothing seems to help. My advice is that if you are worried or you tried some drops of olive oil with no success, see your doctor. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING inside your ears for whatever reason at all. IT IS DANGEROUS.
But generally for everyone, as I said, the ears deals with wax itself for a vast majority of people. You do NOT need to pick your ears or stick anything inside them at all.
No cotton buds.
No brooms.
No biro covers.
No hair clips.
Nothing needs to go inside your ears please.
And the olive oil drops is usually sold at any pharmacy or chemist around you IF you absolutely need it. Simply ask for Ear Wax Drops. Two drops a day for a few days should help soften the wax and it would naturally fall off on its own.
But you will be fine, even without this.
And if despite olive oil, you feel discomfort in your ears or smelling ear discharge – see a doctor. I hope this short message has helped you see another perspective to Ear Wax and you would probably not worry about it as much as you did before. Have a nice day ahead.
Thanks.
Credit: Dr Olufunmilayo
