It turns out that your mom or grandma was definitely right, you
probably shouldn’t put anything in your ear that’s smaller than your elbow or somehow
cleans it, to avoid complications. The best thing you can do is leave it alone.
To understand the ugly fluid in our ears and to remove it,
we must first understand its function. That gross gunk, known medically as
cerumen, is actually there for protection.
“The purpose of ear wax really is to keep your ear canal
clean,” says Dr.Douglas Backous, M.D., chairman of the hearing committee of the
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) and director
of hearing and skull base surgery at Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle.
We must understand that our ears are actually clean although we have fluid in
the ears. Its function is to protect the eardrum from bacteria and impurities
and it also provides some antibacterial lubrication. And – one of the body’s
many wonders! – Your ears basically clean themselves. When you chew or move the
jaw for eating or talking, and the fluid moves through our ears.
The biggest problem occurs when we are trying to clear the
ears ourselves while using various objects. We try to spoof our body and we
just cause bigger problems. That cotton swab looks tiny enough, but it’s
actually pushing ear wax deeper into the ear, where it gets stuck in the parts
that don’t clean themselves, he says.
Ourselves we can bring a risk of various fungi, bacteria and
infections, striking the inner ear. Pushing ear wax deeper inside can also
block the ear canal, leading to hearing loss, or, if you push it even farther,
a ruptured ear drum, says Dr.Backous.
Within 12 months, 12 million Americans came to their doctors
thinking that they have a problem with ear fluid. All these reviews led to 8
million annually prematurely removing earwax, according to the AAO-HNSF.
If you notice that you have a problem with the inner ear, do
not listen well, then perhaps the problem is inside. Do not be your own doctor
and do not clean the ear for yourself. For the hygiene of the ear canal you
should not use any sticks for cleaning the inside of the ear. You can use only
for hygiene around the outer ear, without entering the ear canal. And even the
website for Q-Tips, the only most popular brand of cotton swabs, advises you
this.
It is normal that everyone takes care of their hygiene and
it must be clean. You can’t just stop cleaning your ears. Well, that’s only
because you’ve created a vicious “itch and scratch cycle” for yourself, says
Backous.
After reading this article, you will think more about your ear hygiene.
