Health Better not to use cotton swabs for ear cleaning

Never use cotton swabs to clean ears

There are still people who use cotton swabs to clean their ears. Health experts, however, strongly advise against it. Partly because the sticks only push the lard further into the ear.

Aids for ear cleaning

In drugstores and supermarkets, there is often a whole arsenal of ear cleaning accessories available: cleansing sprays and solutions, small earmuffs, ear scoops, slings or tweezers to remove earwax (cerumen). The most popular ear cleaning tool of the Germans is still the cotton swab. But this should neither be used to clean the ear or against a bad ear itching. Also of the other mentioned means for ear cleaning is advised by health experts.

Although the packaging is warned against using cotton swabs to clean the ears, many people still poke around in their hearing organs. This often leads to an appointment with the ear specialist. (Image: JPC-PROD / fotolia.com)

Cleaning by yourself

Ear wax sometimes causes you to hear worse. Moreover, it does not look nice when it is visible in the ear.

Actually, the cleaning is done by itself, by excess earwax is transported by tiny hairs from the ear canal to the outer auricle.

Many people still try to help with cotton swabs. But these usually hurt the ears.

Earwax fulfills important functions

Earwax is a body-own secretion, which serves the body-own self-cleaning of the ears. It ensures that the skin in the ear canal remains supple and the acid mantle is maintained.

So also fewer germs can penetrate. Earwax is a yellowish-brown color with a bitter taste and is produced in specialized sebaceous glands of the external auditory meatus.

Warnings are ignored

Although cotton swab packaging may carry warnings such as "Not suitable for cleaning ears", many people continue to poke. This often leads to an appointment with the ear specialist.

"The rods can irritate or even injure the ear canal or the eardrum, or the earwax can - when pushed deep into the ear canal - dry up and become an unpleasant firm graft," Dr. Doris Hartwig-Bade from the German Association of Otolaryngologists in an earlier release.

Even with other aids such as earmuffs, spoons, slings or corkscrews there is a risk of eardrum injury, as the auditory canal is just two centimeters long and the instruments are inserted without vision.

Earwax is no indication of impurity

In the US, ear, nose and throat specialists warn against using Q-tips for ear cleaning.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation published a guidebook last year to inform about proper and healthy ear cleansing.

Seth R. Schwartz, who was instrumental in making the guide, said, "There are more and more people who want to clean their ears because they think earwax is an indication of impurity. This misinformation leads to unhealthy habits. "

Remove dirt with washcloth

For hygiene reasons, it is unnecessary to liberate the ears from the lard, because this serves to keep the hearing organ clean.

As it is slowly pushed towards the exit, it takes away shed skin flakes as well as dirt and dust particles.

All this can then be removed in the outer ear, for example with a washcloth or cotton pad, moistened with a little lukewarm water.

Or you can run some warm water into the ear when showering, without shampoo or soap, and then dry the earpieces well.

Earwax is pushed deeper into the ear

But why do cotton swabs often turn brown when pulled out of the ear? As experts explain, this is only due to the earwax, which was located at the very front of the ear canal.

But in the deeper regions, the rod causes just the opposite: Instead of removing the earwax, it is pushed deeper into the ear and pressed.

This can sometimes form a plug in the ear, which can lead to hearing impairment, feelings of pressure, earache, itching, ear noise and dizziness.

Sometimes a professional ear cleaning is useful

However, in people who have a very narrow ear canal or earwax dries, the natural self-cleaning mechanism may not be sufficient.

In such cases, a professional ear cleaning at the ENT specialist can sometimes help. Patients should best discuss with their doctor how often such treatment should be given.

Dr. Hartwig-Bade of the German Association of Otolaryngologists said: "Especially people who produce excess ear wax should go to the ENT specialist every 3 to 6 months, so that the graft does not lead to a hearing impairment. "

"Even children often produce ear wax, which parents should have their ENT doctor check," said the doctor.

Some people also use a therapy with ear candles to clean the ear canal. First and foremost, however, this serves for relaxation. According to the current US directive, the candles are not suitable for cleaning. (Ad)