Proper Ear Care Tips

Proper ear care is not a matter of sticking a cotton swab in your ear to remove wax and dirt. New research suggests that proper ear care should not involve ear wax removal drops either. Using cotton tipped swabs or ear wax removal drops can damage your ears. I will explain why, and will give you some ear care tips here in this article.

Recent research has suggested that over the counter ear wax removal drops may harm the ears. Scientists observed damage (in animal studies) to hearing, nerve cells, and also inflammation associated with ear wax removal drops. (I've included a link to this study in the resources section of this article).

This is not too surprising. Ears are pretty delicate.

Many people abuse their ears daily without even realizing it. I am not just talking about noise levels (although that is an increasing problem, especially with all the portable music devices such as ipods). I am talking about cotton tipped swabs. It cannot be emphasized enough that it is dangerous to clean your ears with these little cotton tipped things.

Why cotton tipped swabs are bad for your ears:

When I was in college I attended a communications workshop. During a section of this workshop an audiologist came to talk about the ear and ear anatomy, functions, and proper care. I was surprised, back then, to find out that he does not recommend using "anything smaller than the index finger" to clean the ears.

The reason he gave is very simple. Most people go too deeply. And, even when care is taken not to push the swab in too deeply, you are introducing bacteria and debris into the ear that was not originally present, and even though you believe you are removing harmful debris, you are also shoving wax and dirt further into the ear canal.

You may think you are helping by digging around in your ear, but you are not. The ear sloughs off old skin cells and pushes it all towards the outer ear to get rid of it. Sticking a cotton swab, car keys, or anything else into your ear inhibits, rather than helps, this process.

Ear Care Tips

Clean ears with care

The audiologist at the workshop recommended using a moist cloth on the outer ear and using just the index finger (with the moist cloth) to go, gently, just inside the ear. No more should be needed.

If you have excessive wax build up in your ears, this should be dealt with by a professional. The ear is too sensitive and delicate to treat haphazardly. Cleaning your ears isn't like washing your knees and elbows, or even your nose.

Turn down the volume

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, sounds above 80 decibels can be hazardous. The sounds of a typical alarm clock or a very busy street is around 80 decibels. Ipods and other music gadgets can easily exceed 80 decibels.

Unless we understand why old ways of cleaning our ears can be harmful, it is difficult to change the old habits. Audiologists know why, and have been trying to tell the public why for many years. Now that new research has shown also that the OTC wax removal drops some of us use are harmful, the delicate nature of ears needs to be re-emphasized. Ears should be treated like the delicate structures they are.