Doctors often need to dig out old, dirty ear buds from someone’s ear in the emergency room. Apart from getting stuck, they ear buds can cause skin irritation, infection and even hearing loss! They may have been a constant fixture in most bathroom cabinets for years, but it’s best for you – and your health – to throw them out today.
But how do I manage the wax, then?
You might want to sit down for this one: you’re not supposed to! That gooey, golden stuff that builds up inside your ears should stay there. Earwax is a self-cleaning agent, with protective antibacterial properties.
Excess earwax normally moves slowly out of the ear canal, with an extra boost from chewing and other jaw movements, carrying with it dirt, dust and other small particles from the ear canal. Then, dried-up clumps of the stuff fall out of your ear opening, all by themselves. It’s just another amazing thing that your body does for itself!
But my ears are blocked!
Sometimes, our bodies don’t work the way they should. When this natural process goes wrong, or when you poke around in your ears with ear buds or other foreign objects like keys, hair clips or matchsticks, earwax can build up and block part of the ear canal.
If enough wax builds up, it may cause short-term hearing loss by blocking the sound coming into the ear. Forcibly removing the ear’s protective wax layer, or scratching the skin that lines the ear canal can also increase your risk of infection.
Once this wax starts to build up, there are a few ways to remove it – but don’t do it yourself: visit your doctor!
It’s all part of the design…
The bottom line is: ears are designed by nature to be both self-cleaning and self-protecting, so it’s best to leave the inside of your ear alone and not disturb its natural environment.
Kyle Boshoff for HelloDoctor.com