Once and for all, is it poor practice to stick Q-tips in your ears?

Say again? I couldn’t hear you as I have Q-Tips in my ears.

As long as you don’t do what that idiot on the commercials does and shove it through your eardrum and deep into your brain you should be fine. :D

Do not put Q-tips in your ears. It is poor practice. You can perforate your tympanic membrane.

I have never heard anyone say it is a good idea, not even the Q-Tips company.

“Never stick anything smaller than a football in your ear!”

You can easily clean your ear with a washcloth, you do not need anything else.

Yes, Dear, especially when you’re standing up or walking.
You should never stick anything in your ear that’s bigger than your elbow.
You can clean your ears the way doctors do, with a rubber squirt bulb and warm water.

My doctor’s rule of thumb is NEVER put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear…Q-Tips are a lot smaller than your elbow!!! The problem arises when you stick the QT in fast & possibly too deep thereby rupturing your ear drum. There’s also a possibility of pressing any wax deep into the ear canal thereby setting yourself up for compacted wax affecting your hearing.

I’ve NEVER been vey good at doing what I’m told; so, I’ve been using QT’s for over 60 years as my main choice for cleaning my ears. In using a wash cloth, I found that it only cleared the wax near the outer rim of the ear canal & the area affected most isn’t touched. So, after I take my good, hot shower & wash my hair, I clean my ears with a QT. My assumption is that while the wax is still warm from the hot water of my shower the wax should cling to the QT & be out of my ear. I’ve never had a problem with wax being clogged in my ears, so I’ve NO reason to think it doesn’t work!!! IF I have a lot of wax buildup close together, I do buy one of those ear wash kits & use it; but, I’ve not found them to be very effective. I’ve also heard of people rupturing their ear drum by squirting the warm water too forceful thereby tearing the ear drum. I also put a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in my ear & allow it to foam up before cleaning out. The foaming action is supposed t loosen any wax & allow it to fall out. Then I use the QT’s in between any of the other methods of cleaning.

I say use the QT if it makes you feel more comfortable; however, you do need to be EXTRA CAREFUL while using.it!!! You’re an adult & certainly can determine your OWN preference!!!

I’ve Q-Tiped my ears every day since I was a teenager, and I have only gone to the emergency room once in that time. It lasted 5 hours in the middle of the night. I lost hearing in both ears from impacted wax. The doctor fixed in 3 minutes with a syringe and he flushed my ears and the gunk was just two little blobs.

Dr. Oz told us that Q-Tips are for removing make up and not for your inner ear.

I have eargazms when I Q-Tip my ears and more when It is productive.

My doctor said the same thing as @LadyMarissa. For years and years I did so anyway. Eventually I stopped, as my accumulated experience suggests to me that he may be right that:

* It may tend to introduce bad things (disease).
* It may tend to disturb or hurt the ear.
* It tends to disturb and interrupt the natural oils which the ear produces which convey ear wax out of the ear, so that while it may remove a chunk of wax, it may be creating a block in the natural removal of earwax from the ear.
* It can also form compacted ear wax and blocks of the ear canal by wax, blocking hearing and causing other problems.
* I really don’t want to hurt certain parts of my ears.

Yes, but I do it.

Any object that you put in your ear tends to push earwax in. Q-Tips are bad in another way because they have cotton fibers. Each fiber has a sharp side that can cut skin. The fiber gets stuck in the cut and the skin oozes pus until the fiber is floated out. Get an actual earwax spoon at amazon.com and use it very carefully. If you have itching, put olive oil in. It doesn’t cure anything, but it stops the itch for a while.

Likewise for belly buttons. Use a soft brush and hydrogen peroxide.

About your hearing. My hearing does seem to improve when I get some wax out. A girlfriend of mine did the candle wax removal, which I’m afraid to do and would never try it, and she said her hearing was much better.

The most painful thing I have had done to my ears was an ENT getting the wax out. I did feel better overall days after he did it. I used some prescription drops to calm the irritation. Interestingly, no other doctor said I had wax to remove, and I had seen other ENT’s. There was quite a bit.

I’ve had doctors say I have no wax, and then I remove wax days or weeks later. I know it might be new wax, but I have my doubts. I’m not sure what is going on there? Are they missing it because it’s packed in against the canal wall?

I’ve tried OTC ear flushing kits and it has never removed anything. Zero efficacy for me.

I started chewing gum again and I think it has helped.

Another reason to not use Q-tips in your ear- Journal article out today about a man who got a brain infection from using a cotton swab in his ear.