Why You Don’t Need to Clean Your Ears

The typical hygiene routine includes ear cleaning. Most Americans have a box of cotton swabs inside the bathroom cabinet for this purpose. However, this might come as a surprise, you don’t necessarily need to clean your ears in that way. In fact, your audiologist will even advise against ear cleaning using a swab or anything that can be inserted inside the ear canal. Here is why you need to rethink your ear cleaning routine.

Your Ears Clean Themselves

Earwax is the product of your ear self-cleaning mechanism. The wax acts as a lubricant and a cleanser. It keeps your ear canal lubricated, ensuring that the skin doesn’t dry out. It also traps debris, dead skin cells and particles and removes them. Jaw movements, such as talking and chewing, naturally bring the earwax further outward the ear canal until it reaches the inner ear.

Earwax is Essential to Your Ear Health

Earwax is produced by the ear glands to serve multiple purposes. As explained above, it is your ear’s natural solvent. But it also provides protection for ear health. By preventing debris and small particles from traveling deep inside the ear canal, earwax acts as a shield against infections and damage caused by the presence of a foreign body inside the ear. In fact, earwax can also repel insects.

It also forms a protective barrier against bacterial and fungal infections and viruses, trapping them inside the wax to remove them. So, you don’t want to remove it from your ear canal.

Ear Cleaning Injuries Are Real

It isn’t uncommon for a professional audiologist to meet clients who have experienced ear damage as a result of excessive ear cleaning methods.

What Kind of Damage Could at Home Ear Cleaning Cause?

You could experience permanent hearing loss if you attempt to remove earwax from your ear canal. Indeed, using methods such as a cotton swab or even a syringe could hurt the ear canal and even rupture your eardrum.

Additionally, these methods are also counterproductive as they go against the natural earwax movement, which is outward. When you push something into your ear canal, you can cause a blockage.

The ear candle, which is a popular ear cleaning option for people who are concerned about the risk of injuries with cotton swaps, can be just as dangerous.

Safe Ear Cleaning Tips

You should not attempt to clean your ear canals. However, you can clean your inner ear while showering. Gently wipe your inner ear with a washcloth to remove the visible earwax. If you experience hearing loss after trying to clean your ear, it is essential to reach out to an audiologist who can help with safe ear cleaning.

Earwax buildups in the ear canal can affect your hearing, and it is something an audiologist can remove for you. Buildups can be linked to a variety of factors, including genetics and wearing hearing aids, which can make them a recurring occurrence. So, if you are prone to earwax blockages, arranging for an audiologist to clean your ear can make a huge difference in managing your ear health and your hearing.