3 Methods of Ear Cleaning to Avoid

There is a common misconception that our ears don’t clean themselves when actually they do. However, did you know that earwax is usually naturally expelled by the body over time? Despite this fact, many people choose to clean their ears themselves, as the idea of having ‘waxy ears’ is a worrisome one for many of us. While your ears usually don’t need cleaning, unless you are prone to earwax buildup of course, ear cleaning can be safely performed. It’s just a case of knowing what methods of ear cleaning are safe, and which methods are not safe.

Bearing that in mind, below is a guide to three methods of ear cleaning to avoid.

1. Using cotton swabs

Cotton swabs seem to be the universal ear cleaning instrument of choice, and yet if you were to ask any audiologist about the use of these for ear cleaning, they would strongly advise against it. Why? Because cotton swabs were designed for outer ear cleaning, not inner ear cleaning. When you put a cotton swab into your ear, you aren’t removing wax, you are simply pushing it further into your ear, which can cause your earwax to compact, causing all manner of problems and making you more prone to health problems such as ear infections, for instance.

2. Ear candling

Ear candling might be all the rage right now when it comes to ear cleaning and ear care — you can buy ear candles almost everywhere — but are they actually safe? Audiologists don’t recommend the use of ear candles as an ear cleaning method because they can be dangerous. One of the primary concerns that they have is that hot candle wax will drip into the ear and cause damage to the ear canal or even the eardrum itself. Ear candles also aren’t proven to remove any earwax, the stuff that you can find in the middle of them is actually candle wax, despite what many people think.

3. Poking things in your ears

Don’t make the mistake of poking things into your ears. A lot of people buy ‘ear cleaning tools’ online and use these to try and remove their earwax themselves. This is incredibly dangerous; if you poke an instrument into your ear too hard or too far, you could end up damaging your ear canal or your ear drum. That’s why even doctors rarely poke things into ears, instead, they tend to use methods like ear syringing and the use of olive oil earwax softening drops as they are safer and highly effective.

When it comes to ear cleaning, it can be tempting to try all manner of methods to clean out ear wax from your ears. However, it’s important to realize that earwax is healthy and natural, and it’s only when it compacts that there becomes an issue. If you are going to clean your ears out, using safe methods that are audiologist approved is vital, as otherwise, you could cause serious irreparable damage to your ears.