A Complete Guide to Cleaning Your Ears

Your ears are designed to naturally self-clean, so you really shouldn’t have to clean them often. In the event you do have to clean your ears, the following article will provide some information and tips.

The Natural Cleaning Process:

So, how exactly do your ears clean themselves? Your ears are built to take care of themselves, that’s what earwax is for. Earwax is designed to trap dirt and debris, and then keep it from entering the ear canal. Earwax also keeps out bacteria. Most of the time, your earwax works perfectly fine and you don’t have to do a thing. When everything works as it should, oils in your ear canal work together to trap debris. Once the foreign matter is collected, everything is hardened to form what we know as earwax. The motion of your jaw actually moves earwax forward in your ear canal and then drops it off or out of the canal.

Are Cotton Swabs Dangerous?

If ears are designed to self-clean, why do you develop earwax and build-up? For starters, every person is different; some people just produce more earwax than others. If you are one of these people, this earwax can be pushed into the ear canal during the cleaning and cause impaction. This is why cotton swabs should never be pushed into the ear for cleaning. A cotton swab may actually push things deeper into the ear.

Most people aren’t aware of the fact that the eardrum can be reached with a cotton swab and the eardrum is delicate. You can rupture your eardrum very easily just through the pressure that comes with sticking a cotton swab into your ear. If you’ve never had a punctured eardrum, you don’t want to find out what it feels like. The pain is intense and a punctured eardrum can also lead to hearing loss in the future.

Seek Professional Help

The best way to clean your ears is to use a dry or warm washcloth to maintain the outter parts of your ear. If you notice a “full” feeling or dulled hearing, you should schedule an appointment with your local hearing healthcare professional for an easy, but thorough cleaning.