Why You Must Not Clean Your Ear, Medical Consultant Warns

An Otolaryngologist, specialising in Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) treatment, Dr Otazi Edianabai Richard has said cotton buds or cotton swabs are not meant for cleaning the ear.

Dr Otazi, a consultant and Head of Unit of ENT at Kubwa General Hospital Abuja warned that use of cotton buds can easily damage the ear.

In an exclusive chat with THE WHISTLER on Wednesday, the consultant explained that the ear has two functions which are hearing and balancing.

Dr Otazi further explained that the ear is made up of the external, middle, and inner ear. She pointed out that the pinna, or visible part of the ear, is located outside of the head, and that the ear canal borders the eardrum, which separates the external and middle ear.

According to her, the middle ear is made up of three bones known as ossicles, which are the malleus, incus, and stapes, which transmit sound. When the antenna detects sound, it moves like a drum to the eardrum, where the bones mechanically convert the sound into the inner ear, she stated.

She said that the inner ear is divided into two parts which are the semicircular canal and the cochlea.

The semicircular canals she said are in charge of balance, and the cochlea is in charge of transmitting sounds to the brain, the component of hearing in the brain that is in the temporal bone.

Adding that “Inside the cochlea, we have what we call air cells, which are like receptors that transmit electrical signals from the middle ear, convert it from mechanical to electrical energy, and send it to the brain and the brain translates the sounds and sends it to the speech centre where you know what to speak.”

Why You Must Not Clean Your Ear

Speaking on why the ear should not be cleaned, Otazi revealed that the ear is a self-cleansing organ that does not require to be cleaned with any foreign object.

She said the only part of the ear that should be cleaned is the part that can be seen and visualised, which is the external ear and canal.

She did noted, however that, “The skin area of that canal is very sensitive, and can easily be bruised, so God naturally made a way that in that canal, there is what is called cerumen or earwax just like the way we sweat, there is always cerumen production keeping that place lubricated and also protecting it from bacteria and any microorganisms that might get there.”

The ENT expert further said some people could get an over-secretion of cerumen and may experience a sensation that something is inside the ear leading to them to believe that the ear is dirty and may want to clean it using objects like key, pen cover but might end up injuring the ear or exposing it to infection as a result of bacteria or fungi on the objects.

She stressed that, “Anything less than your fist is not supposed to go into your ear, you will end up introducing infection.”

Foreign Object May Impair Your Hearing

Furthermore, Dr. Otazi stated that the process of inserting foreign things into the ear may push the ear wax farther, obstructing the eardrum and causing extreme pain, irritation, itching, or impaired hearing due to the sensitivity of the eardrum.

Buttressing, she said, “There are instances where someone is cleaning the ear and another accidentally hits the person and pushes the object, puncturing the eardrum or causing injury to the ear canal because the ear is a very expensive organ, which is why we advise not to clean the ear.”

“In addition, the ear is in an enclosed space that does not heal quickly when injured, whether there is blood flow or not,” she added.

Frequent Cleaning Can Cause Injury

She stressed that if there is an over-secretion of ear wax and it is not causing any discomfort, pain, loss of hearing, or unusual sounds, the ear should be allowed to clean itself, saying that the ear is exposed to injuries and the canal is filled when it is cleaned too frequently with no ear wax to protect or prevent the canal from becoming infected.

She stated that when the ear becomes too dry, some people may get an allergy or develop what is known as “allergic rhinitis,” which causes an itching feeling in the ear, nose, and eyes at the same time, or allergies.

What You Must Do When You Develop Allergic Rhinitis

Dr Otazi averred that when one experiences allergic rhinitis, the tragus should be rubbed or the nose closed and blown to relieve the irritation.

The tragus is a small piece of cartilage, sort of triangular in shape, which covers the entrance of the ear canal and is positioned closest to your face, she pointed out.

Why Cotton Buds Were Designed

She mentioned that Q-tips or cotton buds are not suggested for cleaning the ear but were originally designed for the nose.

She stated that cotton buds are for the use of children who may have nasal congestion due to catarrh and for the cleaning of the umbilical cord stump. She however added that it can be used to clean the outer ear.

Use Of Hydrogen Peroxide Can Erode The Ear.

In response to the use of hydrogen peroxide in cleaning the ears, she stated that the practice was once used to soften earwax but that it is no longer used and is obsolete, and that research has shown that hydrogen peroxide is a corrosive substance that can erode the ear.

She stated that there are various occasions where patients may go to the pharmacist to soften the ear as a result of being packed with earwax but end up with blisters in the ear or eardrum because the pharmacist did not dilute the hydrogen peroxide.

“We do not recommend it however if you feel like you have too much ear wax and don’t feel like coming to the hospital, the safest thing to do is to apply olive oil to soften the wax and it will take away the discomfort.

“Even if it is a cockroach that gets into your ear, you should pour olive oil immediately, do not do anything, cover with cotton wool, it will suffocate it and then you can come to the hospital.”

Do Regular Ear/Body Check Up

She suggested that people carry out ear and general body check ups once yearly and for newborn babies, hearing screening should be done for them at birth preferably in the first month of birth to detect any hearing loss or problem early.

Best Way To Clean The Ear

The consultant emphasised that, “The best way to clean the ear is to leave the ear alone, do nothing to it, don’t go using foreign objects into the ear.

The only thing you can do when you bathe, this part that looks like an antenna, you can clean it with Q-tip or even your towel but the canal, do nothing to it, do not put anything in it, that is the best way to go.”