There are benefits to cleaning your ears! But I don’t recommend you to…

It is said that it is also indispensable for the major pleasures of life after meals (foot washing, massage and ear cleaning). Lying down on the soft cushion, waiting for a thin and long ear pick to crawl into the ear canal with a "squeaking sound", and then carrying a large piece of earwax out, the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment is overwhelming. However, based on health, the editor does not recommend frequent ear cleaning at all. Why is this? Let the editor explain it to you one by one!

Image source: pexels

01Earwax is beneficial and not redundant!

The scientific name of earwax is actually cerumen (ding níng), which is a mixture of ear canal secretions, dust, and dandruff. It is usually gray, orange, or light yellow. It is composed of 60% keratin, 12-20% saturated or unsaturated fatty acids, alcohols, squalene, and 6-9% cholesterol.

In short, it is not "shit". After a period of time, earwax will evaporate and become dry flakes, or it may be sticky, that is, "oily earwax". These are normal and should not be picked out casually.

Earwax is the protective umbrella of the ears

Keep the ear canal lubricated

Earwax can make the ear canal

Keep it lubricated

Prevents ears from becoming overly dry

If you over-clean

It can happen easily

Symptoms such as itchy ears and peeling

Block external stimuli

Earwax is mostly sticky

If there is dust from outside blowing in

Earwax can stick them together

The special smell of earwax

Still a nemesis of many insects

It can prevent insects from crawling into the ears

Disinfection and antibacterial

Lysozyme in earwax

Can destroy bacterial cell walls

Has disinfectant and antibacterial effects

0 2 Don’t make earwax removal a habit

Although it feels good to clean your ears, compared with the possible consequences such as ear canal inflammation and hearing damage, this "pleasure" is really insignificant.

Every year, countless people go to the hospital for ear cleaning.

If you search for "ears becoming moldy" after cleaning your ears, you will find a lot of news.

(Source: Weibo @新聞晨报)

Some people also increase their risk of cancer because they always pick their ears.

(Source: Weibo @Phoenix Weekly)

Why is it so dangerous to pick your own ears?

1. Instrument disinfection is a problem

It is difficult to strictly disinfect the tools when cleaning your ears at home, which gives bacteria and fungi an opportunity to cause inflammation of the ear canal and make the ears "mold" and "grow hair".

2. Injury to the ears by poking or picking

When cleaning your ears, you can only rely on "feeling" to pick around in your ears, which may damage the skin of the external auditory canal and cause external otitis.

3. It’s hard to determine the depth of ear cleaning

Some people feel that shallow cleaning is not satisfying enough and want to clean deeper into the ear. This action may damage the eardrum and even cause suppurative otitis media.

Image source: Pixabay

Therefore, taking these risks for the sake of temporary "pleasure" is really not worth it.

03What are the possible consequences of picking earwax yourself?

◀ Affect hearing and cause tinnitus

The external auditory canal is very delicate. If you use the wrong force or a hard tool to clean your ears, you may damage the external auditory canal. Once there is a little damage, the original microecological environment of the ear will be destroyed, the humidity will change, and fungi may grow, causing infection, pain, itching, and even pus.

◀ Causes infection

Do not use unclean knitting needles, hairpins, or wooden sticks to pick your ears to relieve itching. This may cause the eardrum deep in the ear canal to be punctured, leading to traumatic perforation of the eardrum, suppurative otitis media, and other lesions, which will cause a certain degree of hearing loss.

◀ Eardrum perforation

If your hands are shaking, the ear cleaning tools may injure the eardrum or auditory bones, causing eardrum perforation or even damage to the ossicular chain.

0 4 Remember the following points about the correct posture for picking earwax

One thing that needs to be noted is that there must be a distinction between adults and children.

1. If your ears are really itchy, you can gently scratch the ear hole twice with your fingers.

Don't use sharp objects! Don't go too deep!

2. Control yourself and don’t pick your ears.

3. If unbearable itching occurs, it may be external auditory canal eczema, etc. You should go to the hospital for diagnosis in time.

4. Protect your ears when swimming, especially for people who have had ear inflammation:

①Avoid swimming in unclean water;

② Wear earplugs when swimming;

③ If water enters your ears while swimming, you should tilt your head to the side where the water enters after getting out of the water, pull your ears back and up, and tap the top of your ears with your other hand or jump on one foot;

④ After coming out of the water, if there is water in the nasal cavity, you can block one nostril with your hand and breathe through the other nostril to let the water flow out. Avoid blowing your nose hard to prevent water from flowing into the middle ear;

⑤ After swimming, use a hair dryer on cold setting to gently dry your ears;

5. If you have ear discomfort, do not use folk remedies. For example, using alcohol or vinegar to drip into the ear may aggravate the infection.

Source: Chongqing Tianji Network Co., Ltd.

This article is compiled from Popular Science China, Tencent Medical Dictionary, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, and Wuhan University Zhongnan Hospital

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