To not give up using cotton ear buds?

[cowsoy]

I keep hearing about how cotton buds are really bad for your ears and you shouldn't use them.

I tried to stop the other week and had to give up after a few days when I put some headphones in and the headphones had wax on when I took them out of my ear...

It then took me about 10 cotton buds to get my ears clean again.

Apparently you're just meant to let the wax naturally make its way out of your ears and drip/be pushed out... but I feel like if people look at me from a certain angle they will just see my wax-filled ear canal [sick] and I felt really dirty...

Apparently doctors say you should just wipe the outside of your ear with a flannel but I don't think its enough, people can still see the wax...

I love them. I don’t push them right in but my ears feel itchy and horrible if they’ve got wax so I have to do it and after a shower to dry them. I do buy the paper ones now so it’s not so un-environmentally friendly.

Recently saw a ENT consultant with my son, who micro suctioned his ears, as the wax was impacted.

The consultant said he seeing more patients are having this issue, and puts it down to in ear headphones he recommends over ear style headphones only.

Not something I had considered before, but it makes sense.

Did you know: people of different ethic backgrounds tend to have different types of earwax! Hence why various tools are available, things like ear candling etc.

www.google.nl/amp/s/www.medicaldaily.com/what-your-earwax-says-about-you-your-ethnicity-your-health-how-smelly-you-are-412752%3famp=1

www.google.nl/amp/s/www.medicaldaily.com/what-your-earwax-says-about-you-your-ethnicity-your-health-how-smelly-you-are-412752%3famp=1

I wear hearing aids which generate a lot of earwax so as well as using ear drops every week I also have them microsuctioned regularly. The practitioner at the clinic I attend says that most of their business is generated by the misuse of cotton buds leading to impacted wax.

There is an old adage that you should never put anything larger than your elbow in your ear.

Cotton buds shed fibres which can irritate you ears if they get inside. My dad said never put anything smaller than a chair leg down your ear. My mum used a hair grip?!?
You can clean with a tissue or damp cloth wrapped round your little finger. I wonder if we stop cleaning inside our ears they stop making so much wax? One of mine is worse than the other.

My mum used to use a hair grip to get the ‘deep’ wax out then a cotton one to finish off. She was VERY sure she wasn’t damaging my ears and cleaned her own the same way. To me it never hurt so I never complained.

I ended up with 3(!!!) operations on my ears before I was 5. I had to have tubes in my ears twice then the 3rd time was she had cleaned my ears out and had managed to push the tube down too far.

I always had ear infections and now have a lot of scaring in my ears, a burst ear drum and some hearing loss.

I have NEVER put anything in my ears since nor that of my children! I do use the cotton bud to clean the outside of my son’s ear when the wax comes out I am extremely paranoid about them.

Unless you have a scope to look into your ear canal you CANNOT say you are not pushing the wax down/damaging anything!!

And anyone judging me because I may have visible ear wax can F right off!!!

Missingstreetlife, I agree that the blunt loop end of a hair grip is much less damaging than a cotton bud, as long as it’s used gently and not pushed too far into the ear canal. It’s also washable and you aren’t generating a load of disposable litter as you are with buds. It really isn’t necessary to put anything in your ears, but if you’re self conscious about wax as OP seems to be, then a hair grip is a better choice.

I burst an ear drum using an ear bud

My dad uses his keys!

Ear spoons are brilliant.

So, am I right in thinking that if I stopped using them for a couple of weeks, my ears would eventually regulate themselves and not produce so much wax?

Or is having ears full of wax normal and you're just meant to let it slowly ooze out by itself?

I hate the soggy ears feeling, but I find wiping round with a muslin (if I'm organised) or the base of yesterdays tshirt (if I'm in a hurry) actually gets rid of the wet feeling far better and clears away more 'mank' (I'm assuming it's soggy dead skin cells).

I personally find the new eco-friendly cotton buds really unsatisfying - as soon as I push on them they bend, so I can't get a really satisfactory rub.

For those with itchy ears, if you use a cotton bud to wipe olive oil into them it soothes them brilliantly.

Yes, the wax is actually there to clean the ears. As it oozes out, it brings any inpurities with it. You can clean away the visible stuff using a flannel (remember them?!)

My sister suffers with repeated ear infections which her doctor says is because she doesn't produce enough wax.

I must admit I, like many others, use these to clean my ears very carefully and I shall go on doing so with care. I also use them for cleaning earrings, nail polish splashes and between the keys on the computer.

I can't get a link from Amazon, but search for "ear wax remover" and look at the little tin of tools. I bought one and it's been a revelation! ( disclaimer- I am a sporner).

I’ve been on here nine years and NEVER post but...

I beg you on behalf of ENT surgeons everywhere please do not stick the implement in TadaTralalas post in your ear!

Have a lovely day all.

The only thing you should put into your ear, is your elbow.

They're not just for ears, I use them to clean up my eye makeup and apply spot treatments.

I can’t stand the feeling of wet ears after a shower. I dry my ears with earbuds but maybe only the outer 5mm. Which gets rid of the wet feeling and also removes any visible wax. Waxy ears look awful!

Could you all at least switch to recyclable, eco versions so we can stop the mountains of plastic these things produce?

I agree with you - I'm in my 60's and have used them every day of my adult life with no ill effects. The idea that they push the wax in further, just doesn't make any sense. If you use the ear buds in a sensible way you have no problems.

I don't think you're meant to let it drip out, just use a damp thin washcloth or muslin around the opening while washing the rest of the ear.

I hate putting anything in my ears, cotton buds or headphones, and I've never noticed an issue though I have noticed if I wear my headphones for long periods, my ears due to tend to be a bit more waxy.

Disclaimer- I have only used paper ones for years since I saw the turtle video!

I do mine every single day after my shower. Even missing a day my ear starts to feel greasy. Plus I like the sensation- I know I'm not alone in this lol.

Sainsburys have the cardboard ones, so easy to find the environmental choice.

If your ears itch so much that you are having to scrape around inside them with a cotton bud, have you ever considered that it's the cotton bud that is causing the itch?

Every day you are irritating the inside of your ear, damaging the skin and messing up the wax production. Your poor ear is trying to clean itself - wax is there to protect the skin and remove dust, debris and kill bacteria. And every day, you "carefully" mess it all up.

Your ears are probably producing more wax in an attempt to protect themselves. So you stop for a few days and then think "blimey, my ears are full of wax. Best set about them with a cotton bud" and start the whole process.