First of all, what you pick out from your ears is "earwax", whose scientific name is: cerumen. Although it is called earwax, this ear product cannot actually be regarded as garbage excretion, because to a large extent, it is actually used to protect the ears from infection by external substances, and also plays a role in protecting the skin of the external auditory canal. Therefore, this thing itself is actually harmless to the human body.

In addition, although earwax will continue to be produced, there is actually no need for us to clean it frequently, because it will clean itself automatically. When we eat or talk, those small pieces of earwax and debris will be removed. The crumbs will automatically fall out of the ears and usually will not accumulate in the ears, causing ear canal obstruction.

Then, and this is the focus of this question, among the methods of ear removal, is using a cotton swab a better choice?

Our ear canals are actually relatively narrow. If you use a cotton swab to pick out your ears, you will probably feel this way, that is, the head of the cotton swab has just been inserted into the ear canal. If this is the case, everyone I have to think about it. The ear canal is completely occupied by the cotton swab tip. Where does the earwax that is "picked out" come from? Many people have relatively dry earwax, which is not easy to stick out. If it is the kind of sticky earwax, it can stick to the cotton swab head, but I am always worried about whether it will Is there cotton wool stuck in the ear canal?

Moreover, if you want to use a cotton swab to pick out your ears, the first step is to insert the cotton swab. Wouldn’t the process of inserting the cotton swab inject the earwax that is about to come out? Surely this is inevitable?

Many students said, if cotton swabs cannot be used, what should we use to pick out our ears? Many people say that ear picks are too hard and can hurt their ears. The author actually wants to ask, who picks out their own ears and pokes hard with something? It must be because they feel it is touched and then move elsewhere, right? Of course, when you are picking out your ears, no matter what tool you use, you must choose a place with few people, and explain to those around you that you are going to pick out your ears. Please do not touch them to avoid injury.

Plucking ears is a very comfortable thing. Many people like to do it in their daily life, and there are also "ear-picking" waiters outside. However, in normal times, many people like to use cotton swabs to pick out their ears because it is convenient and can be thrown away. However, in fact, using cotton swabs to pick out ears is not good, and it is not recommended to use cotton swabs to pick out ears mainly to remove earwax. Why do you say that? Next, I will talk to you about this issue.

When we usually pick our ears, the purpose is to remove earwax. This earwax is just a commonly used name in our daily life, but clinically it has a special term, which is called "cerumen". It is actually a secretion secreted by the cerumen glands in our external auditory canal.

Careful friends may find that some people’s earwax is dry and looks flaky, while some people’s earwax is wet and looks oily. This is because earwax can be divided into two types, one is dry earwax (dry cerumen), and the other is wet earwax (oily cerumen), which is usually called "oily ear". In our country, most people have dry cerumen, and only a small number of people have oily cerumen.

In our understanding, many people think that "earwax" is a kind of useless garbage. Since it is garbage, it naturally needs to be removed, so they like to pick out their ears and remove the earwax inside. . But in fact, although earwax is a kind of secretion, it is not useless garbage. On the contrary, it also has certain benefits.

First of all, whether your earwax is wet earwax or dry earwax, it has a certain protective effect on the eardrum and ear canal. First, earwax can effectively prevent small insects from entering the inner ear and prevent the eardrum from being damaged. Secondly, earwax has a certain lubricating effect, which prevents the ear canal from being too dry and itchy; thirdly, earwax has a certain acidity, which can prevent bacteria from multiplying in the ear.

In fact, under normal circumstances, the earwax in the human ear can fall out on its own. For example, dry earwax can fall out with the change or movement of the head position and the movement of the mandibular joint; however, It is more difficult for some oily earwax to come out automatically, because the wet earwax is relatively sticky and will easily remain in the external ear canal, which can easily cause blockage of the ear canal and affect hearing. If too much earwax is too much, it will flow out of the ear, so wet earwax Earwax needs to be cleaned regularly, that is, by picking out the ears.

Generally speaking, a special ear pick is needed to remove earwax, but many people like to use cotton swabs to remove earwax because it is very convenient and can be used and thrown away. Just like me, I have oily earwax. If I don’t remove it regularly, it will easily accumulate. When I don’t have time to use an earpick, I have tried using cotton swabs to remove it. However, in fact, the effect of using cotton swabs to remove earwax is not good, and it has no effect on the earwax. The ears are not good either.

First of all, there is a layer of cilia on the surface of our external auditory canal. The function of these cilia itself can continuously clean cerumen or shed skin flakes out of the ear.

However, if you use a cotton swab to pick out your ears for a long time, because the external auditory canal is relatively narrow and the cotton swabs are often relatively large, the cilia may easily be damaged during the ear picking process and cause the cilia to fall off, which will affect the normal discharge of earwax and even cause the cotton swab to fall off. It will damage the wall of the external auditory canal, which can easily lead to infection, otitis media and other problems.

Secondly, using cotton swabs to pick out the ears does not remove earwax very well. Because the front end of the cotton swab is relatively large, when we extend it into the ear canal, although some of the oily earwax can stick to the cotton swab, more of the original earwax in the external auditory canal will be pushed deeper into the ear canal with the action of the cotton swab. , or even cause blockage in the eardrum, or cause earwax to stick to the eardrum, causing a drumming sound in the ear, causing tinnitus or affecting hearing.

Thirdly, when using a cotton swab to pick out the ear, it is difficult to control the strength. If you use too much force and go too deep, it will not only easily damage the skin of the external auditory canal, but may even cause damage to the tympanic membrane. Rupturing the eardrum can damage hearing and even cause infection.

Finally, since the cotton swab is stuck to a wooden stick, when we remove the ear, the cotton on the cotton swab will easily fall off, and the cotton ball on the cotton swab will fall into the external auditory canal. This can block the ear canal and may even cause infection.

Therefore, in daily life, if you need to pick out your ears, it is not recommended to use cotton swabs to pick out your ears. You can use some ear picks specially designed for picking out your ears or use tweezers to pick them out.

For some dry earwax, there is no need to remove it frequently, because the earwax will fall out on its own; but for some wet earwax, because it is more sticky, it is not easy to fall out on its own, so it needs to be removed regularly. Clean it, otherwise it will easily cause ear canal blockage.

I believe that most people have had the experience of lying on their mother’s lap and letting her pick out earwax when they were young. Because the earwax has grown too much and accumulated in the ears, the itchy feeling really makes people want to take it out. As soon as I took out the earwax, I felt that my whole body felt much more relaxed. If the ears are not cleaned for a long time, it is likely to cause cerumen embolism, especially for those who have oily ears.

No, recently, an uncle came to me and said that he always felt tinnitus, earplugs, and his hearing had become worse, but he couldn't find any reason. I took a closer look at his ears, and it turned out that he had cerumen embolism. Although cerumen embolism will not cause immediate harm to us, over time, it can easily cause hearing loss, tinnitus and other symptoms. Next, let’s learn more about earwax in detail. Is earwax useless?

Clinically, earwax, also known as cerumen, is a substance formed from glandular secretions in the ear canal. It is usually mixed with shed skin, normal skin bacteria, trapped water, and occasionally hair in the ear canal to form what we are used to calling earwax. Although earwax may look dirty, it is a protective substance that repels water. Because earwax repels water, it protects our ears from the negative effects of water retention.

In addition, earwax has potential antibacterial and antifungal properties, and moderate amounts may reduce the risk of ear infections such as otitis externa. As we all know, earwax is a yellowish oil, so it also has the benefit of preventing foreign matter from invading the ears. Maybe everyone should know that our ears have a difference between dry and wet. There will be more earwax in wet ears than in dry ears. But what we need to know is that most people don't have excessive earwax because our bodies remove it through the movement of the jawbone during activities such as chewing or talking.

However, despite the benefits of having ears, too much of a good thing can lead to problems, such as the most common cerumen plug. In general, children, older adults, people with small or narrow ear canals, people with excessive hair at the entrance of the ear canal, and people with cognitive impairment are at higher risk for cerumen embolism. Of course, cerumen embolism is also prone to occur in two groups of people, namely those who rarely remove earwax and those who have wet ears.

Finally, if we feel as if our ears are blocked by something, or if our hearing is slightly worse than before, this is likely to be the initial symptom of cerumen embolism. If the earwax completely blocks the ear canal, we will feel a closed feeling in the ear, and the hearing will be significantly reduced; of course, what we need to know is that cerumen embolism will hardly cause any pain. Once earache occurs, we should pay attention to inflammation of the ear canal. Why can't you use cotton swabs to pick out your ears?

In fact, for most people, the ears can clean themselves. Once the wax dries, every movement of the jaw, whether chewing or talking, helps dislodge the old wax from the opening of the ear. However, many people have oily ears and produce more earwax, so they use cotton swabs for convenience. Technically, cotton swabs are definitely the go-to option for ear cleaning. But what I want to tell you is that using cotton swabs to clean ears requires a good understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ears, otherwise it can easily cause potential harm to us.

When we use cotton swabs to clean earwax, because our external auditory canal is relatively narrow, if we think of the cotton swab as a plunger for injecting liquid medicine.

They push the softer wax deeper into the ear canal and against the eardrum. Once this happens, not only can the earwax not be removed well, but it is also more likely to cause earwax embolism. In addition, our eardrums are very delicate and can be punctured with a cotton swab. If you use a cotton swab to create a hard plug that prevents the eardrum from moving normally, it can easily cause severe hearing loss.

On the other hand, water in the ear may also be trapped behind earwax, and we may hear the sound of water flowing in the ear. If we touch the eardrum, we may also press on the small hearing bones underneath - the hammer, anvil and stirrup. They are the smallest bones in the body, and they are just below the eardrum, where they attach. If the ossicles are damaged, we may develop problems with hearing and balance.

Finally, when we pick the ear with a cotton swab, it will cause friction with the skin inside the ear. The more you rub the skin of your ear, the more histamine is released, which in turn causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed, much like a mosquito bite that gets itchy the more you scratch it. In addition, due to the lubricating nature of earwax, using cotton swabs to remove earwax will only make our ears drier. How to clean ears safely?

As mentioned before, when we speak or chew, loose earwax will be discharged from the external auditory canal on its own. From this point of view, there is absolutely no need for us to clean the earwax, let alone pick out the ears by ourselves. In particular, we should pay special attention to these four situations, namely those with narrow or curved external auditory canals, oily ears, and those who have had ear surgery and have structural abnormalities. , water often flows into the ear canal when bathing or swimming. Because they push earwax deeper, they are more likely to cause damage to the external auditory canal and even the eardrum.

For normal and healthy people, if it is really necessary to clean the earwax, it is recommended to clean it once a month. The safest way to remove earwax at home is to use a clean towel in the shower. Of course, we can also use a dropper, inhale a small amount of olive oil, and then gently squeeze a drop into the ear. Next, gently massage your ears to allow the olive oil to slowly blend into the earwax.

Finally, we use a clean towel to dry the ears thoroughly. It is recommended to try once a week for 1-2 weeks. Note that if we think our ears have any skin damage or a ruptured eardrum, we must avoid using olive oil, and any other substance. Generally speaking, symptomatic earwax needs to be treated, and ear drops are the first choice.

Using ear drops increases the likelihood that earwax will clear up on its own compared to no treatment effect. However, there was no significant difference in effectiveness between water-based and oil-based drops. In addition, clinically it is not recommended that you use cotton swabs to clean the ears. Not only will it cause damage to the ears, but what is even more unacceptable is that using cotton swabs on the outer ears has very limited effect. Generally speaking, except for special circumstances, earwax generally does not require us to clean it. If it is necessary to clean, be sure to use moderate force and proceed slowly. Conclusion:

Overall, earwax is an important component of a properly functioning ear. More importantly, it is almost asymptomatic and does not require treatment. Because our ears have a self-cleaning mechanism, anything entering the ear canal may cause damage to the ear. When there are no contraindications, softening ear drops can be used first to promote self-cleaning of symptomatic earwax.

Doctors have been reminding everyone not to use cotton swabs to clean their ears, but many people ignore it. It is best not to pick your ears with anything other than cotton swabs. Because this will push earwax deep into the ear, causing hearing loss and even damaging the eardrum. The human ear is a very important organ of the human body, and the ear is also very delicate. If you frequently remove the ear and do not know how to control it, it may cause hearing loss, ear injury and inflammation, or even permanent irreversible damage to the ear. Use The biggest danger of using cotton swabs to pick out the ears is that it can easily push earwax from the external auditory canal into the depth of the ear. This will further block the ears and cause the accumulation of earwax. So be sure not to use cotton swabs to clasp your ears!

It is not recommended to use cotton swabs to pick out the ears, for the following reasons:

1) When picking out the ears, because the cotton swab is too large, it will easily hit the wall of the external auditory canal when it enters the external auditory canal. On the one hand, it is easy to cause The tingling sensation can easily push cerumen debris deep into the ear canal. In the outpatient clinic, I encountered patients who were accustomed to picking their ears with cotton swabs. The earwax directly piled up on the tympanic membrane and stuck to the tympanic membrane, causing a drumming sound in the ears. They mistakenly thought it was tinnitus. The earwax returned to normal after the earwax was removed in the outpatient clinic. .

2) If you do not control the strength of the cotton swab well and use too much force, it can easily cause damage to the skin of the external auditory canal and even the tympanic membrane, and even cause infection.

3) If you accidentally drop the cotton ball of the cotton swab into the external auditory canal when picking out your ears, foreign bodies in the external auditory canal will appear.

I am Dr. Wu from the Department of Otolaryngology. Before answering your question, let’s take a look at the structure of our external auditory canal. Our external auditory canal is about 2.5 to 3.5cm long. The first third of the adult external auditory canal is cartilage. The posterior two-thirds are bones. The external auditory canal has two places that are relatively narrow. One is the connection between the cartilage and the bone, and the other is 0.5cm in front of the tympanic membrane. The inner diameter of the adult external auditory canal is about 0.6-1.0cm. The external auditory canal is The cartilage of the cartilage contains cerumen glands and hair follicles. The cerumen glands can secrete cerumen (commonly known as earwax). The hair follicles contain ear hairs, which can continuously remove cerumen or shed skin flakes from the ears. Using cotton swabs to pick out the ears is easy to push the earwax deeper into the ear, and it is also easy to damage the skin of the external auditory canal and cause infection. Therefore, we recommend that you do not usually use the external auditory canal. @ ENT DOCTOR Wu

Putting cotton swabs into the ears actually does the opposite, and earwax may be pushed deep into the ear canal.

If the cerumen grows too fast, it is best to use a soft cotton swab to clean the ear canal at home. Gently turn it a few times in the external auditory canal. The depth should not exceed 2 cm. Then, the ear should be pointed downward and the earwax can be removed by itself. Come out; try not to pick out your ears with sharp objects such as nails or earpicks.

When I was young, I would often see people with long little finger nails. If I asked them why they were so long, they would say "picking their ears".

Elderly people in the family used to "pick their ears" with match sticks, paper clips, etc.

Now, people have evolved to use cotton swabs to "pick ears". The advantage of cotton swabs is that they can be used and thrown away, and they are clean and hygienic.

But is it okay to "pick your ears" with a cotton swab?

The yellow or white dirt taken out has a medical name, which is "external auditory canal cerumen" (pronunciation: dīng níng). In human terms, it’s “earwax” or “earwax”. There is too much earwax, and I always feel itchy in my ears and eyes, and I can’t help but want to remove it.

Although commonly known as "earwax", earwax is not useless "junk".

Imagine that if you put a cotton swab into your ear, it will appear to remove some earwax, but it will actually push more earwax deeper into the ear canal.

These earwax may stick to the eardrum, increasing the burden on the eardrum. Anyone with some common sense knows that the ear transmits sound through the vibration of the eardrum. If there is too much earwax attached to the eardrum, it will affect the vibration effect and damage hearing.

Moreover, if the earwax is pushed deep into the ear canal, it will be difficult to clean, and bacteria and viruses will breed, making the ears itchy, painful, and even infected.

In fact, you don’t need to pick your ears at all, the ears will clean themselves. When the earwax dries slowly, the earwax will fall out automatically as long as your jaw moves when you eat, chat, or yawn.

For patients with aggravated obsessive-compulsive disorder and mysophobia who really can’t help but want to clean their earwax, please ask a professional doctor to help clean it.

Plucking ears, especially letting others do it, is a very happy and joyful thing, and the tingling pleasure makes people forget to leave.

But you know what? In fact, earwax is not useless, and it is not a good thing to pick out your ears frequently. It can cause skin rupture and bleeding, or severe deafness...

I can answer this question. My daughter has had this experience.

She has a habit of often using cotton swabs to pick out her ears. She likes to use cotton swabs to pick out her ears when her ears are itchy or after taking a bath. She didn't take it seriously at first. I don't see anything wrong with this either. Until one day I was talking to her and found her staring at me blankly, as if she didn't understand. I asked her what happened? She said: Why do you speak so quietly? I said it’s the same as usual! Only then did I feel something was wrong. Because a colleague of mine was like this before. She would look directly at me with her eyes when I spoke. Later, I went to the hospital for a check-up because she was slightly deaf due to inflammation. It was cured after infusion.

After my colleague’s example, I asked her to go to the otolaryngology department in the hospital. The doctor examined her and said it was because she often used cotton swabs to pick out her ears, and the cotton swabs pushed all the earwax inside, forming solid earwax lumps, thus affecting her hearing. The doctor removed the earwax for her, and her hearing recovered naturally. The doctor also specifically told me not to use cotton swabs to pick out my ears again.

Later, I bought her a light-emitting ear scoop online. The top part can be used as a light, which is a magical tool for picking out ears. I pick out her ears every six months. No problems so far.

When I saw this question, I couldn’t help but think of an image and a sound in my mind.

One image is of my childhood neighbor’s aunt, who especially liked to pick out the ears of children like us, and she didn’t need any professional tools, and she didn’t even have cotton swabs. She just reached out and took out a toothpick from her pocket; One voice is that of my mother who keeps telling me: "Don't pick it out!"

Although picking out the ears has been around since ancient times, this thousand-year-old wonder seems to have gained momentum in recent years! If you don’t believe it, you can pay attention to the shops along the street around you. When you look back, you will see some bright and loud “ear-picking” signs, which is the euphemistic name of picking ears!

So, what are the dangers of picking out your ears? Why can't you use cotton swabs to clean your ears?

The main purpose of picking out ears is to remove earwax, which is the secretion in the cartilage skin of our external auditory canal. The medical term is cerumen. It is a viscous, dry liquid secreted by the cerumen glands in our ears. The resulting scab is what we usually call: "earwax" or "earwax".

However, you need to be reminded that: a small amount of earwax can protect the skin of the external auditory canal and prevent dust and foreign matter from entering the inner auditory canal; and under normal circumstances, earwax will be discharged on its own; only when a large amount of earwax accumulates and forms scabs Only when symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, earache, or even dizziness occur, such as clumping, causing blockage of the external auditory canal, or even dizziness, do you need to have your ear harvested by a professional doctor.

Otherwise, taking a cotton swab at will and performing unprofessional ear removal will cause at least the following three major dangers.

Because the skin of the external auditory canal is very tender and thin, it is easy to be scratched when picking out the ears, making it easier for microorganisms to invade, leading to infection of the external auditory canal.

If you suffer from otitis externa due to ear picking, you will often experience external auditory canal skin edema, skin surface exudation, scaling, itching, pain and other symptoms. In severe cases, it may even be accompanied by hearing loss. Performance.

Under normal circumstances, because the tympanic membrane is located at the deepest part of the ear canal and has a certain degree of elasticity and toughness, it is not easy to be damaged or perforated.

However, if the ear removal is improper or the ear removal causes inflammation of the external auditory canal or even suppurative otitis media, then they can cause the tympanic membrane to rupture and perforate.

The symptoms of most patients with tympanic membrane perforation include: ear pain, ear fullness, tinnitus, ear congestion, hearing loss and other symptoms.

Suppurative otitis media, as the name suggests, is mainly caused by bacterial infection. If improper ear removal causes repeated infections of the external auditory canal, or ear removal causes tympanic membrane perforation, pathogenic bacteria can directly invade the middle ear through the perforation. Caused by.

Once suffering from acute suppurative otitis media, the patient will have severe systemic and local symptoms, such as chills, fever, diarrhea, severe earache that lasts for a long time, hearing loss and tinnitus, etc. symptom.

Do you agree with me?

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