this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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I have daily for decades and have never had a problem
I did, too, until my early 40s when it caused a ~~wicket~~ wicked ear infection. Tiny pieces of cotton, like threads, eventually built up over time. I ended up with a fungal ear infection that had me in pain and dizzy for weeks. I was very close to having my eardrum burst. Never again. It was really hard to break the habit of using qtips, but it's fine now; ears are self-cleaning.
I know it is not recommended, but I produce a lot of earwax, and if I don't use them sooner or later it will mess up with my ears, actually now that I recall, I have been for years without any issue in my ears π€
https://clinere.com/
I use these regularly. I feel like they do the best job and they also allow me to gently "scratch" the inside of my ear. It's not really scratching, but it relieves the itch I can sometimes get.
If you need to clean your ears that desperately, buy yourself earwax dissolver instead. Medically safe and easy to use, and unlike qtips, it will reach every nook and corner of the ear canal and clean up everything, pouring out the dirt like oil.
QTips cause wax plugs, if you use them gently to clean just the outer bit of the ear canal, it is kind of okay, but really you shouldnt. The ear canal is cone shaped so as you insert the Qtip you inevitably push some wax down.
Furthermore the ear canal is self cleaning.
You might not notice them, but id say theres a good chance you have wax plugs built up in your ears from using QTips (and inear headphones if you use them).
Wait, my headphones do this too?? Why is this the first time I'm hearing this? I thought I was being so responsible by not using a q tip on my ears like once a week, but all this time I've still been shoving those bluetooth earbuds in on the daily. Sleeping with them sometimes. I feel like an idiot. What else am I doing wrong?
...Also, what type of headphones do you use, if you don't mind me asking? :')
I never really liked the in-ear feel, I also dislike bluetooth, so my go to for moving is Koss PortaPro, these are very open so no real isolation, however. For bluetooth the staple overear is WM1000xm4, though I have no experience.
Ay thanks for the reply! I'll check em out ^_^
I'm glad it's worked out for you so far, but you really should stop. Your ears probably don't need to be cleaned at all. You could end up damaging your ears at worst, and at best you're just pushing ear wax deeper into your ears, possibly creating a clog that might not have happened otherwise.
Anecdotally, I stopped cleaning my ears 15-20 years ago, and not once have I had ears clogged due to earwax.
That's not at all true for everyone. My ears 1000% need to be cleaned, unfortunately. My ears will periodically get physically clogged with wax and it will both impair my hearing and feel gross/uncomfortable. My brothers all have this issue as well, so maybe I am just genetically predisposed to create too much earwax or something.
I don't use a Q tip though. That can't at all unclog a wax impaction. Instead, I use something called an "ear syringe" (there's no needle don't worry lol). You fill it with water from the sink and squirt it into your ear. Cheap, reusable, and will get rid of wax clogs. You can pick one up cheap at any drug store.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQVQHw1p44hsPMJlLirbn6ukvKPfbs_FY8nzQ&usqp=CAU
The wax impactions could be from things like in ear headphones, but I very rarely use in ears to begin with. It will happen even during long periods of not using them.
It's really easy and quick to use, and creates minimal mess. Whenever I start to feel a clog coming on, I just use it for a few minutes over the sink and I'm good to go. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with wax issues. The chemical wax softeners like Debrox (or even hydrogen peroxide) cost too much and are really not very effective compared to simple mechanical removal.
Yes, every day