I think you'd need the cotton bit for Western-style earwax (which I suspect dominates in the US - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwax#Physiology), or some water. But it could just be a question of technique.
Been using the bamboo kind for my entire life. The cotton part gets disgusting after prolonged use though so I prefer just getting ones without the cotton.
We still cal them similar in Lithuania, literal translation would be something like "hygienic earpick" (like toothpick). Actually, only after reading this article I realized they are not for cleaning your ears. I don't use Q-tips to remove wax from the ear canal, but I use them to dry my ears after taking a bath. Though, I still believe it's a legitimate use as going out with your ears dry is much riskier to catch fever imho.
When a friend was in med school, she was told by an ear doctor that a Q-tip removes only material that would have fallen out naturally, while at the same time pushing everything else in further. The doctor also said that Q-tips are what keep them in business.
When I first heard that I wasn't supposed to use qtips my ears I stopped. Couple months later the wax built up and sealed my ears so I couldn't hear. I thought I went deaf over night. I had to have a doctor pull out a gross amount of ear wax.
They must be doing something for me. I went back to them and it never happened again. Could be a coincidence I guess.
Vegetable oil +cotton for 30 minutes, then irrigate with a waterpik on low. But really if it's cleaned out and you never stick anything in your ear, it'll clean itself out.
I wouldn't recommend an oil that dried or goes rancid, this is an opportunity to create a substrate for bacteria. Mineral oil would seem like a better choice, and since it doesn't dry, you won't accidentally make the situation worse.
I could definitely believe that. Something along the lines of "using chapstick makes your lips produce less moisture, thus making the chapstick seem more necessary". Our bodies like their equilibria and will adjust to preserve them when interfered with.
Ditto. I once was without Q-tips for two weeks by which point I could no longer hear.
Some people like myself have very wet ear wax which does not simply "fall out". Q-tips solve this simply. Just be careful with them (you only need to go in a little and twist) and you'll be fine.
I seem to have inherited my small ear canals from my father, and once every year or two my ears get clogged to where everything sounds muffled. I use what's called an "ear syringe" or an "ear douche" to clean my ears: http://img.hisupplier.com/var/userImages/2010-07/26/tenhoo_1...
I'm very much curious on how these compare to Q-tips, etc, in terms of safety, though they are at least marketed towards the use I put them to. I generally fill a sink with warm water, tilt my head to the side and repeatedly douch my ears. It takes a solid 10~15 minutes, but eventually the warm water helps separate the wax and a few large chuncks will wash out and I can hear again.
Plus, "I douched my ears last night" is a pretty decent conversation starter for whenever somebody asks what you've been up to lately.
I must be crazy lucky. I've not used qtips or any sort of earwax stuff since maybe highschool or earlier(I'm 38) - in fact, I'm not sure I even remember when I last did them, but it was around that time. I've never had earwax build up to those levels, thankfully. I guess, I occasionally stick my fingers lightly in my ear so maybe that acts as some sort of minor cleaning (I never have pulled anything out)
Lately though, my hair has started growing in my ears, and I have a shaver to trim them down. That's weird, I guess I'm getting old man ears now. Hopefully earwax doesn't start as well.
I would venture to guess that cramming something larger than your elbow into your ear canal would be likely to have some serious medical consequences as well. (I'm not convinced that using something precisely elbow-sized is entirely safe either.)
That's always been the point of the expression, from my understanding. Nothing the size of your elbow will fit into your ear (without seriously screwing up your day). So if you are only allowed to stick things that size or larger in, then nothing should go in your ear (canal).
The whole story sounds like a huge case of selection bias.
Doctors encounter lots of people whose ear injuries are attributable to Q-tips. They therefore conclude that Q-tips should never be used to clean ears.
But people who know how to clean their ears without damaging them don't go to the doctor to complain about their healthy ears.
For example, pushing the wax inwards is obviously a bad idea, but this can be avoided.
Yes I read the article. Did you read this? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10943097 Our bodies don't always fit into people's preconceived notions of how things are "supposed" to work.
A couple years ago, one of my ears had wax buildup that made it hard to hear; the nurse who treated me didn't use a Q-Tip, but rather a syringe filled with warm water. She basically said the same things as the article, that removing wax Q-Tip style causes ear infections and risks other damage because wax protects the ear. I think she suggested that people with chronic wax issues might consider getting the syringe thing for home use.
I could use a fact check from a medical doctor here, but my recollection is that you do in fact need to wipe or otherwise wash your butt. If you didn't, the result would be skin irritation, rash, eventual sores, sepsis, and suppuration or abscess.
As a pragmatic matter, flossing your teeth will help to improve both the quality and duration of your life.
I'd guess that this depends on your pooping technique and diet. If you squat to poop and have enough fiber in your diet you should stay fairly clean even without wiping. Most animals seem to manage with only occasional cleaning of their private parts.
I went to the doctor with a bunch of buildup in my outer ear. She told me I wasn't cleaning my ears well enough and gave me a big syringe for use with water.
Of course, she had misdiagnosed me and I had to go to another doctor to treat the infection with antibiotics.
Yeah, I had been putting up with a bad external infection for months. I had been cleaning it out regularly, but held off a few days so the doctor could see what was going on.
It started clearing up after just 48 hours with topical antibiotics.
When I was a kid, I had ear infection problems along with too much wax build up. One day, I went to the otorhinolaryngologist, who shook her head, grabbed these large metal spikes, wrapped cotton around the tips, and cleaned out my ears.
In any case, I paid very close attention to the technique she was using.
If you frequently get large amounts of ear wax buildup to the point where it is blocking your hearing, there is a product called Maurine ear wax removal kit, which does work effectively (I have to use it about once every couple years).
It is sort of an oily type of drops that you put in your ear, leave it (with your head tilted sideways) for a half our or so, and it ends up crystallizing the wax so that it will fall out naturally. You can actually hear it working, ind of like a bubbling sound. Afterwords you use the bulb syringe that comes with the kit to flush out the ear canal.
I want to please see a video showing how you do it to achieve that. Never mind that it'd be bad technique. I posit that it's actually not possible, that it is a scary story for kids on par with getting blind from masturbation.
Eh, they really don't work well for cleaning the ear canal, though.
I have ear canals that I thought needed to be cleaned regularly, until I stopped using Q-tips. Now they only seem to need to be cleaned once every 4 years or so (if I notice sound getting a bit muffled), with a syringe and sink full of warm water. I had thought the Q-tips were cleaning them, but were definitely causing more problems than they solved. (Ditto for ear drops, which didn't seem to help much. Just taking the time with a syringe & warm water is better).
My pediatrician uses little metal tools to clean out the kids' ears if needed. Better than a blunt, soft thing that can't easily get wax out rather than push it in, though of course you'd better hold still.
Be careful, if you have inflamed ears already then this can really aggravate your ear.
I just use olive oil drops in the same way, and if that doesn't help after a week or so I pop in to the doctors to get my ears syringed, but since using the oil I barely ever have to.
My daughter had an ear wax build up. The doctor said that I should put a few drops of olive oil in her ear, or alternatively use an over-the-counter oily type of ear wax removal solution (not sure of brand name). I went to pharmacy and checked the ingredient list of the ear wax removal solution: olive oil!
Note: This happened in Poland, about three months ago.
I had the same problem when I was young. So much ear wax after a particularly bad cold that it prevented me to hear clearly. It lasted a long time, definitely more than a day. My mother put a few drops of olive oil in my ear, and told me to lie down so the oil would stay in the ear.
After a few minutes of this, suddenly I heard crackling in my ear. I decided to yawn... and I heard this huge "CRRRRACK" sound from inside my ear, felt a very weird sensation as the oil found its way past the wax buildup, and suddenly I could hear clearly. It was glorious.
My daughter and her husband put hydrogen peroxide in the ears and claim that it makes a big difference. I was skeptical, to say the least, but after reading all this I think I might have been wrong. It might do something.
My daughter and her husband put hydrogen peroxide in the ears and claim that it makes a big difference. I was skeptical, to say the least, but after reading all this I think I might have been wrong. It might do something.
Years back, I was standing near my wall mount heater on a cold morning, and the heat was running up my back, around my neck and ears. A minute later my ear wax completely melted and dripped out of my ears.
I don't have the heater anymore but found I can replicate the effect using a hair dryer on low speed/high heat.
"[T]o twist Q-tips in our ears [...] feels great. [...] Tickling their insides triggers all sorts of visceral pleasure."
Is this article coming from some alternate reality where people clean their ears for some dangerous guilty pleasure, and ear wax does not need to be cleaned away just as any other bodily secretion?
The wax is there for a reason. Generally speaking, the wax should be left alone unless it's causing a specific problem.
There's a list of circumstances in which to remove ear wax here. And note that an article like this is written because doctors know people will try to remove wax when they don't need to, or via dangerous methods.
The article also notes that sticking candles in your ears may result in burns.
I expect to return to that page in another ten years and read, "Putting ice picks in your ears can result in bleeding. Christ, what is wrong with you people?"
I've seen one of those things recently, and have been wondering about the mechanism of function. How it sucks the earwax (which really has the consistency of viscous oil to hardened wax) out of the ear canal. I feel dismayed if you're telling me it doesn't?
It doesn't. It's one of those things that sounds good enough in theory that people tried it and of course someone is willing to sell the materials/service if there's money to be made. But yeah, it's along the lines of those "cleanse" drinks that make you crap out what they say is "toxins" that had built up in your intestines but is really just the congealed fiber in the drink (which is mostly just a laxative). In this case, it's candle waxes on the cloth that people claim are ear wax that's been somehow drawn out.
Oh yes - I'm one of those people. Sticking a q-tip in your ear feels soooo good. It's ticklishly, itch scratchingly good. It also feels better the longer you leave it - if I've not used one for a few weeks it's a genuine pleasure.
It's also a common anecdote that having your ear syringed by a professional is one of the most pleasurable non-sexual feelings. So yes, it's a thing. It's definitely a key
part of the reason I [mis]use q-tips. I'm surprised by your comment that you had no idea it was seen as pleasurable!
You must be kidding. It is uncomfortable to stick anything in one's ears; do you feel pleasure when putting something deep into the nasal cavity as well? For me, that's similarly uncomfortable.
Using q-tips to clean my ears after a shower is better than sex. It's the greatest thing. You can take my q-tips from my cold dead hands. I have never had an ear infection or any problems related to my ears. I use q-tips daily. So, meh..
Yes, I never used Q-tips all my life until I had to use earplugs to sleep in a rather noisy environment. Those caused itching and I used Q-tips to scratch the ear canal.
Since then, I must confess I am addicted. I tried to wean myself from Q-tips use, but I can't. The little buggers cause something I like to call an eargasm, it just feels so good. They also cause more irritation just to make sure you keep using them - they are worse than cocaine.
I always thought these were some really weird fetish camgirls.
Only watched a bit of one video[1], and I'm going to avoid watching any more. Can confirm that the sensation is surprisingly haptic, and it is viscerally uncomfortable for me. I'm feeling disgust and revulsion even as I'm typing this.
First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all.
Secondly, sure, the wax will fall out on its own if you don't Q-tip it....but do you like looking at people with little gobs of wax falling out of their ears?
I clean my ears regularly with Q-tips for those two reasons. Yes I stick them in the ear canal. No I don't push the wax deeper (you just need to twist as you put it in). And no I've never in my 50 years had an ear infection or hurt the eardrum.
If you shower regularly and wash the parts of your ears that you can reach (as one does) you won't have problems with loose wax falling out of your ears during the day.
Not true for all of us. I sometimes (not all the time) get very rapid wax buildup, to the point where it can affect my hearing within days. Other times I can be fine for months without cleaning my ears.
OTOH, using Q-tips after I shower prevents it from ever being a problem and clears out the water that might otherwise feel odd on occasion when it doesn't dry quickly for some reason (I'm guessing due to excess wax buildup). I've tried hydrogen peroxide, but it takes much longer, wasn't particularly effective, makes me dizzy, and also doesn't always dry. Q-tips work and have never caused me trouble.
P.S. Neat trick: if you pull your ear up and back a bit, your canal straightens.
> First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all.
Actually, they use almost the exact wording you used to explain this in the article:
> We continue to twist Q-tips in our ears thanks to a simple truth: It feels great.
I thought this was especially interesting. The thought of putting a Q-tip in my ear freaks me out big time. (Surely I've done it at least once, and I remember it making a loud noise, and it feeling like you're going to puncture your eardrum. And I have no real sensitivity in my ears, I've slept with earplugs every night for a decade!)
My grandma used to use the loop side of a safety pin to clean her ears. I personally use q-tips but I only do the twist thing at the very entrance of the canal. The point is to keep a clean "appearance".
Humans have two entirely different types of ear wax, determined by heredity, named "dry" ear wax and "wet" ear wax. I am mentioning this because I only came across the information recently, despite having had problems with itchy ears for years, and despite having participated in many discussions about ear wax. I can see that there are already some strong disagreements beginning here in the comments.
The two varieties have significantly different properties. "Dry" ear wax tends to be crumbly and flaky, and can usually be removed effectively with a curette (if you dare). "Wet" ear tends to be dark, smelly, and sticky.
I do not think that people with dry ear wax, in particular, really understand what people with "wet" ear wax are saying when they talk about ear wax buildup and removal.
I don't recall the source, but I remember learning that dry earwax is almost unheard of in people of African and European descent. It's most common in Asian people.
Even more interesting is that there is apparently a very strong correlation between the type of earwax you have and whether or not your body odour (sweat-related) is strong. I was surprised to learn that many asian people never use deodorant because they simply don't need it.
Just to be clear, when you say "Asian", do you mean east asian, south asian or both? I'm inclined to assume you mean east asian because of your body odour comment.
Apologies, I did mean east asian. I'm not sure why, but in Australia, NZ, and the US (possibly Canada too) 'asian' is almost always taken to mean east asian. It always takes me a moment to realise that (e.g.) British people commonly use the term to refer to people from the subcontinent.
So I am asian (where the allele is more common) and i definitely have dry ear wax, and i have always used q-tips to remove ear wax, and always thought it was silly that people got all worked up that q-tips for ear wax removal was 'dangerous' to the ear. But years ago (molecular biologist, ahead of the curve on some of these discoveries) when I learned about the different types I finally got it, it really is dangerous if you have wet ear wax.
You can get it stuck in your ears. When I was a kid I would have to have my ears vacuumed clean because I would routinely impact wax in them and lose hearing.
It's dangerous in general. A friend of my dad was cleaning his ears, his wife opened the bathroom door which bumped his arm which pushed the q-tip in and broke his ear.
I use q-tips to clean my ears nearly every day but I take precautions to not stand near any doors and if someone else is in the room I make sure my arm using the q-tip is pointing in a direction unlikely to get bumped.
I also have itchiness. It only triggers occasionally, always in the left ear, but when it does it's sometimes so annoying it stops me from sleeping well. Could you solve your itchiness? How?
I never entirely did. Initially it was episodic on either or both sides, coincidental with heavy discoloured buildup; I eventually came to believe that it may have been due aspergillum exposure. These days it's generally less prevalent, but I use a curette when I have to, purely to relieve symptoms - nothing odd about the discharge. I've developed eczema elsewhere in the meantime, so perhaps its related.
I know that there are steroidal eardrops, available for ocular eczema. Additionally some sort of syringe method might be safer/preferable, I would recommend trying that first to stay as far back from the scratch/itch cycle if possible... I can attest to its existence.
Well, I agree that Q-Tips have the potential to do more harm then good, but this probably the extreme 1% of cases. I think the key takeaway is never try to reach back to your ear drum, and don't make it a daily habit. I occasionally use q-tips to clean my ears 6 to 8 times a year and have never had any issue with wax or infections.
The real ear "killer" out there is loud noise and daily abuse. You're more likely to damage your ears listening to earbuds 8 hours, Mon to Fri or going to a monthly concert/club with 100+dB for 4 to 6 hours with no ear protection.
Talk to an ENT about serious issue like tinnitus and they'll tell you with a straight face that a) they don't really know what causes it and b) the prescribed treatment is "just try to ignore it". It doesn't produce a lot of faith that the science is really there. For me this article is closer to fad nutrition advice that consistently contradicts the previous reports.
Here in Australia at most pharmacists/chemists/drug stores you can buy ear candles. With the help of a friend you lie on one side, place the candle funnel in your ear and light the far end. The concept being that as the candle gets hotter the heat draws earwax and gunk out of your ear. It's meant to be pretty safe (as long as you don't let the candle burn you/anything around you.
I've since heard that the candles might not actually work, anyone know anything on this ear clearing option?
They're covered early on in Bad Science, the short answer is that they do nothing except put you at risk of burns from wax, etc. You can test this fairly easily by putting one above a dusty surface and noting that it wont disturbe the dust beneath it.
I've heard that these produce a substantial amount of discharge which is intended to impress you with what they removed from your body, but if you cut them open you will see the "earwax" was pre-installed in the candle.
I remember when I was little, my mother used to clean my ears with those against my will. "We continue to twist Q-tips in our ears thanks to a simple truth: It feels great." Well, to me it felt awful and obviously I never used those myself. Now I can feel smugly superior because even as a baby I knew these things are bullshit.
Indeed, I clicked on the link because I thought, "That's interesting, I wonder what a Q-tip is". Then I found it was just another name for a cotton bud, and was disappointed: I'm sure there are more bizarre items than that!
The odd thing is that articles on the topic and seemingly all medical doctors assume that there is only a single way in which Q-tips can be used for ear cleaning purposes.
I think that there are several possible ways besides simply inserting the Q-tip in a straight motion and thereby pushing earwax towards the tympanum. Personally, the way I use Q-tips is to insert them from below the ear at a 45 degree angle, constantly rotating the Q-tip and then performing a swipe around the ear canal while keeping up the rotating motion (resembling the precession movement of a gyroscope). Using this technique, I never had any issues with pushing earwax towards the tympanum or irritating the ear canal. The advantages are less itching in the ear canal caused by ear wax, and having no visible crumbles of ear wax falling out of my ears. I seem to have the "wet" ear wax type.
It seems like this is a common and weird instance of problems that re-occur when medical professionals give advice to patients and the general public:
* Lack of insight into why people are exhibiting the behaviour. For me at least, the natural buildup of ear wax produces itching, and using Q-tips is a significant relief. In the re-occuring advice to the public by medical professionals this seems to be ignored.
* Lack of understanding of the importance of aesthetics. Yes, it might be natural to have large crumbs of ear wax visibly protruding from your ear canal, but that does not make it irrational to dislike how it looks. Ignorance of such social factors leads to 'unexplained' lack of compliance with medical advice, which in turn leads to a decrease in the quality of doctor-patient relationship and ineffective public health interventions.
* Lack of interest in harm reduction approaches. For several decades articles like the OP have been published, seemingly with minor or no effect on actual practices. It might be more reasonable to accept that people are very keen on cleaning their ears, and to find strategies to reduce the potential harm while still letting people do what they want. Simple advice on HOW to use a Q-tip without harming yourself (don't push in too much, don't push in straight if you really can't do without it) might have more overall positive impact.
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[ 6.9 ms ] story [ 216 ms ] threadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_pick
When the name is that, it makes sense to poke your ears with them.
I tell people not to use them in their ears but everyone is so used to the idea, it sounds absurd when you argue that ear sticks are bad for ears.
In their defence, they are meant for cleaning your ears, just not your ear canal.
They must be doing something for me. I went back to them and it never happened again. Could be a coincidence I guess.
Some people like myself have very wet ear wax which does not simply "fall out". Q-tips solve this simply. Just be careful with them (you only need to go in a little and twist) and you'll be fine.
I'm very much curious on how these compare to Q-tips, etc, in terms of safety, though they are at least marketed towards the use I put them to. I generally fill a sink with warm water, tilt my head to the side and repeatedly douch my ears. It takes a solid 10~15 minutes, but eventually the warm water helps separate the wax and a few large chuncks will wash out and I can hear again.
Plus, "I douched my ears last night" is a pretty decent conversation starter for whenever somebody asks what you've been up to lately.
Lately though, my hair has started growing in my ears, and I have a shaver to trim them down. That's weird, I guess I'm getting old man ears now. Hopefully earwax doesn't start as well.
Doctors encounter lots of people whose ear injuries are attributable to Q-tips. They therefore conclude that Q-tips should never be used to clean ears.
But people who know how to clean their ears without damaging them don't go to the doctor to complain about their healthy ears.
For example, pushing the wax inwards is obviously a bad idea, but this can be avoided.
As a pragmatic matter, flossing your teeth will help to improve both the quality and duration of your life.
Apparently not:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2013/10/17/dentists-...
Of course, she had misdiagnosed me and I had to go to another doctor to treat the infection with antibiotics.
It started clearing up after just 48 hours with topical antibiotics.
In any case, I paid very close attention to the technique she was using.
It is sort of an oily type of drops that you put in your ear, leave it (with your head tilted sideways) for a half our or so, and it ends up crystallizing the wax so that it will fall out naturally. You can actually hear it working, ind of like a bubbling sound. Afterwords you use the bulb syringe that comes with the kit to flush out the ear canal.
I have ear canals that I thought needed to be cleaned regularly, until I stopped using Q-tips. Now they only seem to need to be cleaned once every 4 years or so (if I notice sound getting a bit muffled), with a syringe and sink full of warm water. I had thought the Q-tips were cleaning them, but were definitely causing more problems than they solved. (Ditto for ear drops, which didn't seem to help much. Just taking the time with a syringe & warm water is better).
My pediatrician uses little metal tools to clean out the kids' ears if needed. Better than a blunt, soft thing that can't easily get wax out rather than push it in, though of course you'd better hold still.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide_-_urea
I just use olive oil drops in the same way, and if that doesn't help after a week or so I pop in to the doctors to get my ears syringed, but since using the oil I barely ever have to.
Note: This happened in Poland, about three months ago.
After a few minutes of this, suddenly I heard crackling in my ear. I decided to yawn... and I heard this huge "CRRRRACK" sound from inside my ear, felt a very weird sensation as the oil found its way past the wax buildup, and suddenly I could hear clearly. It was glorious.
I don't have the heater anymore but found I can replicate the effect using a hair dryer on low speed/high heat.
Is this article coming from some alternate reality where people clean their ears for some dangerous guilty pleasure, and ear wax does not need to be cleaned away just as any other bodily secretion?
There's a list of circumstances in which to remove ear wax here. And note that an article like this is written because doctors know people will try to remove wax when they don't need to, or via dangerous methods.
http://www.entnet.org/content/earwax-and-care
I expect to return to that page in another ten years and read, "Putting ice picks in your ears can result in bleeding. Christ, what is wrong with you people?"
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling
It's also a common anecdote that having your ear syringed by a professional is one of the most pleasurable non-sexual feelings. So yes, it's a thing. It's definitely a key part of the reason I [mis]use q-tips. I'm surprised by your comment that you had no idea it was seen as pleasurable!
Since then, I must confess I am addicted. I tried to wean myself from Q-tips use, but I can't. The little buggers cause something I like to call an eargasm, it just feels so good. They also cause more irritation just to make sure you keep using them - they are worse than cocaine.
Only watched a bit of one video[1], and I'm going to avoid watching any more. Can confirm that the sensation is surprisingly haptic, and it is viscerally uncomfortable for me. I'm feeling disgust and revulsion even as I'm typing this.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPVuYgVEwt0
Secondly, sure, the wax will fall out on its own if you don't Q-tip it....but do you like looking at people with little gobs of wax falling out of their ears?
I clean my ears regularly with Q-tips for those two reasons. Yes I stick them in the ear canal. No I don't push the wax deeper (you just need to twist as you put it in). And no I've never in my 50 years had an ear infection or hurt the eardrum.
OTOH, using Q-tips after I shower prevents it from ever being a problem and clears out the water that might otherwise feel odd on occasion when it doesn't dry quickly for some reason (I'm guessing due to excess wax buildup). I've tried hydrogen peroxide, but it takes much longer, wasn't particularly effective, makes me dizzy, and also doesn't always dry. Q-tips work and have never caused me trouble.
P.S. Neat trick: if you pull your ear up and back a bit, your canal straightens.
Actually, they use almost the exact wording you used to explain this in the article:
> We continue to twist Q-tips in our ears thanks to a simple truth: It feels great.
I thought this was especially interesting. The thought of putting a Q-tip in my ear freaks me out big time. (Surely I've done it at least once, and I remember it making a loud noise, and it feeling like you're going to puncture your eardrum. And I have no real sensitivity in my ears, I've slept with earplugs every night for a decade!)
The two varieties have significantly different properties. "Dry" ear wax tends to be crumbly and flaky, and can usually be removed effectively with a curette (if you dare). "Wet" ear tends to be dark, smelly, and sticky.
I do not think that people with dry ear wax, in particular, really understand what people with "wet" ear wax are saying when they talk about ear wax buildup and removal.
Even more interesting is that there is apparently a very strong correlation between the type of earwax you have and whether or not your body odour (sweat-related) is strong. I was surprised to learn that many asian people never use deodorant because they simply don't need it.
http://udel.edu/~mcdonald/mythearwax.html
At the position named
http://snpedia.com/index.php/Rs17822931
Europeans usually have a C while Asians usually have a T.
If you have a T from both parents, you have dry earwax.
It's legal in the states where it's not banned.
It's as uncomfortable as it sounds.
I use q-tips to clean my ears nearly every day but I take precautions to not stand near any doors and if someone else is in the room I make sure my arm using the q-tip is pointing in a direction unlikely to get bumped.
http://blogs.webmd.com/all-ears/2006/11/q-tips-weapons-of-ea...
I know that there are steroidal eardrops, available for ocular eczema. Additionally some sort of syringe method might be safer/preferable, I would recommend trying that first to stay as far back from the scratch/itch cycle if possible... I can attest to its existence.
I am curious if ear buds case the same injuries though.
The real ear "killer" out there is loud noise and daily abuse. You're more likely to damage your ears listening to earbuds 8 hours, Mon to Fri or going to a monthly concert/club with 100+dB for 4 to 6 hours with no ear protection.
Talk to an ENT about serious issue like tinnitus and they'll tell you with a straight face that a) they don't really know what causes it and b) the prescribed treatment is "just try to ignore it". It doesn't produce a lot of faith that the science is really there. For me this article is closer to fad nutrition advice that consistently contradicts the previous reports.
I've since heard that the candles might not actually work, anyone know anything on this ear clearing option?
I think that there are several possible ways besides simply inserting the Q-tip in a straight motion and thereby pushing earwax towards the tympanum. Personally, the way I use Q-tips is to insert them from below the ear at a 45 degree angle, constantly rotating the Q-tip and then performing a swipe around the ear canal while keeping up the rotating motion (resembling the precession movement of a gyroscope). Using this technique, I never had any issues with pushing earwax towards the tympanum or irritating the ear canal. The advantages are less itching in the ear canal caused by ear wax, and having no visible crumbles of ear wax falling out of my ears. I seem to have the "wet" ear wax type.
It seems like this is a common and weird instance of problems that re-occur when medical professionals give advice to patients and the general public:
* Lack of insight into why people are exhibiting the behaviour. For me at least, the natural buildup of ear wax produces itching, and using Q-tips is a significant relief. In the re-occuring advice to the public by medical professionals this seems to be ignored.
* Lack of understanding of the importance of aesthetics. Yes, it might be natural to have large crumbs of ear wax visibly protruding from your ear canal, but that does not make it irrational to dislike how it looks. Ignorance of such social factors leads to 'unexplained' lack of compliance with medical advice, which in turn leads to a decrease in the quality of doctor-patient relationship and ineffective public health interventions.
* Lack of interest in harm reduction approaches. For several decades articles like the OP have been published, seemingly with minor or no effect on actual practices. It might be more reasonable to accept that people are very keen on cleaning their ears, and to find strategies to reduce the potential harm while still letting people do what they want. Simple advice on HOW to use a Q-tip without harming yourself (don't push in too much, don't push in straight if you really can't do without it) might have more overall positive impact.