Dealing with ear wax - Health & Wellbeing
I have always found it hard to credit doctors' advice (repeated in the story linked above) that using cotton buds to clean out ear wax is not a good idea. The rate at which people's ears make the stuff seems to vary widely, and I suppose if your ears don't get itchy and feeling sticky at the entrance within a few of days of the last cleaning, you may not have a problem.
But for me, it is pretty much unimaginable that I wouldn't get in there with a cotton bud at least every few days. In summer, they seem to need it more often. And surely that purpose is behind about 90% of cotton bud sales, so I am sure I am not on my own.
Maybe the doctors' advice is based on them all investing in companies that make wax softening products, as well as the "money for nothing" consultation fees for syringing out the ears of those patients who do take their advice.
There should be an enquiry into this scandal.
I have always found it hard to credit doctors' advice (repeated in the story linked above) that using cotton buds to clean out ear wax is not a good idea. The rate at which people's ears make the stuff seems to vary widely, and I suppose if your ears don't get itchy and feeling sticky at the entrance within a few of days of the last cleaning, you may not have a problem.
But for me, it is pretty much unimaginable that I wouldn't get in there with a cotton bud at least every few days. In summer, they seem to need it more often. And surely that purpose is behind about 90% of cotton bud sales, so I am sure I am not on my own.
Maybe the doctors' advice is based on them all investing in companies that make wax softening products, as well as the "money for nothing" consultation fees for syringing out the ears of those patients who do take their advice.
There should be an enquiry into this scandal.
Hate to be serious on such a topic, however:
ReplyDeleteit is very annoying to see patients who have packed the wax down onto their ear drum. (it is obvious because you can see the cotton bud marks)
...because the purpose of ear wax is to pick up dust and clean ears.
the more the ear canal is irritated (eg by cotton buds), the more wax is created.
the more you clean your ears, the more you have to clean your ears.
ear syringing is to be avoided wherever possible in humid climates due to the risk of causing tropical ear.
if someone has hard wax that won't shift on its own, soften it.
if that doesn't work, soften and syringe. (I never try to syringe hard wax anymore.)
If my patients actually took my advice (ie ceased causing their earwax problem) I would rarely have to syringe anything.
...end of rant.
Geoff, I have some questions:
ReplyDelete1. has there been actual study to confirm that the more you "irritate" an ear, the more wax it makes?
2. even if there has, wouldn't it depend on one's actual cotton bud technique as to whether it is irritating to your particular ear or not?
Your experience shows that poor ear cleaning technique can push ear wax back in, but does the fact I've never had an ear syringed despite my regular probing (not too far in, of course) means it can be done safely?
By the way, I have had a recurring thought over many years while cleaning my ears that I would like to see an old character in a novel or movie whose main endeavour in retirement was working out whether the amount of ear wax he produced was tied to the lunar cycle.
ReplyDeleteI think reading all the amateur climate change skeptics at a certain (now inactive) blog encouraged me to think of useless things retired people do.