“Stop cleaning your ears with cotton buds” – Nigerian Doctor, Nonso, Warns With Reasons

Putting anything inside your ear is a bad idea. From cotton buds to feathers and broomsticks, these are just some of the things that people put into their ears. Doctor Nonso, a Twitter user @aproko doctor has warned that it is detrimental to clean the ears with cotton buds.

According to the doctor, using cotton buds to clean the ears only pushes the wax closer to the eardrums and can cause serious ear problems in the future. Dr. Nonso added that the ear cleans itself when you chew or yawn by slowly pushing the wax to the outer layer of the ear.

He didn’t end there. He went on to say that ear wax isn’t dirt that needs to be removed but is actually useful to humans.

He added that ear wax “actually keeps your ear free from insects and dirt for instance! Also, because it is acidic, it prevents fungi from growing in your ear So removing your wax does more harm than good.”

Read the rest of his tweets about ear care below.

”STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS

STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS

STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS

STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS

Your ear cleans itself when you chew or yawn. People should not try to remove wax by themselves.

You may think that you’re cleaning your ears with the buds, but what you’re doing is pushing the wax closer to your eardrums This can reduce the vibration of your eardrum which can also reduce your hearing Funny right?

Let me also say this, EARWAX IS NOT DIRT! EARWAX IS NOT DIRT! It actually keeps your ear free from insects and dirt for instance! Also, because it is acidic, it prevents fungi from growing in your ear So removing your wax does more harm than good.

If you must use cotton buds, use it for just the outer part of your ear, don’t attempt to push it inside.”

Why do I have wax in my ears?

Earwax also known as cerumen has antibacterial properties, which means your ears are self-cleaning. Earwax is like a filter for your ears, keeping out harmful things like dirt and dust, and insects and trapping them so they don’t go deep into your ears

Like you read earlier, when you chew and move your jaw, you help move old earwax out of the ear canal to the ear opening. But earwax isn’t formed in the deep part of your ear canal; it’s made in the outer section. Which if you must clean, you should clean just the outer part

When you try to clean your ears with a cotton bud, you tend to push the wax deeper into your ears and this can cause a blockage and prevent the eardrum from vibrating, this causes reduction in hearing.

Putting objects inside your ear can cause other serious problems:

Infection
Rupture of the eardrum
Hearing loss

STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS
STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS
STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS
STOP PUTTING COTTON BUDS INTO YOUR EARS

Your ear cleans itself when you chew or yawn
People should not try to remove wax by themselves

— Aproko Doctor (@aproko_doctor) April 4, 2019