How to Clean Your Ears

Water and soap: more than enough. Or at most baking soda or hydrogen peroxide. There is no greater waste, in the case of ear cleaning, of the use of expensive cotton swab. Dangerous, among other things.

I met a very good ENT specialist for a long time and asked him to give me a precise answer to this question: «I cotton swab "Are they really useful for ear hygiene?" The answer was very clear and unequivocal: no, they are useless and harmful.

I'll try to summarize the ENT's arguments. The cotton swab, invented in America in 1923 and quickly became a consumer product, present in all our homes, is nothing more than a plastic stick, with a stick on the tip cotton Stiffened hydrophilic. What's it supposed to do? By pushing and maneuvering it inside the ear, it removes the wax and cleans it. But that's where the problems begin.

The first problem is that the earwax It has a positive function and protects the entire auditory system from bacteria. Therefore, it is harmful to eliminate it beforehand. The excess material, in fact, can be cleaned with simple rinses of water and soap Lightweight: there's no need to insert a cotton swab. If the ENT doctor finds a true blockage, the cotton swab becomes insufficient, and special sprays are needed instead.

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Harmful effects of cotton swabs

In cleaning, second problem, instead we risk scratching the inside of the ear, very delicate. And in this case, besides being useless, the cotton swab becomes even harmful. Third objection: how do we dispose of it? Unfortunately, statistics tell us that most of the time these plastic sticks end up in toilet drains, where the least they can do is clog the pipes. Furthermore, we regularly find them on beaches and at sea, just as there is an absurd habit of putting them in the organic waste collection, among the food scraps in order to understand each other.

Cotton swab damage

Conclusion: the cotton swab is one wasteIn Italy, since January 2019, only biodegradable ones can be sold, and we certainly can't ask a law to change our bad habits. So the next step is up to us consumers. And since the cotton swab is about to celebrate its hundredth anniversary, let's do it in the most effective way: by eliminating them from our shopping list.

And when you've gotten rid of the cotton swabs, remember that a single stick, once it ends up in the sea, takes 30 years to completely decompose and disappear. Thirty years of damage.

Clean your ears with natural remedies

There are also some alternatives, or additions, to the simple soap and water:

Hydrogen peroxide. Place 5-6 drops in your ear while tilting your head. Let them do their work for about five minutes.
Il sodium bicarbonate. Just half a teaspoon dissolved in 60 ml of hot water. Then, still with your head tilted, pour 5-6 drops into each ear and let the liquid act for five minutes.

How to tell if your ears are dirty?

The ear hygiene It's both simple and important. But how do you know if they're dirty? The most significant signs, all natural, are these:

A gradual decline in hearing and an increasing sensation of ringing in the ears
Ringing in the ears
Compensation defects when moving at altitude
Perception of muffled sounds
itch or even earache
Sensation of fullness in the ears

How to tell if you have an ear infection?

Dirt is one thing, a different thing is aear infection, for which it's advisable to immediately consult a specialist, an ENT doctor. In this case, the signs are very different from those of poor hygiene:

Temperature
otalgia
Itching and earache
Ear fillings
Increasing hearing loss

Wax cones for cleaning ears?

If the cotton flakes To clean the ears are polluting and can damage our hearing system, wax cones are no exception. The cone is a 25-30 centimeter long candle, made with the Beeswax Or with paraffin: the narrower part is inserted into the ear, while the wider part, from which the heat escapes, acts as a fuse. The candle is supposed to create a "chimney effect" and suction out the earwax. But this is where the problems begin. The heat generated by the candle isn't enough to suck out the earwax, especially if it's hardened. And the flame can cause significant problems: ash residue gets stuck in the ear canal, or the candle falls and sets hair or clothing on fire. Finally, don't underestimate the most likely risk: a small piece of wax falling into the ear, causing a burn or hearing loss.

How to clean your ears