Here Is Why A Q Tip Should Never Be Put In An Ear
By Anna Collins
11 months ago
1. Your chances of an ear infection increase
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When people stick a Q tip into their ear, it's ironically supposed to be MORE hygienic. But the effect is the total opposite. You are putting yourself at risk of getting an ear infection as it can open up a passageway for bacteria to get in, as well as introducing bacteria into the ear.2. It hardens the earwax
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Another thing that happens to the ear and the earwax when you use a Q tip, is that the earwax is pushed together meaning that it hardens. So, the barrier of the earwax actually forms a hardened layer, rather than what you think you are doing...*cleaning*.3. It can get stuck inside!
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Okay picture this, you've got a Q tip inside your ear, you're twisting and trying to get the wax out and then you pull it out but the end of the Q tip is no longer there - it's stuck inside your ear. Now you've got a way bigger problem than some ear wax in your ear. And if you think this doesn't sound likely...we can confirm it has happened to MANY people.4. You shouldn't remove all of your earwax
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There is something undeniably gross about earwax, we get it! But wax is there for a reason, so we shouldn't be aiming to remove it all. It stops things getting into our ears, and it protects our insides from bacteria and from getting too dry. So if we interfere with the body's natural defence mechanism it can cause problems!5. You could perforate the eardrum
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Nobody wants to perforate their eardrum...it is very painful and it can cause permanent damage to our ears. You could even lose your hearing this way. And a Q tip is too small to be entering our ear, because when it is pushed too war it can go right through...6. You could could temporarily lose your hearing
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It's extremely frightening when you lose your hearing, even temporarily. Because you do not know when it will come back, or whether it will return as it was before. Messing with your ears too often and inserting Q tips really increases your likelihood of losing your hearing temporarily.7. Parts of the Q-tip can remain inside
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A Q tip is made of compacted fibres, like cotton wool. And when you push this into your ear to 'clean' your ears some of these fibres will undoubtedly stay behind. What's worse: a little bot of extra ear wax in your ear, or fibres! Fibres, we can tell you. They can build up and damage your hearing abilities.8. You can push the earwax further into the ear
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You are digging around in your ear thinking that you're removing all of that grows wax in your ears so that they are now perfectly clear. Wrong. What you're really doing is pushing that wax further into the ear into places it shouldn't be and disrupting the fragile composition of our hearing system!9. You could injure your ear
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There's probably been a time when most of us (hands up) have been messing in our ears trying to scrape out some ear wax when we think 'ow, that went a little bit too far', we've then had messed up hearing or ear pain temporarily. It happens all too easily because it's not MEANT to be in there.10. It scratches the skin of the ear canal
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A Q tip is not intended to be put inside the ear, so although it is covered in a cotton-wool like material, the tip is still too hard for the ear canal. When you put the Q tip against the ear canal and scratch off the ear wax, you also scratch the actual ear canal too!11. You could cause tinnitus
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Tinnitus is a condition where you can hear sounds such as ringing ears or clicking sounds but they are not external sounds, they are in your own ears. Tinnitus can also cause pain and persistent problems. And, using a Q tip inside your ear can actually cause tinnitus!12. You can give yourself vertigo!
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Our ears are responsible for our balance...and so if we mess with our ears we can really disrupt our balance. It can cause vertigo which can make you feel extremely sick and dizzy and you feel like the entire world is spinning around you. This can even persist from the damage you've caused with the Q tip!13. You could permanently damage your hearing
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Not only can you temporarily lose your hearing you can also really affect or damage your hearing permanently. Statistically, those who use Q tips frequently have worse hearing than people who don't! Our ears are self cleaning, so leave them alone if you want to hear properly because the problem probably isn't too much wax, it's probably damage from the Q tip.14. There's a risk of Otis externa/media
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Otis externia/ media are two different kinds of ear infections. The externia refers to the outer part of the ear and the media refers to the middle of the ear. The risk of developing Otis externia/media increases a LOT when you regularly use Q tips in your ears.15. You can cause swimmer's ear
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Swimmers ear, is of course, referred to as such because it is a condition which can be caused by swimming as it increases the risk of infection due to the bacteria which can get trapped inside of the ear. The damp environment makes it a breeding ground for bacteria! Using a Q tip can have the very same effect.16. You could cause a blockage
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When (probably) your aim is to unblock your ears of wax, you may be surprised to find out that you may actually be causing your own blockages. Ear wax and whatever else gets pushed down from the Q tip can cause a blockage in your ear which can lead to many other problems.17. You could create MORE earwax
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Oh the irony...all that you're really doing is causing MORE earwax. So even if you manage to gid your Q tip in and pull out a successful loads of earwax (gross) all that's going to happen is your ear will create even more earwax to replace the old so you'll probably end up with an excess of earwax.18. It can be painful!
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It can be painful, pitting something in such a delicate place is never going to be without risks, and more often than not it can cause some kind of irritation or pain. If it goes wring, it can be extremely painful and this can last days if not weeks or more.19. Your ear could bleed
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If you see blood coming form your ear it's extremely alarming to see. And if you use a Q tip and see blood coming from the ear then you know you've gone too far. You have caused some kind of damage to the ear which could take a long time to heal properly.20. You can cause your ear to discharge
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Discharge is usually a sign of some kind of infection. So, if your ear has discharge coming out of it, it could be because there is some kind of cut, or damage of some kind of material left inside your ear which is making your ear weep and express discharge.21. You can make it extremely itchy
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Not only can you cause serious damage, you can make your ear feel super itchy. We all know the pain when you have an itch you cannot scratch, and what's worse is it you do scratch the itch inside the ear as it will only aggravate and cause it more damage!22. It can give you an ear canal edema
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One thing you DON'T want is an ear edema. This is when the external of the ear canal (the part between the inner ear and the outer ear) swells and turns red and sore. This experience can be very painful as well as extremely irritating and it can be caused by Q tips.23. Your balance may suffer as a result
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When we mess with our ears, we are also messing with our balance. Disrupting your ears throws us off balance as it distorts the levels within your ears. It can result in you becoming very clumsy or even falling and tripping over as you do not have that sense of stability.24. It could give you headaches
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When we have a bad ear, often our head aches too. So disrupting your ear with a Q tip can lead to frequent headaches. You may not even have realized the cause of your headaches, but try stopping the Q tips and see if your symptoms start to alleviate!25. It can give you a feeling of a 'blocked' ear
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Having the feeling of a blocked ear gives you the illusion that something is in their obstructing your hearing, for example, ear wax. So, some people then use a Q tip even more to try an alleviate the feeling. What's really happening is you're damaging the ear and this feeling is due to damage, not excess wax!26. You can damage the hair cells
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All of those little hairs inside our ears are there for a reason, so it's not just something else to scrape out on the Q tip. Those hairs are receptors for the sound, so that the sound can transmit to us and we can hear properly. If you don't want to affect your hearing, then leave the hairs well alone.27. It could cause a numb sensation
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When you've been poking around your ear maybe a little too hard, or too frequently you may find that you experience a numb sensation in your ear. This can be frightening as it feels as though you've lost the sensation in your ears. It should come back, but it's a sign of damage!28. Your ear canals may swell
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One of the responses that our ears have to a damaged ear canal is that they swell up. When the ear canal swells it can feel sore and irritable and it can of course also affect your hearing. There's one simple way to avoid this: just put the Q tips down!29. It can cause damage to the ossicle bones
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