Ear Hygiene 101: How to Keep Your Ears Clean

Table of contents

· Introduction

· Do Our Ears Need Cleaning ?

· What Is Wax?

· How to Keep Your Ears Clean

· Are Earbuds Safe?

· Ear candling?

· What to Do if Your Ear Gets Blocked.

· What to Do for Itching?

· When to Seek Professional Help?

Introduction

Rinsing with water, cleaning with a cotton swab, or putting oil inside—what do you prefer? My heartfelt request to all of you: please refrain from doing any of these! Our ear canal from the inside is very sensitive, and unnecessary cleaning often leads to unnecessary trauma. So what is the correct ear hygiene? We will explore this topic in detail.

Does our ear need cleaning ?

Our ear canal is sometimes referred as “green house of the human body”, it is warm, dark humid and moist. In short it is a great medium for microbes, especially fungi to grow. Ear wax helps protect us from these germs by naturally moving out of canal carrying all dirt and debris. Let’s understand how ear wax works.

What is Ear Wax?

Many people feel they need to clean their ears because of wax. But what exactly is ear wax? It is made of thick, oily fluids from the glands in the ear, mixed with dead skin cells, dust, and hair. It turns brown when it meets the air. The functions of ear wax include:

1. Lubricating and cleaning the ear canal

2. Helping dead skin move out of the canal

3. Protecting against infection because of its pH level and its ability to kill some bacteria and other microbes that can cause infection. It contains various proteins, fatty acids which also helps in maintaining a healthy acidic environment.

How to keep your ears clean?

Most of us need not clean our ear as such in any special way. After bathing, drying the outside of the ear with a clean dry towel is enough. Our ear by itself breaks down the wax with enzymes and keeps itself healthy and clean. However, some people may have the tendency for wax accumulation due to their canal size or due to the absence of enzyme that is responsible for the break down of wax. These individuals require professional help.

Tips for healthy ear canal-

1. Dry the outside with clean dry towel after bath

2. If you have tendency of wax accumulation, avoid letting water enter ear (use shower caps)

3. Do not put cotton inside ear for long duration. Even if you have to place a larger piece of cotton which stays outside the canal

4. Do not put anything except prescribed sterile ear drops (no mustard oil, baby oil, olive oil)

5. Avoid using in-the-canal earplugs for a longer duration they tend to cause accumulation of wax.

Are Earbuds Safe?

There are various types of earbuds are available in market, premium cotton, Egyptian cotton, silicon, plastic cone shape, screw shape etc ! Kindly refrain from using all such products. All of these products do more harm than good!

Risks of using ear buds

1. Trauma: they can cause trauma to ear drum causing a perforation and a much bigger problem.

2. Infection : trauma to ear skin makes it prone for various infections. And infection to ear canal is very painful.

3. Wax: Earbuds may push the wax deep inside the ear canal making the self-cleaning mechanism of ear to fail. May cause blocking and irritating sensation.

4. High risk population: People with diabetes are prone infection especially fungal infections. even small infection might lead to bigger disease like “severe otitis externa” or “malignant otitis externa”

Most commonly ear buds are used for 3 reasons:

1. To “clean” the ear: just DO NOT use ear buds. Resist the urge. I promise you will be ok.

2. For itching: If your ear itches, press gently around the outside of the ear instead of using earbuds. This can help reduce the itch.

3. To clear the blocked sensation: we will talk in detail about this in the next point

What to do if your ear gets blocked?

The feeling of blocked ear might be due to several reasons, not just due to “dirt in ear.”

1. Blocked nose: one of the common reasons is due to a blocked nose. Seeking a professional help to diagnose and know the degree of the problem is important. For temporary relief you can try “ Valsalva manoeuvre”. To do this, pinch your nose, fill your cheeks with air, and blow the air against your closed mouth and nose for 10-15 seconds, your ears will pop, and relieve the blocked feeling. You can do the exercise whenever you feel your ear is blocked; it will release the pressure. ( This should be performed after a professional help, especially by individuals with heart conditions). You can also chew gum or suck on a candy to help keep the tubes in the ear open.

2. Pus or discharge from the ear: this is indicative of infection and professional help must be sought immediately.

3. Water entering the ear:- Try to keep water out of your ears. If water does get in, it will usually clear on its own. Pressing over the small pointed area in front of the ear canal (the tragus) can help.

4. Pressure changes: When flying in an airplane or at high altitudes, you may feel your ears get blocked. The Valsalva manoeuvre and chewing gum or sucking on a candy can help.

5. Other Problems: For all other causes, see a doctor. Medical help is must if symptoms persist! Do not pick your ears at any cost.

Fig. 1- Valsalva Manoeuvre

!People with heart disease perform the manoeuvre only after medical consultation

What to do in case of itching ?

Itching is caused in the following cases

1. Allergies: Mild allergies can cause itching. Medicines for allergies, prescribed by a doctor, can help.

2. Infection: In case of infection, itching will usually be associated with discharge, stickiness or ear blockage. In such case professional help must be sought immediately.

3. Dried wax:- sometimes wax may dry out and cause irritation, in such cases wax solvent drops can be used.

4. Stress:- Some people have a habit of itching their ear when in stress! Effort should be taken to avoid unnecessary cleaning of ear canal. In severe cases, try rubbing gently around ear.

Ear candle cleaning?

After earbuds, another “trending” method for cleaning ears is ear candling. This involves using a candle and fire to clean the ear. Ear candling, where a hollow wax tube is lit on the ear to create a vacuum, is often promoted as a way to remove ear wax. However, this method is ineffective and unsafe. It had very high risk of burns and is very unreliable. I would totally advise against it.

When to seek professional help?

Wax generally does not need any medical attention but few individuals have tendency of wax accumulation. Due to narrow ear canal or absence of enzyme that helps in degenerating the wax. Such individual should seek medical help. Professional will guide you in using wax solvent regularly.

1. Any discharge from the ear, needs medical attention.

2. Prolonged feeling of blocked ear, for more than 1-2 days needs medical help.

3. Severe itching, redness, pain requires medical attention.

4. Any fluctuation in hearing needs medical help.

To summarise, taking care of your ear is simple yet important for maintaining good ear health and hygiene. Most of the time your ear will clean themselves naturally and you don’t need to do anything special. Avoid using cotton swabs, earbuds or any other object to clean the inside of your ears, as it can cause more harm than any good. If you experience any symptoms like blocked ears, itching, discharge, it is better to consult a healthcare professional preferably an ENT doctor. By following these simple tips and being cautious, you can keep your ears healthy and avoid unnecessary problems. Remember, less is more when it comes to ear care!