For many of us, cleaning out our ears is just part of the daily routine. But, that routine could destroy one of our body’s devices for keeping out foreign substances. Earwax helps catch things we don’t want in our ears that could cause infections or other damage.
So, if you’re a chronic ear swabber, you could land yourself in the doctor’s office – either from allowing an infection to grow or from poking and damaging your eardrum.
If you can’t live without the clean feeling you get from swabbing your ears with a Q-Tip (or if you think you can hear better with the wax gone), Greatist suggests using oil and hydrogen peroxide instead, and, if you must use a Q-Tip, inching your fingers closer to the end so you know you won’t go too deep.
