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- Dr Henrike Gärtner shares the dos and don'ts for good ear hygiene.
- This includes not cleaning the ears with cotton buds or with ear candling.
- These practices can do more harm than good, she explains, adding that the ear cleans itself.
- She also shares tips for protecting the ear from loud noises and getting water out of the ear.
Many people still use cotton buds to try and clean deep inside the ear canal, but this could do more damage than good. While swabs are okay to use on the outside of the ear, they should not be inserted into the canal. This is because it can push wax deeper into the canal, compressing it and clogging the ear. There's also a risk of injury.
Speaking to Deutsche Welle, Dr Henrike Gärtner, from Charité - Berlin University of Medicine, recalls a patient who ended up damaging their eardrum with an earbud when they were accidentally knocked over, and the swab was shoved deep inside their ear canal.
The ears are self-cleaning, and wax actually protects them by preventing dust, bacteria and germs from entering and damaging the ear. So, there's really no need to be shoving instruments into the canal. Yet, practices like ear candling still exist - this is where a hollow candle is inserted into the ear, and the opposite end of it is set alight. The belief is that a vacuum is created which will draw out any ear wax.
"It doesn't work at all," Dr Gärtner says about the practice. "There are studies that show the ears do not become cleaner, and the risk of complications is immense."
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What about when your ears itch? What should you use to provide relief?
"Itchy ears are often seen in patients who want to keep their ears especially clean. I recommend, first of all, that you clean your ears very little yourself. Because they clean themselves. And the second thing is, you can try using your finger to rub a little oil-based cream around the ear opening, and that spreads itself out a little bit."
Noise and the ear
Loud noises can harm the ear - causing tinnitus and even hearing loss. Dr Gärtner recommends wearing earplugs when attending a concert. But if you don't have any, she says taking some tissue, scrunching it up, and putting it into the ear can work just as well to dampen noise.
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Should you be concerned when water gets into the ear?
"You get water out of the ear after bathing by holding your head at an angle, and then you can wiggle a little bit or hop on one leg, depending on what works. And then you can use a towel to dry off the water," says Dr Gärtner.
She adds that her patients always fear water will seep further into the ear and then disappear somewhere in the head. "That doesn't happen," she says, explaining that the eardrum creates a barrier the water cannot pass.
Deutsche Welle reporter: Kirstin Schumann
