« New Christmas Tradition | Main | Gotta love YouTube »
January 8, 2007
Reasons why you shouldn't put Q-tips in your ears...
We had a lovely lunch after church on Sunday prepared by one of the guys at South City. During lunch one of my engineer friends really tested my memory of anatomy and physiology in his questions about how the ear works. Inevitably, the use of Q-tips will comes up in conversations like that, which brings me to the purpose of this post. Please stop putting Q-tips in your ears! 
Here are the reasons why...
#1 - It says it right there on the box: Warning: Do not insert into ear canal, could result in injury (or something to that affect). If that warning isn't enough for you, keep reading.
#2 - The wax is supposed to be there! Ear wax is produced by the ear canal to protect the ear from bacteria and foreign objects.
#3 - You'll just push the wax back further into your ear canal. After it goes back into the bony part of your ear canal, it's much more difficult to remove.
#4 - If you're causing a coughing reflex (like Tanya's friend mentioned in her comment) when you use Q-tips, you are putting the swab in too far. There is a branch of the Vagus nerve that runs just below the ear canal wall. Touching the ear canal near this nerve could cause a coughing reaction known as Arnold's Reflex.
If you're concerned that you have too much wax in your ears, go to a doctor or an audiologist. Your primary care physican or an audiologist can usually remove ear wax for you. Just stick to the idea of not putting anything smaller than your elbow in your ear!
On a totally unrelated note, I just want to say how proud I am of VA Tech for beating Duke in overtime on their court!
| By Claire | 6:03 PM
Comments
Thank you Claire, for a wonderfully educational post! :D
Posted by: Heidi H. at January 8, 2007 11:32 PM
well heidi, i don't think i realized what a nerd i really am until after i posted. but thanks for reading! : )
Posted by: claire at January 9, 2007 9:39 AM
No seriously, I liked it! I'm not teasing now. But my mind was filled with questions...
what if you have just a bit of external ear wax, what is the proper protocol for cleaning things up a a bit? or, is that the way your ears are supposed to be?
Posted by: Heidi H. at January 9, 2007 11:39 AM
heidi, i'm glad you seriously liked it. you really don't have to clean inside your ears. you can just wipe around the ear canal with a tissue or a wash cloth. by the way, i don't think i've seen you all year! we'll have to hang out soon.
Posted by: Claire at January 9, 2007 4:11 PM
Hey... thought I'd jump into this errr... ever-so-civil conversation about ear boogers.
If ear wax is such a concern that it is preventing you from hearing, you can purchase over the counter ear drops that will break down the wax, then dries it, then you flush out the residue in your ear canal with water. If I recall correctly, it is a product that is used by/for swimmers.
Posted by: Peter Kuo at January 11, 2007 11:05 PM
thanks for adding to our "ear booger" conversation peter! yes you can buy ear drops at the drugstore and sometimes ENTs will recommend that patients do that if they have hardened wax in their ears. it's still best to check with your doctor first just to make sure that's the best way to go, and to see if they have a "make at home" ear drop solution that might be a lot cheaper.
Posted by: Claire at January 13, 2007 8:25 PM
"Arnold's Reflex" hum. Interesting stuff! I have a good friend that uses these candle cone thingies to draw the wax from her ears. Have you heard of those? Are those o.k. to use? Claire? Peter?
P.S. Is it weird to like that tickle feeling when cleaning your ears? I think that'll be what I miss most.
Posted by: Heidi Vincent at January 15, 2007 4:39 PM
Ooh, I also love that tickle. It gives me a little shiver!
Claire, it was good to see you at PLATES(S)- way to keep things integrated! (North and South)
Posted by: Heidi H. at January 16, 2007 12:01 AM
Heidi V, a lot of people think that candling is great because they say they can see all the ear wax coming out of their ears...but really what is more likely is that they're seeing the candle wax coming out of their ears.
Heidi H, good to see you as well! we'll have to have a combined PLATES soon and i'll try to round up more south side folks.
Posted by: Claire at January 16, 2007 8:09 PM
Yeah- the ear wax candles are a hoax I think. Same result regardless of if they go in your ears.
Very insightful post about q-tips.
Posted by: Brody Bond at February 19, 2007 1:29 AM