Almost without thinking, we reach for a bud, the tip of a pen, a screwed up tissue or whatever else is closest, to clean our ears. But here’s why we should reconsider our actions
When someone says ‘ear wax’, the most likely reaction from people would probably be one of revulsion, and many remove it from their ears as soon as it forms. However, before you reach for that match stick, hair pin, cotton bud or whatever else you use to remove the wax, consider first why it may be necessary to leave it alone.

The medical term for ear wax is cerumen. It is a yellowish substance produced in the ear canal and it occurs in two forms; dry and wet. While many may consider it a nuisance and be quick to remove it, it is imperative to note that ear wax plays important roles in keeping our ears healthy and functional.

According to buzzle.com, earwax acts a lubricant and a water repellent. It helps to trap foreign particles such as dust, insects or hair and in this way protects the eardrum from the potential damage these particles can cause to the eardrum. Ear wax also has antibacterial and anti fungal properties that keep the ear free from infections. The absence of wax would thus result in dry, itchy ears and in some cases, serious infection.
Ideally, human beings are not supposed to clean their ears, because there is a natural provision for the elimination of ear wax. During chewing, the resultant motion helps to slowly push old wax towards the outer ear. It eventually gets to the outer ear, where it dries up and falls away, carrying with it any dirt along its way.

Given that most of us are not patient enough to wait for nature to take its course, we sometimes opt to manually remove the wax by using objects such as matchsticks, hairpins, rolled up napkin edges and most commonly, cotton ear buds. So we continually poke and scratch the inside of our ear canal in a bid to keep our ears clean. There is even a group on facebook called ‘The society for those who love using ear buds’, for … you guessed it… people who love using ear buds (some confess to addiction).

However, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists warn that this ‘unorthodox’ method of wax removal is dangerous. While cotton buds are useful in other areas such as beauty, they actually push the earwax further in to the ear, causing ear blockage and temporary deafness. They also make the wax hard and solid by compacting it. Even scarier is that if pushed too deep inside, cotton buds can puncture the eardrum, effectively rendering one completely deaf. Cotton buds are also unadvisable because the fine quality of the cotton dries out the ear canal and irritates the sensitive skin surrounding it. This causes itchiness (which would lead to more scratching) and excessive dryness. Other sharp objects used can scrape the skin along the ear canal, leaving painful wounds and an opportunity for more infection. ENT specialists therefore advice not to insert anything smaller than the elbow into the ear!

A neurologist, Dr. Timothy C. Hain suggests alternative domestic ways of removing excessive wax.  He says a few drops of glycerine, olive or baby oil which is later left to drain out by tilting the head sideways safely cleans the ear. There are several other do-it-yourself ways suggested such as the use of warm water or solutions of apple cider vinegar mixed with water in a ratio of 1:1. However, Dr. Kelly Okumu, an ENT specialist in Nairobi says since the ear has a self cleaning mechanism, the safest thing to do is to leave it alone. Besides, if the ear wax is not there to trap dirt and foreign particles, then the eardrum would be at a greater risk of being ruptured.

So the next time you are tempted to poke your ear with anything, think instead of what you could be setting yourself up for … then patiently wait for nature to take its course.

By Wilhelminah Wabuke