Stop Using Ear Buds Unnecessarily!

I always tell my patients not to use ear buds. Hearing this they used to ask me two question.

1) then how will we clear our ear wax?

2) then why is this ear buds so commonly available?

I think lybrate is a very good platform to answer those questions so that it also reaches the maximum.

1) clearing of wax is a normal process which happen in our ear canal. Wax is produced by the ceruminous glands in the outer canal. Minimal amount of wax is very much necessary for protection of the inner ear canal and ear drum. It prevents entry of foreign bodies into the ear. When we use ear bud inside the ear what we actually does is that we are pushing the ear wax more in towards the ear drum which makes it difficult for the ear to self cleanse. In that way unnecessary use of ear bud leds to excessive accumulation of wax which in turn causes lots of other ear problems like wax keratosis, otitis externa etc. Secondly the skin inside the ear canal is thinning and more sensitive than the outer skin, when we introduce ear buds into the ear we may be unknowingly causing small wounds called abrasions inside the canal. These wounds may get infected later, usually causing fungal infections called as otomycosis.

2) my answer to the second question is that ear buds are good to clean the outer structures of the ear, especially the pinna. Pinna is a complicated structure with lots of curves and turns. In order to clean these parts ear buds are very much useful. With the peculiar shape and size of the ear bud it's meant for cleaning such difficult areas. 

I hope I have conveyed my message and this will at leave save few of my brothers and sisters from conditions like otomycosis, otitis externa, wax keratosis, membrane perforations etc.