The ears are self-cleaning, but despite this, videos on TikTok that involve people using small tools, olive oil, and harsh chemicals to remove earwax have been circulating.
Videos like such have garnered millions of views, and now audiologists are saying that going out of your way to clean your ears on your own is not necessary.
Audiologists caution against attempting any earwax removal technique by yourself, as it could lead to a serious consequence – ear damage.
Our earwax works to protect against bacteria entering the ear and traps dirt as well, with earwax typically being expelled out of the ears naturally.
Washing your hair regularly and drying the ear canal opening using a soft cloth should suffice in getting your ears clean, per the Daily Record, so you should ditch the extra gimmicks that promise clean ears but could be harming your ears in actuality.
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“We would advise against trying any method of earwax removal at home due to the increased risk of developing an ear infection or damaging the ear,” said Gordon Harrison, chief audiologist at Specsavers. “As a rule of thumb, don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.”
And Christina Kourie, a clinical audiologist at Pindrop Hearing in London, said: “Wax will naturally work its way out of the ear canal, which can then be cleaned away.”
Kourie shed light on the TikTok trend that sees people cleaning their ears at home using a variety of methods, with multiple social media users posting videos of themselves emptying their ears of wax using tools like hydrogen peroxide, which is a chemical typically used in common household cleaning products.
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Kourie said it’s pertinent to approach this trend using great caution, as there are significant risks that come with putting a cleaning chemical like hydrogen peroxide in your ear and trying to remove the wax with little vision of the ear canal itself.
“Cleaning your ears at home using some of these techniques could damage your ears and hearing,” warned Kourie. “The ear is a very delicate organ, which is actually designed to clean itself. This means that digging and scraping is unnecessary and can make the problem worse, because the tools can push the wax and the debris back into the ear.”
She explained that there’s also a risk of cutting the inside skin of the ear if you’re scraping incorrectly, which could lead to a bacterial infection.
