i kinda get off on cleaning my ears. for Questionland Seattle

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i kinda get off on cleaning my ears.

it just feels...so....good. just a dry q tip right after my daily shower, and never too deep. okay, sometimes twice a day. it also appeals to that weird animalistic part of my brain to see what accumulates in one's ear over 24 hours (the same part of my brain that likes cleaning the dryer vent).

i know ear wax probably prevents debris from getting too far into the ear canal. but... do i have to stop?

whiskeypony asked in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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I'm with you, whiskeypony. A Q-tip plunged into that canal right after a shower, nice and deep, touching all of the interior walls in turn... Awww yeah.

In fact, I think we should rename Q-tips "ear dildos," or maybe "ear-dos" for short.

kitschnsync answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

4 comments by kitschnsync, whiskeypony, and capicola…

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And yeah, I know you're not supposed to go deep. I don't care. My doctor is always amazed at the cleanliness of my ear canal, by the way.

kitschnsync commented 8 months ago | Report

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ear-dos! hee-larious! let's make shirts.

whiskeypony commented 8 months ago | Report

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Just proceed slowly and use lots of lube.

capicola commented 8 months ago | Report

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"ear-dos" !!!! Yey!!

MR commented 8 months ago | Report

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Hell yeah. I love that too. It just feels so good!

I try to avoid doing it too much though, cause I hear (get it?) it can be bad. I do it like twice a week. Sometimes it is even more enjoyable when you let it build up a bit and then clean it.

Basil answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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ooohhh - i hadn't thought of that. too bad my self-control is absolutely shot. how rewarding, though!

whiskeypony commented 8 months ago | Report

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It isn't easy, but it can be very very rewarding.

Basil commented 8 months ago | Report

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Ed B

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The temptation to root around your ear with a Q-tip is difficult to resist, but resist it you must:

Q-tips are not unlike the plungers used to load cannon. They can pack softer wax deeply in the ear canal against the eardrum. By creating a formidable plug and preventing the eardrum from moving normally, it is quite easy to cause some ignificant hearing loss. Water can also be trapped behind these self-created wax dams and entertain you by constant sloshing around. When this happens, the ear will need to be lavaged — washed out by a gentle stream of warm water. Or, you
will need to see your medical provider, someone that CAN look inside your ear and remove the impaction professionally.

Chronic Q-tip use creates dryness in the sensitive ear canal. Dry skin itches. People with itchy ears use Q-tips (and other found objects) to scratch them. The scratching causes itching. Do you see the cycle here? Eventually, the damaged skin will break down and crack, allowing opportunistic bacteria or yucky fungus to invade. Congratulations. You have caused otitis externa, also known as Swimmer’s Ear.

Ed B answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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Hmph. Those last two paragraphs appeared as a blockquote in the preview. I wonder what happened. To be clear, they're from a Web MD article by Dr. Rod Moser.

Ed B commented 8 months ago | Report

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You're right. Your downvoters are people who haven't had to go to the emergency room with what they are sure must be a throbbing brain tumor yet. If you pack your earwax, you eventually will. The sensation is indescribably horrible, as the wax on your eardrum amplifies your own bloodflow into a booming, rushing sound that is absolutely maddening. They will wash your ear out for you, but it's not fun.

I recommend getting one of those little kits with the hydrogen peroxide, which softens wax buildup, and the rubber bulb, which allows you to direct a stream of hot water in to wash the softened wax out.

Fnarf commented 8 months ago | Report

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The slightest bit of wax rattling around in my ear canal makes me want to jab anything in to get the offending more out. Q-tips aren't great for you but probably the least harmful object that I'd put in that area to quash the manic desire to get that object OUT.

Black Beetles in Amber answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Q-tip

Tracy M answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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I ALWAYS use a Q tip after a shower, if I forget I am uncomfortable and always feel my ears are too wet!

I did that whole 23andme.com thing, as it turns out I have a wet ear wax type, as opposed to a dry type.

Maybe that's why I think my ears feel so sloshy after a shower. Or maybe I'm just a little neurotic.

Regardless, I can't say whether it's good or bad.

internet_jen answered in Other Health & Fitness 8 months ago | Report

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This is the summary of the ear wax trait on 23 and me:

Wax On, Wax Off
Earwax is a mix of skin, hair, dirt, and oily products secreted by two types of glands in your ear: the ceruminous glands and the sebaceous glands. While many simply consider it to be a nuisance, earwax traps bits of dust and dirt that enter the ear canal and removes them through the natural flow to the exterior of the ear, protecting your inner ear from physical damage. In addition, there is evidence that earwax may contain natural antibiotics that we humans produce, thus keeping potential bacterial invaders at bay. And you thought earwax was just a nuisance!

Earwax comes in two genetically determined types: wet and dry. Wet earwax is probably the type our ancestors had, and is sticky and honey- or brown-colored. Dry earwax, which predominates in northeastern Asia, is flaky and grayish yellow, and contains less glandular secretions than the wet type. It is not known what advantage, if any, one type of earwax might have over the other.

As a general rule, earwax only causes problems when it becomes impacted against the ear drum, usually from attempts to clean out the earwax with blunt tools such as a cotton swab. Impacted earwax can cause hearing loss.

References
Yoshiura et al. (2006) . “A SNP in the ABCC11 gene is the determinant of human earwax type.” Nature Genetics 38(3):324-30.

internet_jen commented 8 months ago | Report