Things you should NEVER do to your ears!

This is why you should avoid using ear buds or any other objects to get rid of ear wax.

Your ears are one of the organs that tend to get a lot of attention. For one, earrings are the most common accessory worn by women and men alike. Other than the aesthetic aspect of your ears, most of us tend to obsess over keeping them clean and in some case, a few adults tend to go a little overboard in getting rid of ear wax. Dr Rajesh Valand, ENT, Head & Neck Surgeon, BSES Hospital, Mumbai says that it is best to avoid trying to get rid of ear wax or cleaning your ears with an ear bud or any other object. While many people have formed a habit of using ear buds, ENT specialists say there are many dire consequences of trying to clean out ear wax at home on your own.

These are some of the interesting items that Dr Valand says he has removed from his patient s ears who were in the process of cleaning their ears:

Cotton balls from ear buds
Pencils nibs
Hairpins
Paperclips
Phone s stylus

People need to remember that ear buds should never be used for getting rid of ear wax. If you read the directions written behind any popular ear bud manufacturing company, nowhere is it written that it should be used for cleaning out ear wax. Their main purpose is only for soaking water from the ears after a bath or swim. By using an ear bud, you are only pushing the wax deeper inside, due to which it gets stuck and can cause infection and excruciating pain in some cases especially if the ear drum gets perforated, says Dr Valand.

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Other than ear buds, adults use any stationery item they find on their office desk to clean their ears. I have removed several pencil nibs or broken pencils, part of a pen, and pins from adult patients ears. Doing so can potentially be dangerous if the ear drum gets ruptured, he adds, 'In one case, a broken mobile phone s stylus had to be removed from a male patient s ear'. Also, did you know your earphones could make you sick?

While they may seem amusing or surprising for many of us that adults would insert foreign objects in their ears, doctors say they routinely see such cases in the OPD and urge their patients not to clean their own ears at all. There are two types of ear wax dry and greasy. In people who have dry wax, experts say one need not even bother with ear cleaning as most of the time dry wax loosens and falls out on its own. Dr Valand says, out of 50 patients he sees, 46 have dry wax. It is only if you have greasy wax will you need to visit your doctor s clinic every six months in order to avoid heavy wax build up. Here's how to get rid of ear pain in 15 minutes.

Though it might seem tempting to get rid of ear wax on your own instead of spending a long time in your doctor s clinic, remember that even taking a head bath helps in clearing out some wax. If you want to deep clean ears, your consult your doctor as he can easily remove it with an injection of peroxide and water, which is almost painless. These are the 8 causes of ear pain.