Cotton buds – what are the real risks?

It can be hard to resist using cotton buds in your ears – no matter how many times we’re told to avoid it. But why shouldn’t we? It suddenly becomes a lot easier to resist the urge when you know the exact risks those little buds pose to your delicate ears. So, let’s lay them all out so we’re all on the same page when it comes to cotton buds.

First of all, let’s travel back to 1923. Leo Gerstenzang designed cotton buds to clean his baby’s ears, making them a mainstream health and beauty staple for decades after. But concerns began to rise regarding their safety in the 70s, with reports of perforated ear drums, infection and pain. Since then, we are strongly urged to use them only for makeup and cream application, and to keep them well and truly away from our ears.

So, what are the risks? And how can we effectively clean our ears without them?

They’re too big
That’s right, a cotton bud can only go so far into your ear before the ear canal gets too narrow. They’re also hard and inflexible, so can’t bend around the corners of your ear. This means it can scratch and damage the sensitive skin inside. If this happens, it could lead to pain and risk of infection.
They can push wax deeper into the ear
You may be able to remove a tiny amount of ear wax with a cotton bud, but you’re likely pushing far more wax deeper into your ear. This can impact the wax, making it harder for the body to remove naturally. When this happens, it can begin to build up and block your ears, which could cause earache, tinnitus and dulled hearing.
It could perforate your eardrum
If used deep into the ear, cotton buds can break or perforate the eardrum. This can be severely painful and could even lead to permanent hearing loss or long-term hearing issues.
It could fall off inside the ear
There’s also a risk the cotton bud may come off inside the ear. This increases your chance of infection, can dull hearing and can also be painful to remove.

So, with all these very real risks laid out for us, it suddenly becomes much easier to resist reaching for those little buds. But what should you do if you need to clean your ears?

It’s worth noting that ears are self-cleaning. The body works hard to breakdown and remove wax naturally from the ear canal. So, most of the time you shouldn’t need to clean your ears at all.

However, if wax builds up too much, your hearing may seem dulled, and you may feel a ‘full’ sensation inside your ear. If this happens, try using ear drops, such as Otex Olive Oil or Otex Express, to help soften and move the wax out of your ears.