This might strike you as a strange question. Many people assume that they need to clean their ears, in the same way that they need to clean any other part of their body, and it is easy to make that assumption. However, as we will see below, this is not quite true, and it is the basis of a misunderstanding about ears which many people in the general public have. In this article, we will take a look at whether you need to clean your ears, and how to make sure that you are keeping them clean in the right way. You might be surprised about the truth when it comes to your ears being kept clean.
Ears are self-cleaning
The first and most important thing to note is that ears are self-cleaning. This is not common knowledge, and a lot of people think that they need to clean the ears themselves thoroughly in order to keep them in working order. However, your ears are designed to clean themselves, and they do so through the use of earwax. That wax that many people are so desperate to be rid of is actually a product of the cleaning process, and is meant to help stop any debris getting into the ear canal. By cleaning it out, you might be exposing your ears to greater risk than they are used to.
Earwax
That earwax is the thing that a lot of people get worried about or end up obsessing over. You might feel you have a build-up of wax, and that might be true, but you need some wax in order for your ears to be as clean as possible. Earwax has antifungal and antibacterial properties, and this is something that your ear needs in order to keep itself as clean as possible. So, if you have a lot of wax, it is not necessarily something that you need to worry about. Of course, if you think you have too much, then there is something that you can do: go and see your audiologist.
Professional ear cleaning
If you want to have your ears cleared of some of the excess wax that can build up as a result of this natural self-cleaning process, then you should go and see an audiologist for a professional ear cleaning. You should not try to remove the wax yourself, with cotton swabs, ear picks or by any other means, as you could end up causing damage for yourself or even making the problem worse by pushing the was further into the ear canal. An audiologist can help you to keep your ears clean – but remember, most of the work will be your ears themselves, following their own natural self-cleaning cycle.
It is a good idea to respect the ear’s natural self-cleaning ability, and to avoid trying to clean them out yourself. If you feel particularly blocked with earwax, go to your audiologist and they will be able to help you safely and swiftly.
