cleaning ear wax

Most of us know that the volume of an MP3 player or I-Pod can be hazardous to your hearing, but so can the ear buds you put in your ears.

According to ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Ravi Samy anything that pushes wax further down in the ear canal is a potential hazard to your hearing and your health.

“I've seen patients who have become dizzy, perforated the eardrum, patients who go deaf by accident, created ear infections, because it's the thinnest skin in the body, it's easy to destroy by accident,” he said.

Samy says even Q-tips push the wax down.

“When you hit the wax with a Q-tip, it actually pushes it further down, to the ear canal, so you think it's clean, but it actually causes more problems down the road,” he said.

Actually, the wax is good for your ears.

“Ear wax is also known as cerumen, and basically there are glands in the ear canal that produce ear wax and what they do is they help fight off infection,” Samy said.

Ear wax only needs to be removed if you are experiencing hearing loss from it, which is extremely rare. And then, Samy says, have it done professionally or with over-the-counter products.

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