Truth is truth; when you find what is truly of God and He teaches and reveals unto you, the choice to accept it or not is up to each one of us – we will be held in accounting for that choice as well, unto good or bad.

May the Father of us all guide us into the truth and light from above in the storm at hand.

So what the heck are you supposed to use to clean your ears?, cause just splashing up water does not work lol

I’ve used Q-tips my entire life. My parents have used Q-tips their entire lives. They have better hearing than most people their age. I have better hearing than many people my age. Q-tips were invented for the ear. The only reason that the Q-tip boxes tell you not to use them for your ears is because there are idiots in the world that push too far and there are idiot judges and juries willing to award idiots that push too far with Q-tips big settlements (same thing with doctors). The boxes didn’t used to tell you not to use them for your ears, and plenty of people have been using Q-tips for their primary intended use for decades.

In comparison to Q-tips – Did you all know that the Romans used to use small metal spoons similar to what we now use for nut picks. The main difference being a small scooped end. Many Romans used this tool regularly to clean their ears. Archeological digs have shown it was a common household item. Q-tips are fuzzy cotton balls attached to the end of a paper (or plastic) stick. They’re quite easy and safe to use on your ears as long as you DON’T PUSH TOO FAR OR TOO HARD.

As a Deaf Studies graduate and one that has studied Audiology, Q-tips are not meant to be used in your ear.  If you have used them in your ear and suffered no damage then you have been lucky.  Your ears are designed to 1. have cerumen (ear wax) because it protects your ear canal (bugs hate it) and 2. the ears naturally push out cerumen gradually and naturally.

You may think that makes you dirty but it really has a function.  Use a tissue to clean the outer part of your ear but never put anything in your ear canal ever.  You could push cerumen deeper into your ear thus blocking the canal and limit your hearing.

MarsBars (previous poster), you shouldn’t call anyone an idiot unless you know what you are talking about.  Just because Q-tips may have been invented for ears doesn’t mean that is what you should be doing with them.  The ear is quite a marvelous part of your body, how it works and how it is designed to capture sound and how it is naturally protected really is amazing.

But you don’t have to take my word for it, do some research on your own.

Your good hearing may just simply be genetic and have nothing to do with the fact that you and your family are Q-tip fanatics.

I have major trouble with my ears. According to my dr I have an inordinate amount of wax which he says is an inherited problem. My entire family has trouble with it. Consequently we commonly dig around in our ears with Q-tips, bobby-pins, and really anything that can grab this wax and get it out of there. Our ears itch relentlessly. One time the dr told me I had a fungal problem in my ear and the treatment helped a lot. But a few years later it was a bacterial problem. It never ends.

Every dr tells me that my problems are made worse by the fact that Q-tips pull out these little tiny hairs in our ears that are supposed to keep out bad stuff.  Without these little hairs my ears now have to be vacuumed out. I would use one of the lavage methods but they usually result in fungal infections because the water doesn’t drain properly from my ears.

So, while this is kind of a stupid discussion to have here, maybe this will lend a little explanation of the medical point-of-view on the subject.

All I can say here, is gimme a break.  Anyone who has had an itch in their ear and cleaned it out with a Q-Tip was putting their hearing at risk?  I think not.  Sad to say, and it definitely applies here, “a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing”.  Common sense comes before “college taught knowledge” any day in my book.

When I was a kid in the 50s my mother routinely used the looped end of bobbie pins to clean out my ears. Q-Tips were a step up, believe me! I still use Q-Tips when I sense that there is a buildup of wax, and I’m sure I’ll continue the practice the rest of my life. On a side note, sometimes I think being deaf might be a benefit…

True, but his point is that the Q-tips did not harm or reduce hearing capacity.  Not that they are supposed to somehow CREATE better hearing.

I apologize for calling people that push Q-tips into their ears too far and too hard damaging their ears permanently and then blaming the result on the manufacturer and suing the manufacturer for it idiots. What I should have called them is unaccountable moneygrubbing stupid-heads. Just the judges and juries that would award them money are idiots.

“Do some research on your own.” I completely agree. Start with old folks homes. Go to the nearest retirement village and ask the people that can hear just fine if they ever cleaned their ears with Q-tips. That’s a great place to start. Then, just work your way down the age ladder. I’ll just bet that you come to a conclusion right quick after the first dozen people… But what am I saying. I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Hey, thanks for the informative comment about ear wax Kurt. If you had been alive during Roman times you may have saved the fall of the Roman Empire as they would have been able to hear the Visigoths and Lombards coming. (Just ribbing you.)

As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I have  had to remove the cotton from q tips out of the ear canals of  two adults in the last month.  It doesn’t happen that often, but it does happen and  sometimes the resultant  bare stick scratches  the canal causing an infection.

Yep. People that married into the family that use Q-tips regularly on their ears that have good hearing… just coincidence that they have good genetics too. Maybe if we didn’t use Q-tips we’d all be hearing just as good, or even better, but with the added bonus of having earwax build up in our ears and making our ears itch, leaking out onto pillows at night, and just looking gross when someone is close enough to see in our ears from the right angle.

You know, even after the warning on the box, knowing that SOME doctors tell you not to use Q-tips in your ears, and reading your sound logic, I still don’t regret having used Q-tips my whole life and I really do feel compelled to continue using them. I guess I’ll just continue to press my “luck”.

P.S. There have been medical professionals who claimed that fluoride and melamine are perfectly fine to ingest. There are medical professionals that are trying to claim that smoking marijuana is a health positive, and much healthier than smoking tobacco. You know what? I might be a rebel here, but I’ll stick to avoiding melamine and fluoride ingestion and I’ll continue to abstain from Mary Jane.

The boxes only say that because someone at one time shoved the q-tip through their ear drum instead of holding it in a manner to keep it safely at the right depth. It’s a liability issue. The manufacturer just doesn’t want to get sued. I have used them in my ear for all my life without issue. If I couldn’t use them in my ear it would drive me nuts every time an itch developed in there.

I like the term “stupid-heads.” I’m going to use it to annoy my friends and family  Thanks for the tip (pun intended)

Q-tips tend to push wax deeper into the ear and pack it in… I use Q-tips and thought I was going deaf once.. turned out to be excess wax. If you do have a wax build-up doctors say to use a simple liquid baby laxative or some ear wax sofener..put a few drops in the ear.. leave it for about 10 minutes and then use a ear flushing bulb to squirt some warm water into the ear flushing it out. You can also use a warer pick on low setting or just stand in the shower with the water spraying into your ear. But I still use the Q-tips on the outer ear and just inside the cannal. 

First, Q-Tips were around long before there were electronic components to be cleaned by them. Second, why do they carry Q-tips in most drug stores in the eyes, nose and ear sections. Third, why do most medical professionals use Q-tips in their own ears and fourth, why does my own doctor advise on the safe usage on Q-tips? So personally, I think your Doctor is a quack Stu!

You are 100% right Kurt. As a mother to a child who used hearing aids before his cochlear implants many professionals had said NOT to use q-tips as they actually push wax FARTHER into the ear canals! And younger people should never ever use them because they may push them to far into the ear and can cause themselves permanent damage and hearing loss. Ear wax will work it’s way out naturally. Q-tips to clean the outside of the ear is okay. There are many ear cleaning kits that will bubble the ear wax out. My son had earwax problems. Wearing the hearing aids would push it into the canal and he would have them cleaned by a professional with the correct “loop” tool.

We were also told by the Cleveland Clinic by an ear surgeon that q-tips were a no no. Our son was sneaking them to clean his ears and he had a huge wax pellet down inside each ear. After we and he saw what was removed he no longer would sneak them to use!

And as an aid in a nursing home I saw lots of hearing affected by ear wax buildup and guess what? They nurse would remove it with that cool loopy tool and we were told NOT to use q-tips as an injury to the inner ear could occur. And most older people do have some form of hearing loss. Q-tips? Environmental? Hereditary? Age? A combination of any of those? Very few do not have some form of hearing loss.

And forgive me for saying this,  BUT… blowing snot out, hacking out a phlem wad and wiping oozing pus and cleaning extremities really is not the same as putting something into the body. Trust me I took care of that for a living. Not remotely near the same.

Thanks but I’ll stick to the professionals. 

I had to get my ears cleaned last summer at Ft. Lewis, WA.  They pulled a piece of cotton out and the SGT held it up and said “Thats why we don’t recommend Q-Tips”
…but I still use them.  The prescribed method is a wet washcloth (somehow).

Interesting point of view. Brings another angle to all of this. Makes alot of sense though. While this is a stupid heated topic (I agree) just because one wants to put something in the ear and a company makes things to put in the ear,……. doesn’t make it safe to do so.

I like the way my doctor explained it: never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.

Think about Colonial America and repeated preparation for firing a musket – but never firing the musket. Might keep steam from shooting out the ears.

LOL, I thought MY Mom, (in the early 60′s when I was young), was the ONLY one who did that with bobbie pins!!.
Like a commenter below me, me & my family have always been told we have excessive earwax. It got to the point I actually had tubes put in my ears as an adult because of recurrent ear infections, (apparently my “tube” into the upper nasopharanx never shut like it does in most kids as they get older & every sinus infection turns into an ear infection). A friend, an MD, but also who practices naturopathic medicine, gave me some candles about ten years ago when she caught me using Q-Tips.
I still have the “special” candles-never did find out what to do with the things!!

Huh, what did you say?

I have never had problems with using Q-tips in my ears.  I have great hearing and very clean ears!   The problems that may be developing in the ears are I believe caused by the parasites that are being brought into our country on fruits, vegetables, and meats shipped to stores such as SAM’S and COSTCO.  Doctors don’t want us to know that we more than live like Venezuela with government problems.  We also have the diseases and unknowns like all third world countries.  Pictures aren’t accepted as truth, though.  Doctors also have told me that Texas does not have any parasites other than crytosporidium and giardia.  What a friggin joke!!!!  I guess we don’t have tuberculosis here anymore, either.  What heaven it would be if our leaders and doctors did not constantly lie to us.

Sound levels are not watched by many people, and that can lead to all the hearing loss.  I blame the television stations for playing such loud commercials, too.  Any thing too loud is going to cause a negative reaction.  We were told that commercials were going to have the volume lowered.  I can’t tell that they have changed that over yet.  I am still hoping for some common sense in the media world.   Other than with GBTV or Mercury radio I don’t think that I am going to see it in  my life time; however.

Have you ever accidently pushed a Q-tip slightly too far into your ear? What happened? You had a natural reaction that caused you to get that sucker out of your ear faster than a cowboy can sling a gun out of his holster… Unless your ear canal is strait, as is the case for children and individuals who have Down syndrome, then you would have to be a masochist to be able to continue to push the Q-tip beyond the pain and actually injure your ear drum.

Q-Tips not for the ear? BITE ME. No, I was not one of those brain-dead 3-year-olds who shoved quarters up his nose. I know how to look both ways — twice — while crossing a street, and also know how to use a @#$-ing Q-Tip, for heaven’s sake. What is WRONG with people? Must they have overseers for every event in their lives? It’s like I’ve said before: People. The world is FULL of them.

There are a lot of nerve endings in the ear. And a lot of those nerves are hooked up to other parts of our body, especially internal organs. Certain nerves that are in the skin of the ear canal connect to the intestinal organs.
The Romans were having their orgies, they wanted to eat as much food as they could eat. And then sometimes they would want to regurgitate so that they could eat more food.
They had vomitoriums.
And one of the cute little ways they had of making themselves regurgitate was to tickle their ear canal with a feather.
That would trigger a reflex. They would regurgitate. Then, they could go back to the food orgy and have many more courses of their favorite foods.
Those Romans where strange people. No wonder their empire fell. Sound familiar (liberal progressive Americans)???

I think everyone is missing the real point.  It’s not about the q-tips, the wax, or the ears.  It’s about the doctors method of explaining this to stu.  The doctor didn’t call stu a dumb-head.  He explained calmly without name calling or yelling, then showed him the proof.  Maybe this is the method to use when discussing glenn’s ideas to our friends who will not listen?

I once had my above-average hearing tested… and the woman said “don’t use q-tips” so I stopped. A few weeks later, I was discussing something with an employee and leaning over his desk when a chuck of wax fell out of my ear and landed right on the paper where were were talking. I brushed it off but I’m sure he thought it was a booger or something. Obviously something like that must have happened to the Romans too! How embarrassing!

Mars – ince you mentioned removing mucus from your nose! — I used to have a heckuva problem all winter and spring with a runny nose. I’d use up two or three handkerchiefs at work, and be blowing my nose all the time at home or wherever. Then I heard Dr. Dean Edell on the radio (anyone remember “America’s Doctor”? He’s retired now), saying that blowing your nose moves the mucus two ways: out, and also UP! Up meaning into the sinus passages, where it can cause minor infection and produce much more mucus (or where it also can contribute to a major sinus infection requiring antibiotics). Does that mean one should go around just wiping their nose on their sleeve all the time?! No, the recommendation is, just pinch and wipe your nose to expel mucus into your handkerchief or tissue. For me, after a couple of weeks, I never again had a runny-faucet nose — and that has been for at least 15 years! Sometimes, the doc’s really are right!

I’ve heard this so many times from so many people. They also say that it shoves ear wax further in and not out. Ok, well I had one smart doctor explain it honestly, here is the secret, you ready? Everyday when you shower, tilt your head and run water in and out of your ears, then after your shower while your ears are still wet, clean them with a Q-tip, this removes excess water and wax from your ears. My Ears are squeaky clean always. The trick is you stay ahead of the wax, preventing any build up at all. When you use a Q-tip you shouldn’t even see anything on it, that proves they are being maintained correctly. Try it you will feel much better, and you won’t feel gross about having nasty wax falling out of your ears. 
YOUR WELCOME

For the gentle touch newborns need, moisten Q-tips® cotton swabs with warm water to clean your baby’s outer ear, folds of the neck or between toes. With more cotton at the tip than any other swab*, Q-tips® are soft and gentle for use with babies.

http://www.qtips.com/family_care.php

Home Care
Q-tips® cotton swabs are the perfect tool when you want to clean anything down to the last detail. They are a great tool to use anywhere around the house, from cleaning to touching up in those tiny hard-to reach places.

Keep your home office in good condition. Use a moist Q-tips® cotton swab to clean the edges of the computer screen and between the keys on your keyboard ….. wait …. I have some stuck under the “L” key …. now 3x LOL comes out O O O …. NoeL …. waka waka

Originally Q-tips were for cleaning ears and babies – they were sterilized.  China makes everything with toxic materials.  Tell Walgreens to remove Q-tips from the ‘baby supplies shelf.

The product was originally called Baby Gays and in 1926, the labels were changed to read Q-tips® Baby Gays. Later the name Baby Gays was discarded and Q-tips® became the identifying mark for cotton swabs. The Q in Q-tips® stands for quality and the word tips describes the cotton swab at the end of the stick. ( The original design is the one that really has me bugged – it was fashioned after a ball of cotton on a tooth pick ?? OUCH ! )

My dad used the loop end of a bobby pin very gently to clean out  his ears. It works like a little hook and does not push the wax in like Q-tips. Give it a try!

I stopped using Q Tips and had repeated wax build up and ear infections despite using the recommended stuff.  Finally my doctor, an actual friend, told me to use the Q Tips right after a shower.  No more trips to the doctor for that problem in the 25 years since that honest and probably not politically correct bit of information.  I’m pretty sure all those infections would have done more damage to my ears than the Q Tips ever will.

Actually they were never invented for the ears 
“One day in 1923, Leo Gerstenzang found himself watching his wife applying cotton wads to toothpicks in an attempt to reach hard-to-clean areas. Gerstenzang, inspired, soon produced a one-piece cotton swab.” Anyways, most docs / articles recommened against usage of it, even my parents and everyone I know uses them without issues but that does not mean the act is correct, everyday we have new data backing old habits that are not advisable anymore, this seems to be one of them. FYI The other famous one to be current is to not brush your teeth at least for 30 mins after a meal even though all history told us to do it right after.