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| Article: Ear Wax, a necessary evil - by John Currie | ||
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Do you have clean ears and is there really a need to clean your ears of
ear wax? There is and old saying which goes, "Don't stick anything into yours ears that is smaller than your elbow!" It is good advice and it is certainly well worth following. Why do you think that box of cotton swabs has a warning about not sticking them in your ears? It cannot be stressed enough that your ears are extremely delicate, and one has to be very gentle when cleaning them. That’s why you should never stick anything into your ears or up the ear canal, even something as soft as a cotton swab must be kept well away from your ear canals. The ear wax that gets produced in the ear is very necessary and that ear wax is not something that your body produces that is simply manufactured to irritate you and to be scratched out! Cotton swabs actually cause trauma to the ear canal. If not carefully used physical damage can and does often occur. Don't let this happen to you! Wax is not formed in the deep part of the ear canal near the eardrum, but only in the outer part of the canal. Instead of removing ear wax, what you are far more likely to achieve is to aggravate the situation by pushing the ear wax, old skin and other debris towards and against the ear drum. A swab may remove a little ear wax, but it's more likely to push the ear wax deeper into the ear canal. Many people suffering from tinnitus report that their tinnitus often started or was aggravated after a prolonged period of “self ear maintenance”, which consistsed mainly of shoving ear buds or swabs, pens, pencils, hair pins or in fact, anything else that is handy, up the ear canal and having a good old scratch. As mentioned earlier, this often only has the effect of pushing the ear wax and debris even further up the ear canal and against the ear drum. Some aggresive pushing, scratching and scraping around in the ear canal is the norm. Normally all that is achieved is: loss of hearing ear infections ear drum damage and possibly worst of all cochlea damage from the shock and noise of all that scratching about in the ear tinnitus... This hearing loss is normally only due to the wax being “stopped up” against the ear drum and is not of a permanent nature. Being the aggresive and determined creatures we are, we then visit our doctor with this irritating ear wax problem or itch, and he brings out his "big guns". The Water cannons... If the doctor performs this procedure himself, which obviously is your best bet, he will rinse your ear canal out with high pressure jets of water. He does this by using jets of water that get forced up the ear canals at high pressure! Very often the doctor will let their assistants or nurse do the procedure, which is not a good idea at all! Whilst this rather drastic procedure does have the desired effect of removing the ear wax, the shock and noise of the treatment also often causes even further damage to the delicate organs of the inner ear. Most damage is done to the cochlea, which has some 15,000 microscopic sensory hair cells and nerve endings which are very fragile and are easily damaged by the extreme shock and noise the jets of water create when hitting the ear drum. The cochlea which looks much like a hollow, spiral snail's shell, and which contains a fluid and millions of tiny hairs which are all connected to the auditory nerve. Sound waves transmitted by the ossicles cause this fluid to move, which in turn causes the tiny hairs to move much like wheat in a wheat field when the wind blows. When these tiny hairs move, signals are sent via auditory nerve to the brain When these hairs or the delicate nerve endings in the cochlea are damaged tinnitus can result. Many things can cause cochlea damage damage, including a severe blow to the head, but usually it is exposure to high levels of noise that causes the tinnitus. Examples of the noise are explosions, gunfire and mortar explosions often experienced by people in the military or police forces, people who have or still do frequent clubs and discotheques with exceptionally loud music, and workers in noisy factories or work areas. The shock and noise of the water hitting the eardrum is often as great as hearing a loud explosion and can cause just as much damage. You can see an animated picture of how sounds travel up the ear canal by visiting the tinnitus page at our tinnitus website. The tinnitus caused by cochlear damage are many and varied and can include sounds of ringing bells, chirping sounds, sounds like cicadas, roaring, hissing and fluttering sounds. Tinnitus often occurs or gets very much worse after one of these water cannon sessions. This type of tinitus is referred to as Type 4 tinitus and you can more information by visiting the tinnitus site at http://www.t-gone.com/index2.htm and exploring the tinnitus, Meniere's Disease or Hyperacusis links you will find there. If you really, really feel the need to have your ear wax removed, please visit a specialist, who will use a magnifying scope and a small instrument to remove ear wax. This is the safest way to have it done and is not likely to cause damage to those sensitive inner ear organs! Keeping those jets of water away from your ear canals is your safest option. It simply makes sense to have an ENT perform the procedure if you must have it done. Ear wax is good for you... If water gets in your ear canal, while you're swimming or taking a shower, for instance, the earwax will cause the water to bead up and move away from your eardrum. The natural slipperiness of the earwax encourages the water to run out of the canal. Ear wax is also slightly acidic, which discourages bacterial or fungal growth in the moist, dark ear canal. Without earwax, it would be almost impossible to avoid ear infections. The ear wax that your body produces is part of a self-cleaning system. Most people don't need to do any ear maintenance at all. The ear wax slowly migrates toward the opening of the ear canal and is sloughed off. If you want, you can take a washcloth and, using your finger; gently wash the opening of your ear. A small minority of people do produce unusually large amounts of earwax. If your ear canal keeps getting clogged, you may need to see a doctor occasionally to have it removed. Make sure this ear wax is removed by an ENT specialist, using the correct equipment and procedures as described above. Can you clean your ears of ear wax yourself? Sure you can, if you are gentle and follow the following guidelines. Because the ear canal is hourglass-shaped, earwax often creates a plug that makes it difficult for the ear to come out on its own. The best, and safest way to clean your ears safely is to use a solution of half white vinegar and half rubbing alcohol. Tilt your head to one side and put in a few drops. Wait a few seconds, then tilt your head to the other side and let the waste drain out. Do the same for the other ear and repeat the procedure as necessary. Don't use this solution if you have a hole in the eardrum or have tubes in your ears. Removing ear wax on your own is not recommended if you have a history of ear infections or other ear problems such as a hole in the eardrum. Rinsing the ear canal with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) results in oxygen bubbling off and water being left behind-wet, warm ear canals make good incubators for growth of bacteria. If you do use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), flushing the ear canal with rubbing alcohol will displace the water and dry the canal skin. Remember the following: If cotton swabs are bad for your ears, that definitely means sharper objects like hair-pins, pencils and ballpoint pens and keys are off-limits for ear wax removal. One thing you definitely don't want to do is get rid of all your earwax. * Ear wax isn't dirt. It's a normal secretion that protects your ear, just the way other kinds of wax protect your car. Ear wax is nature's essential protective lubricant for the ear canal and should be viewed as a necessary evil. More information on tinnitus, Meniere's Disease and Hyperacusis, the causes and how they can be treated, can be found at our web site at: http://www.t-gone.com/index2.htm John Currie T-Gone Remedies, Inc. Web: www.t-gone.com/index2.htm Email: John@t-gone.com |
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John Currie |
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