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First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all. Secondly, sure, the wax will fa

First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all. Secondly, sure, the wax will fall out on its own if you don't Q-tip it....but do you like looking at people with little gobs of wax falling out of their ears? I clean my ears regularly with Q-tips for those two reasons. Yes I stick them in the ear canal. No I don't push the wax deeper (you just need to twist as you put it in). And no I've never in my 50 years had an ear infection or hurt the eardrum.

jtheory 11y ago
If you shower regularly and wash the parts of your ears that you can reach (as one does) you won't have problems with loose wax falling out of your ears during the day.
- joveian 11y ago
  Not true for all of us. I sometimes (not all the time) get very rapid wax buildup, to the point where it can affect my hearing within days. Other times I can be fine for months without cleaning my ears. OTOH, using Q-tips after I shower prevents it from ever being a problem and clears out the water that might otherwise feel odd on occasion when it doesn't dry quickly for some reason (I'm guessing due to excess wax buildup). I've tried hydrogen peroxide, but it takes much longer, wasn't particularly effective, makes me dizzy, and also doesn't always dry. Q-tips work and have never caused me trouble. P.S. Neat trick: if you pull your ear up and back a bit, your canal straightens.
jrockway 11y ago
> First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all. Actually, they use almost the exact wording you used to explain this in the article: > We continue to twist Q-tips in our ears thanks to a simple truth: It feels great. I thought this was especially interesting. The thought of putting a Q-tip in my ear freaks me out big time. (Surely I've done it at least once, and I remember it making a loud noise, and it feeling like you're going to puncture your eardrum. And I have no real sensitivity in my ears, I've slept with earplugs every night for a decade!)
- robbrown451 11y ago
  Somehow I missed that. Oops.

jtheory 11y ago

If you shower regularly and wash the parts of your ears that you can reach (as one does) you won't have problems with loose wax falling out of your ears during the day.

joveian 11y ago
Not true for all of us. I sometimes (not all the time) get very rapid wax buildup, to the point where it can affect my hearing within days. Other times I can be fine for months without cleaning my ears. OTOH, using Q-tips after I shower prevents it from ever being a problem and clears out the water that might otherwise feel odd on occasion when it doesn't dry quickly for some reason (I'm guessing due to excess wax buildup). I've tried hydrogen peroxide, but it takes much longer, wasn't particularly effective, makes me dizzy, and also doesn't always dry. Q-tips work and have never caused me trouble. P.S. Neat trick: if you pull your ear up and back a bit, your canal straightens.

jrockway 11y ago

> First of all, cleaning your ear canals with Q-Tips feels really good. That seems important, but they don't mention this at all. Actually, they use almost the exact wording you used to explain this in the article: > We continue to twist Q-tips in our ears thanks to a simple truth: It feels great. I thought this was especially interesting. The thought of putting a Q-tip in my ear freaks me out big time. (Surely I've done it at least once, and I remember it making a loud noise, and it feeling like you're going to puncture your eardrum. And I have no real sensitivity in my ears, I've slept with earplugs every night for a decade!)

robbrown451 11y ago
Somehow I missed that. Oops.