Hear Is To Your Health !

Appointment to see a doctor about my hearing - you should totally read this if you use cotton swabs or Q-Tips for your ears.

HEAR IS TO YOUR HEALTH !

Okay, I just got back from seeing my doctor. Now 3-days ago (Oct 5 2013) I was with Rose and we were watching a little video on the computer. Now one thing I like to do, and it's not good, I take a cotton swab and rub it up inside my ear when I'm at home and my hands aren't doing anything.

I know they say on the cover never insert in the ear but man does it feel good !

You know the feeling, it's great, it's like scratching your back with a back-scratcher only better. Anyways, when I removed the swab, the cotton was gone and all I had left was an empty stick ! I panicked and showed Rose and she said that could be a problem.

But then she said maybe she could pull it out. So I had Rose use a bright light to shine in there to see if she could find anything, she said she couldn't. I looked up on the Internet and having cotton stuck in your ear is serious indeed as it can infect quickly !

The next day I felt awful. I was dizzy, my balance was way off, and it felt like - well - cotton was all up my ear. I didn't feel well nor wanted to do very much.

Today I saw the doctor. He took a look in my ear and of course said that I should never put a cotton swab in my ear. But it was worse than that.

He used a special pair of miniature pliers and reached in my ear to not only scrape up against the way inside of my ear but to pull the cotton out from against my eardrum, a piece at a time, and it hurt like crazy and it wasn't just the bit I lost but more cotton from other swabbing and blood was on it !

By the time he was done he pulled out a mess that was an inch across ! I said there was no way that would fit in there. He said it was and it did and that's why it took so long to work at.

Then there was a special antibiotic wash he used which burned and sizzled in there, foaming all over the place. I was in agony. I tell ya, if you ever wanted to torture someone or get information out of them, you put this wash in their ear till they babble the secrets of the state.

Anyways, the doctor then sat down with me quietly and said cotton is a natural fiber and it can get moldy and infected in the ear in a short amount of time. Even rubbing a swab briefly up in there can leave traces of cotton that may never leave.

And water won't necessarily wash it out as it only makes the cotton expand and then it can mold.

So - never NEVER ever put a cotton swab in your ear. I am throwing away my current supply as that was the only reason I was using them for anything - and so as not to tempt me in the future.

I can truly say swabbing the inside of your ear with a cotton swab is as dangerous if not more than smoking a cigarette. And for the same reason - it feels good, but you know it's bad for you.

If you have Medicare/Medicaid the next time you see your doctor, ask if he can examine your ears to see if there are any problems they should know about. That won't cost you anything.

So hear is to your health ! Your eyes and ears are about the most valuable resources you have on your body ! Take care of them !

Just use the shower water to clean out your ears if you think it's got wax in them, that's what my doctor said.

Reviews

[Nikkiela]

It's... bad for you? XD My mom and I have been practically doing this for several years. Especially after a shower to clean our ears. Guess I won't be using it much anymore...
An alternative that would be good is getting a little tool known as a curette. It feels really good when you scratch the walls of your ears and it cleans your ears out out! Although, you must be careful on not going too deep as that can hit your eardrum and it will hurt!

[dw817]

I just looked up, "Curette."
http://bit.ly/1gtIv3r

Hmm ... That does look safer than cotton, all-steel so no cotton to get stuck there. I can certainly check with my Dr and see what he says about that. I know I heard someone say that the biggest thing you should ever put in your ear is your left elbow. :)

[Marie]

I have never put a cotton swab in my ear...I use a bobby pin instead...

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Wow, so sorry to hear about that. But thanks for the information. Now I know what not to do. :) Are you perfectly okay now?

[dw817]

As near (hear ?) as I can tell, I'm a little tired these days. I definitely feel like hibernating with winter coming on, but that's fine. As far as my ears go, they are doing well and I am taking care of them as best I can washing them thoroughly each day and misting a little warm water inside.

I may eventually get myself an Ototek Ear Loop tool, but for now I feel fine. And thanks for your concern, I appreciate that. :)

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Good to hear you are fine. :)

[dw817]

Yep ! Tired tho. I never seem to get enough sleep. Worse in the wintertime. May crash early tonite. Got Teddy running around in his ball in the kitchen. He's having fun anyways.

[annie lee]

Wow -- very important things to know! Like you, I have always taken those warning as overstated. But I certainly will take this story to heart. My daughter is always sticking a cotton swab in her ear, but she will hear about this!

[dw817]

Just be careful. Once that cotton gets in really deep it won't come out and can rot and do permanent damage. I'm off Q-Tips for good now.

[MandaBear]

Very interesting Article. I will be sure to take care of my ears! I hope your doing well with your ears

[dw817]

Doing better. I tell ya, halfway through the procedure I was really getting scared I was gonna lose all hearing in that ear cause he was working so hard in there I was hearing a ringing sound.

[MandaBear]

I am glad to hear your doing better (no pun intended lol)

[dw817]

I am also learning about this Curette tool and similar ones like it for cleaning the ears. They claim they are safe.
http://bit.ly/1c4Xk9N

[Mark]

My doc gave me a little plunger I can fill with warm water and squirt it in my ear to clear excess wax out. It works well.

[dw817]

I'd be a little scared to do that, Mark. Anyways I have my shower and I did that this morning. I know it doesn't feel as good as A Q-Tip but it's immensely safer. Nice that you're thinking with your ears tho ! :)

[Mark]

haha funny :P why would you want to stick a q tip in there but not water? You put water up there when you showered....

[dw817]

I'm - not suggesting it, but there is a muscle or something deep up in your ear that feels REALLY good when you itch it with the Q-Tip. But it's also very bad for you my ear Dr is saying.

I have long learned that with only a few exceptions, anything that feels good in the world, is almost always bad or detrimental for you in some way.

[sushobhan]

I thought i had searched something on Google by this concise information.....

[dw817]

Well, I can never consider myself to offer concise information. Just some of the stupid things I do in this world hoping others don't make the same mistake is all. :)

[ThoughtsofShyann]

this was interesting the information is really cool!

[dw817]

Thanks ! I hope I can cut down on people using Q-Tips for their ears. I know I heard that years ago when I was 10-years old, no doctor approves of it. Now I'm glad to learn it for real - and without a loss to my hearing from Lady Experience in my own stupidity. :)

[Dreamer]

very informative!.................

[dw817]

Glad you like it ! "In the end, it's not the ears in your life that count. It's the life in your ears !" (slight variation of Abraham Lincoln's quote) :)