One thing that Portnoy does see as a problem: people sticking Q-tips in their ears after wax has built up. “You don’t want to start swabbing if your ear is impacted with wax to begin with ...

In a video with over 2.3 million views, TikToker Hank (@hankyspankyyyy) holds up an empty box of Q-tips.“I know you’re not supposed to put Q-tips in your ear. But I just cranked through this ...

“I’ve seen horrible things happen where people put Q-Tips in there, and then they start brushing their teeth,” Kasper said. “The Q-Tip is still sticking in their ear, and then [something ...

The human ear is a magical organ that allows us to hear and helps keep our balance. It’s also the production site and happy home of ear wax — the orangey-brown, chunky, funky gunk that’s ...

As the old saying goes, “You shouldn’t put anything in your ears smaller than your elbow.” And that includes Q-tips and cotton swabs.. The cotton swabs that most of us use to clean wax out ...

Q-tips are almost addicting to use to clear out wax and it becomes a vicious cycle when we do so, said Douglas Backous, a neurotologist specializing in treating ear and skull conditions.

Wax is normal and good for the ear. “A lot of people associate ear wax with being dirty or unclean, so there’s this kind of aggressive need to keep the ears cleaned out in some way, but we ...

But you can fit a Q-tip, which comes with this warning: “Do not insert swab into ear canal. Entering the ear canal could cause injury.” None of this has stopped people from jabbing things into ...

After taking a shower, Abby Hoffman, 27, proceeded to try to clean her ears with a Q-tip, but that was when she discovered something unexpected—a whole trazodone pill lodged inside her ear.

With no wax, the water will cling and a vicious cycle begins with Q-tip removing water/wax, water clinging, Q-tip removing water/wax…here come the itching and swimmer’s ear infections.

Q-tips are almost addicting to use to clear out wax and it becomes a vicious cycle when we do so, said Douglas Backous, a neurotologist specializing in treating ear and skull conditions.

Every Q-tips box has a warning label: “Do not insert swab into ear canal,” and if you’re going to use it to clean your ears, gently swab the outer part only. But extracting wax from our ear ...