3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Clean Your Ears

In this video we discuss the 3 main reasons you should avoid cleaning your ears:

1. Ear wax has anti microbial qualities and protects your ear from infection and foreign bodies.
2. If you clean with a cotton bud or other physical instrument you risk pushing wax further in.
3. Your ear’s natural self cleaning system (epithelial migration) can be disturbed.

Drops we use and recommend to soften earwax:

[minimoth]

Ill sit here, Ill listen through the whole video, I'll agree this is the healthier alternative but in the end I will refuse to change my behavior

[jennifertaylor]

Yes! Thank you so much for this, Conor. You're a brave man because I can imagine you're going to be on the receiving end of howls of protest from some quarters. People seem to imagine that whatever the body produces MUST be removed or perceived as "dirty" or unhygienic, rather than there for our protection. Bravo for such a clear & concise explanation.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[gugion]

Can we just take a second and appreciate how good of an artist he is?

[Ninjakitty]

this video may just be the push i need to leave my ears alone. Thanks, connor! I'll try to leave them alone :)

[youtube_username_]

Thank you so much. I know I shouldn't but learning why, illustrated so clearly, is very compelling. You're doing good work getting this information out there.

[RydiaMerchan]

I'm so rough on my ears. Watching this channel has helped me want to change that.

[minimac]

YouTube recommended this channel, your accent hooked me in, this is a really good educational video, should be played in schools.

[ghostchaser]

Thank you for explaining all this Conner! It was very enlighten. I've never used cotton swabs in my ears. My father was a nurse so I was always told it wasn't safe. I hope i get a chance to share what I learned today!

[danny]

I've seen to many videos of ears going nuclear from people leaving wax to then having to go and having them cleaned, at the end with horrible results (not from the cleaning) from the infections. I have done mine and no problems.

[altheaapat]

I found myself playing all your vids. Your content is awesome ❤️ thank you.

[Yana-tfhe]

This is very interesting! It would be awesome if you could make a video on alternatives on how to clean the ear, if we have to of course. From now on I will wash only the outer part of the ear using my fingers and soap, and maybe gently swabbing with a ear swab without inserting it inside the ear

[lisanolte]

Very nice. I've heard the explanation of these mechanisms many times, but the visual really helped my understanding.

[djouze]

In a random morning of 2018 I woke up with a lot of pain inn my ear. I couldn't hear anything... Apparently the wax got to a "blocking" point. After using a drop for sometime it got better...

Since then I never stopped hearing a noise in my right ear. I did some exams and etc but no one found out. Since then I'm extremely careful with loud noises. Im also really scared of water entering the ear in any occasion and I don't normally use the cotton swab.

A doctor said my ear drum might've been affected, but never explained anymore than that.

[hollymiller]

I am curious about how this applies to people like me, that don't make waxy cerumen (it's not any thicker than regular sweat) and have very enthusiastic sebaceous glands (oily ears). I pretty much just use cotton buds to absorb excess water from my ears after showers but I always wonder if that's okay. 😅

[LisaFrankie]

using a qtip to scratch my ear canal is so satisfying and works so well, I'll never not use one. I've never had a problem and when warm water mixes with the wax I feel like it's effectively being removed

[TruthOverLies]

My ears bother me after my daily shower so I gently hold a soft tissue in the canal to absorb the water. Sometimes I use my pinky finger to hold it there for a few seconds. It works for me with no issues. TJ Maryland USA.

[StrixTheGamingCat]

I made the mistake of using my fingers and cotton swabs to clean out and itch my ears. That pushed the wax all the way back to the eardrum and getting stuck in that pit. My ears ended up being so clogged I couldnt hear very well anymore but I couldnt go to an ear specialist because my dad prevented me from going and its very expensive to get them cleaned out. So I had no choice but to clean them at home using an endoscope, and some earwax softener. I was only able to get some of the wax out of my right ear to expose the ear drum a bit and now I am able to hear so much more clearly. My ear does feel a bit sore around the walls and probably because the remaining earwax is still sitting near the drum too. I might put some more drops in the right ear to help clean it out. Its really scary to do this at home but I was lucky to not damage the eardrum. I wouldnt recommend doing it at all on your own and never to put your fingers in your ear to itch them. Also dont use earbuds because that will push the wax in too.

[ventibreeze]

Your a cross between Sam claflin and Tom Hiddelston.

[thezionistobadiah]

Thank you for the advice Connor. Love and prayers from Shillong Meghalaya India. God bless you

[jasonhill]

Excellent video. Very informative. Great videos.