Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. You've probably used cotton swabs to clean your ears. Here's why ENTs say you shouldn't. (Getty Images) (LaylaBird via Getty ...

There are over-the-counter eardrops that can help break up excessive earwax. Water-based options contain ingredients such as acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium bicarbonate. Oil-based products ...

Most of us have done it. After a shower, you grab a cotton swab, tilt your head, and twist it gently inside your ear. It feels satisfying, almost like a ritual. The cotton comes out with a hint of ...

You’ve been told for years that you’re not supposed to clean your ear canal with a cotton swab. It’s dangerous and not very effective…. but it feels so good! So you do it anyway, day after day. The ...

A man in England has sworn off cleaning his ears with cotton swabs after developing a potentially life-threatening infection that not only affected his hearing, but also spread to the lining of his ...

We all know that you’re not supposed to clean your ears with a Q-tip. And yet, people still do it all the time. Surely you’ve heard the horror stories about a friend of a friend of a friend piercing ...

I'll warn you now: This is a topic that's not exactly, as my mother would say, "dinner table conversation." But I know that doctors caution against using cotton swabs to clean inside your ears—they ...

While most of us do this, it is not safe. Cleaning ears with cotton swabs may lead to fatal ear infection! As per doctors, this practice may affect your hearing ability and can even give you a ...

It says right there on the packaging: “Do not insert swab into ear canal.” Speak with an ear-nose-and-throat doctor, and you’ll hear the same thing. “We always say, ‘Never put anything smaller than ...

As tempting as it might seem to reach for a Q-tip when your ears feel uncomfortable, one doctor has warned against doing so. "Using Q-tips to clean your ears might feel satisfying, but it can actually ...