Why ear buds are bad for you

When we feel like cleaning our ears, many of us reach for an ear bud. But while the tiny cotton-tipped sticks may seem like the perfect earwax removal device, using them to get gunk out of our ears does more harm than good.

In a Business Insider video, Otolaryngologist Erich P. Voigt explains why sticking an ear bud into your ear isn’t just ineffective — it’s downright dangerous.

When we use an ear bud to remove ear wax, Voigt explains, we actually end up pushing wax towards our ear drum, where it can get stuck and harden. If you use them too often, wax can end up hardening along the entire length of your ear canal, and you’ll end up with an inch-long “crayon amount” of wax.

Voigt is far from the only doctor who recommends keeping ear buds away from your ears: Otolaryngologist Stephen Rothstein gave similar advice in an interview with Slate back in 2013, explaining that the old adage “never put anything smaller than an elbow in your ear” has some real truth to it. “Buy ear buds if you want to make an ear doctor rich,” he quipped.

Fortunately, you don’t have to get rid of your Q-Tips completely. The versatile cotton swabs have plenty of uses, from cleaning faucets to unsticking zippers. Plus, they’re totally safe for cleaning the outer part of your ear, just as long as you don’t push them into your ear canal.