Wireless earbuds may be practical and look cool, but they could actually cause b൲ig problems f🐷or your ears.
An expert has warned that wearing earphones, such as Apple’s AirPods, could lead to smelly, itchy and often painful infections.
Our ears produce wax to protect the skin of the canal, help in cleaning and lubricati﷽on, and also provide protection from dust and other foreign particle🐟s.
But when this natural process is obstructed, it can lead to a build-up of wax — which is actually a combination of dirt, sweat, oil, dead skin and hair.
“Anything that obstructs that natural pathway of wax out of the ears can lead to wax buildup. As with earplugs and hearing aids, earphones sit in the part of the canal where wax is produced, and can actually stimulate the production of more wax when they are in use,” Lisa Hellwege, clinical director of Earworx,
She explained thaౠt the risks wereꦫ particularly high for those that live in a more humid environment.
“Water trapped behind built-up wax, especially in humid environments, can lead to ear infections. Symptoms can include pain, odor, discharge and itching,” Hellwege said.
She added that people need to allow their ears a goodไ chance to clean themselves, so encouraged a switch to over-ear alternatives instead.
“Like cotton buds, earphones often pick up the wax in the outer third of the ear canal where it is produced, and can leave the ears dry and itchy,” she said.
“Let the wax build back up and see if this improves things. Infections can also be reintroduced by soiled earphones — try cleaning them daily with an alcohol wipe which kills 99.9% of pathogens.”
Expert♒s have long warned that we should allow our ears to self-clean, and never shove a cotton bud in there.
In fact, cotton buds could push wax even further🐓 into the ear canal and even damag🌳e your eardrum, according to draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
But despite that, recent figures have shown that nearly two-thirds of us use them regularly, and we ge🐷t through nearly two billion ever✤y year.
that a 31-year-old man was left♑ battling a deadly brain infection from u♛sing cotton buds in his ears.
🅷Instead, doctors suggest 🔥ear irrigation should be used to help those who are experiencing hearing problems due to wax build-up.
This involves an electronic machine safely pumping water into the ear to remove wax under the guidance of a doc👍tor.
Katherine Harrop-Griffiths, a consultant in audiovestibular medicine and chair of the Nice guideline committee, said: “Earwax build-up which is causing hearing problems should be managed in primary or community care.
“Ear irrigation is an effective method of removing earwax. Ear drops should be used to soften the wax before irrigation, either immediately before or for up to five days before the procedure.”