What’s the Best Way to Clean Your Ears?

Q: I know I’m not supposed to stick things like Q-Tips in my ears. But how else am I supposed to clean them?

You may have heard the warning never to put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear, or shuddered at the story of a friend’s friend who ruptured her eardrum with a cotton swab.

While eardrum puncture injuries are “quite unusual,” they can be severe, said Dr. Seth Schwartz, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle. And when they happen, cotton swabs are often to blame.

Here’s why you should stop sticking cotton-tipped dowels in your ears, and how to think about cleaning them instead.

The problem with cotton swabs

The first thing to understand is that earwax isn’t an enemy that must be eliminated, said Dr. Alexandra Quimby, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Upstate University Hospital in New York.

This tacky, sometimes crumbly substance — made up of oily skin secretions, sweat and dead skin cells — protects the delicate inner ear by trapping irritants like dirt, dust, bacteria and fungi, and by regulating moisture.