Experts warn viral TikTok ear cleaning trend could cause 'permanent' damage

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Experts are warning against a viral TikTok ear-cleaning trend as it could damage your ears.Even though our ears clean themselves, videos on TikTok show people using small tools, olive oil, and harsh chemicals to remove earwax.

These videos have millions of views, but audiologists say cleaning your ears yourself is unnecessary.Our earwax protects against bacteria and traps dirt, usually draining out of the ears naturally.

Regular hair washing and gently drying the ear canal opening with a soft cloth should be all the cleaning you need."We would advise against trying any method of earwax removal at home due to the increased risk of developing an ear infection or damaging the ear," warns Gordon Harrison, chief audiologist at Specsavers. "As a rule of thumb, don't put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear."And Christina Kourie, a clinical audiologist at Pindrop Hearing in London, explains: "Wax will naturally work its way out of the ear canal, which can then be cleaned away.""But there's a trend on TikTok that involves people cleaning their ears at home via various methods, and several social media users have posted videos of themselves emptying their ears of wax using hydrogen peroxide, a chemical typically used in common household cleaning products.""But it's essential to approach this trend with caution as there are significant risks with putting this chemical in your ear and attempting to remove the wax with limited vision of the ear canal itself."She says other TikTok ear-cleaning trends include using olive oil to soften and remove excess wax, using various tools to dig and scrape inside the ear, and even small cameras touted as the latest trend to clean the ear canal."Cleaning your ears at home using some of