Can picking your ears actually cause tumors? You should learn these two points as soon as possible

Have you ever noticed that some people often pick their ears, or even unconsciously want to pick their ears...

Put a thin ear pick or cotton swab into the ear, and every touch will cause a tingling sensation. If after a while of searching, a large piece of earwax can be dug out, the sense of accomplishment from the inside out must have been experienced by everyone, and it makes many people unable to stop.

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Why does cleaning your ears feel good?

Our ear canals are rich in nerves. Picking your ears can stimulate the nerves at the end of the ear canal, thereby promoting the secretion of dopamine in the brain, thus producing this fascinating "refreshing" feeling.

Moreover, when we pick our ears, we will have a spontaneous sensory meridian reaction, also known as "intracranial orgasm" or "ear sound" . It is a unique stimulation produced in your skull, scalp and other parts through sensory stimulation such as touch or hearing, which makes people feel pleasant and even unable to stop.

Therefore, many people not only clean their ears themselves, but also go to specialized ear cleaning shops and pay someone to help them. But sometimes it can be dangerous!

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Can ear cleaning cause cross infection?

Here’s the reason!

Case: Three months ago, Aunt Liu's ears grew rice-like granulations, which were very itchy and bled when she picked them with her hands. So she rushed to the hospital for a checkup.

After the doctor examined Aunt Liu, he also examined Aunt Liu's husband and found the same granulation. The doctor then told them that they both had external auditory canal papilloma, which was caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) .

How could HPV virus breed in the ear? After some inquiries, the doctor found that the problem was actually with the husband. The husband usually went to the barber shop to clean his ears. The ear spoon was not disinfected sufficiently, and different customers used the same tool, which caused cross infection .

Symptoms of external auditory canal papilloma

In the early stages of the tumor, the ear canal may feel itchy, blocked, or hearing impaired; later, ear digging may be accompanied by bleeding or the removal of "meat-like" objects; if accompanied by infection, pus discharge and ear pain may occur.

In addition, single or multiple brown-yellow tumors of varying sizes, with rough and uneven surfaces, pedunculated or sessile, can be seen in the external auditory canal. They are hard to the touch. If infected, they may become congested and swollen and appear granuloma-like. If there is a local blood circulation disorder, they may appear black and some of them may fall off naturally.

If you have the above symptoms, you must seek medical attention promptly. Although external auditory canal papilloma is a benign tumor, it has the risk of turning into external auditory canal cancer !

In addition, frequently picking your ears unconsciously actually carries hidden risks.

Frequent ear cleaning: Know these risks as early as possible

1. Causes abnormal earwax secretion and reduces the ability to protect the ears

Frequent ear digging may cause abnormal earwax secretion, resulting in more and more earwax. The newly secreted earwax will change from its original flake state to fragments, thereby reducing its ability to protect the ears.

2. The earwax is pushed deeper and deeper, causing earwax blockage

The Chinese Society of Otolaryngology points out that using cotton swabs to clean the ears may push earwax deeper into the ears, and long-term accumulation may cause earwax blockage.

Once ear plugs are formed, problems such as ear pain, ear swelling, dizziness, hearing loss, etc. will occur, and inflammation may also occur.

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3. Damage to the eardrum, causing otitis media or deafness

The eardrum is a very thin membrane, only 0.1 mm thick. If the tool is inserted into the ear canal and improper force is used, it will damage the eardrum and cause perforation.

At this time, if water gets into the ears or a cold occurs, it is easy to cause otitis media.

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Tips:

Acute suppurative otitis media can cause hearing loss, dizziness, facial paralysis, meningitis, sigmoid sinus thrombophlebitis, brain abscess, etc. Many of these complications are fatal.

If acute otitis media does not heal for a long time and becomes chronic otitis media, the middle ear structure will be gradually destroyed by inflammation, causing permanent hearing loss and tinnitus, or even total deafness.

Therefore, if you experience persistent ear pain, tinnitus, stuffy ears, or hearing loss, you should seek medical attention promptly.

Earwax is not useless, you don’t need to remove it frequently

In fact, earwax is not "poop". Earwax is also called "cerumen" in medicine. It is mainly composed of shed skin cells, sweat hair and cerumen gland secretions.

Don’t think that earwax is redundant, it can actually help protect your ears:

1. Proper earwax has 4 benefits

①Earwax not only blocks dust particles from the outside world, but also prevents insects and other microorganisms from entering the ears. It has the function of protecting the skin of the external auditory canal and adhering to foreign objects .

②Earwax can also buffer the impact of sound waves on the eardrum, protecting those who wear headphones all the time .

③Earwax containing oil can keep the ear canal at a certain humidity, so that the eardrum deep in the ear canal will not dry out .

④ Earwax contains lysozyme, immunoglobulin, fatty acids, etc., which can form an acid film on the surface of the ear canal skin, making the external auditory canal in an acidic environment, thereby having a mild bactericidal effect and inhibiting fungal growth .

2. Earwax does not need to be removed, it can be discharged on its own

Most people's earwax can be discharged by itself. For example, when we talk, eat, or yawn, the earwax will be pushed out of the ear canal quietly with the movement of the lower jaw and the help of the hair in the ear canal. Therefore, you don't need to pick your ears frequently.

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Tips for correct ear cleaning:

① Wash your hands before cleaning your ears to avoid bringing bacteria into your ears.

② Soak a sterile medical cotton swab in warm water, squeeze it dry, put it into the external auditory canal, and gently rotate it in one direction to remove the earwax. It is best not to use tools such as ear picks to avoid damaging the ear canal or eardrum .

③ Do not clean your ears frequently, generally once a week or so ; but in dusty places or people with "oily ears", you can do it less frequently, depending on your own situation.

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In addition, when cleaning your ears outside, be sure to ensure that the tools are disinfected and hygienic. When using tools such as ear picks at home, they must be used by designated personnel and kept clean to avoid infection.

Source: I am a great doctor official account

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