My throat will itch when I pick my ears. Is it because the ears are connected to the throat?

As we all know, ears are important organs of our human body, which can help us obtain information from the outside world. If the ears lose their hearing, the world will become silent.

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In addition, the ears are also important for maintaining body balance. For example, common seasickness and motion sickness are related to the structure of the ear. Therefore, the health of the ears has a significant impact on our quality of life.

1. Structure of the ear

The structure of the ear is very complex and can be divided into three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of the auricle and the external auditory canal, the middle ear consists of the ossicles, the tympanic cavity and the tympanic membrane, and the inner ear has structures such as the vestibule, the semicircular canals and the cochlea.

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These organizations and structures work together to enable us to hear the wonderful sounds of the world. So what are the functions of each of these structures?

The outermost part of the ear is the funnel-shaped auricle, which connects to the external auditory canal. On the skin of the auricle cartilage are structures such as cerumen glands, sebaceous glands and ear hair.

The eardrum is a thin membrane structure located in the middle ear, which is usually translucent. It can sense the sound collected by the auricle and generate vibrations, which are then transmitted to the inner ear through the auditory ossicles.

The Eustachian tube located between the middle ear and the inner ear plays the role of balancing the air pressure in the middle ear. The vestibule and semicircular canals of the inner ear can sense changes in the position and speed of our head. These sensations are reflected to the nerve center through nerve impulses, and then through a series of reflexes to maintain our body's balance.

The cochlea is where the auditory receptors are located and is directly related to hearing.

2. Why does my throat itch when I pick my ears?

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Your throat will itch when you pick your ears. This is a common physiological phenomenon in the human body and there is no need to worry about it.

Symptoms of itchy throat and coughing when picking ears are due to the "kinship" between the nerve distribution of the external auditory canal and the throat. There are two branches of the external auditory canal nerve - the vagus nerve and the mandibular nerve. The vagus nerve is mainly distributed in the back wall of the external auditory canal, and the mandibular nerve is mainly distributed in the front wall of the external auditory canal.

The vagus nerve has both motor and sensory nerve fibers that are widely distributed and manage sensations from the ear canal. The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves and can extend to the throat.

When you pick your ears, the external force stimulates the vagus nerve, which causes it to become excited. When the stimulation is transmitted to the brain center through the nerves, the brain mistakenly thinks that your throat is itchy. At this time, the brain will control the muscles in the pharynx, larynx, and soft palate, causing itching in the throat or even coughing.

On the contrary, when you have a sore throat or cough hard, you will feel itching deep in your ear, which is also the vagus nerve "making trouble" behind the scenes. When you encounter these abnormal physical conditions, please consult a doctor in time and don't panic or be afraid.

3. Can I clean my ears frequently?

Earwax is a greasy substance that is secreted in the external auditory canal. Normally, when we open our mouths or chew, earwax will automatically be discharged from the ears, and we do not need to do any special treatment for it.

In addition, frequent ear picking can easily damage the protective layer of the skin in the external auditory canal, causing diseases such as otitis externa, eczema, and fungal inflammation. If not treated in time, it will damage normal hearing and may even cause facial infections and facial ulcers, with disastrous consequences.

However, if dirty water or other foreign objects enter the ear, such as in special circumstances such as swimming, the ear canal must be cleaned immediately to prevent bacteria in the dirty water from growing in the ear canal.

4. How to clean your ears correctly?

Although it is not recommended to clean your ears frequently, many people think that cleaning your ears is a very comfortable thing. So how can you clean your ears correctly so as not to cause damage to your ears?

First, it is strictly forbidden to use sharp instruments that may damage the ear canal mucosa when digging your ears. It is recommended to use sterilized professional instruments or rinse directly with warm water. Secondly, make sure that no one is playing around to avoid collisions and accidents.

There is now a bamboo ear cleaning tool, the side that goes into the ear is a cotton ball, delicate and soft, relatively safe. When cleaning the ears, gently turn the tool along the ear contour, slowly cleaning from shallow to deep.

For dry and hardened earwax, we can drop an appropriate amount of ear drops into the ear to soften the earwax. After the earwax is softened, flush it out with warm water. If necessary, go to the hospital and ask an ENT doctor to help clean it.

Finally, how do we protect our ears in our lives?

Cover your ears when there are loud noises, such as firecrackers or balloons exploding, car horns honking

Avoid wearing headphones for long periods of time, or wearing headphones that don’t fit into the ear.

Inflammation of the body should be treated promptly to avoid damage to the ears

Avoid getting water in your ears, for example, clean your ears immediately after swimming.

Try to avoid external impact on the ears. If an accident occurs, please seek medical attention immediately.

It is strictly forbidden to insert foreign objects into the ear canal