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Ed Clausen
Ed Clausen M.A M.A. Audiologist, CCC-A is a licensed Audiologist under the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He received his CCC-A in 1994 and serves as Company Audiologist for the 18 company offices of Midwest Hearing Aids, Inc. in Kansas. He holds memberships in the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association, the Kansas Speech/Language and Hearing Association, and the Kansas Hearing Aid Association. You may contact Ed at Midwest Hearing Aids corporate office in Wichita at 1 (800) 668-4055 or locally at (316) 264-2411.
Audiology
2002-07-01 15:42:00
Clean ears
Answer:  First and foremost, you should never clean your ears out with a cotton swab.  You may be doing more harm than good; when you insert the swab in your ear, you may be actually pushing the wax down further into your ear.  This will cause a buildup of wax faster, and may even result in the wax rupturing your eardrum, causing pain and possible hearing loss.  Additionally, accidents with someone unintentionally bumping the arm of the person with the swab in their ear have been known to happen.  It's just not safe to clean your ears out with a swab; if you suspect you have too much wax, see a doctor.The reason that you cough when you swab your ears is that you're stimulating a nerve.  There is a nerve called the vagus that passes across the skin of your ear canal on its way to your larynx ("voice box") as well as other parts of your body.  If you're stimulating the nerve in your ear by touching near it with the swab, your brain may interpret the signal as coming from your throat.  Therefore, you may feel a tickle in your throat and have to cough. 
 
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