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So then what are Q-Tips for?

Motorcycle Dork

Motorcycle Dork

Member
Jun 24, 2019
6,363
cleaning out the outer-ears
removing dust from joycons
fixing up your nails after polishing them

upd: needed to be specific. It's only recommended under medical supervision that you can use them to clean out ear wax.
 
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darz1

darz1

Member
Dec 18, 2017
7,072
eZipsis said:
I'm just going to repost what I've posted before...

Don't ever use q-tips in your ears.

I know people say it a lot, but seriously.. don't.
I'm practically deaf on my left side now. I have very minimal heard and need headphones if I actually want to be able to watch something.



I used to be one of those "it won't happen to me, I do it properly" people, so don't even say it. There is no proper way of using a q-tip in your ear.
Don't risk it by trying to clean it yourself, go to a doctor. There are nerves behind your ear drum that control your face. Every time after my surgeries I can only taste metal on one side of my tongue for a week and there is always the risk of face paralysis.
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Thank you for posting this. I will definitely take heed.
 
Tremorah

Tremorah

Member
Dec 3, 2018
4,946
Just do the outer parts of ear, dont go deep, like just the length of the cotton part
 

DeltaRed

Member
Apr 27, 2018
5,746
No joke I lost about 75% of my hearing in both ears last month for 4 days after messing with Q-Tips in my ears after a swimming session. I won't be doing it again.
 
Chibs

Chibs

Member
Nov 5, 2017
4,505
Belgium
For cleaning your eyeballs ofcourse

29ef3fa8edf8ddf6232856ad67b97da335798f09.png
 
The Masked Mufti

The Masked Mufti

The Wise Ones
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,989
Scotland
eZipsis said:
I'm just going to repost what I've posted before...

Don't ever use q-tips in your ears.

I know people say it a lot, but seriously.. don't.
I'm practically deaf on my left side now. I have very minimal heard and need headphones if I actually want to be able to watch something.



I used to be one of those "it won't happen to me, I do it properly" people, so don't even say it. There is no proper way of using a q-tip in your ear.
Don't risk it by trying to clean it yourself, go to a doctor. There are nerves behind your ear drum that control your face. Every time after my surgeries I can only taste metal on one side of my tongue for a week and there is always the risk of face paralysis.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Scared the shit out of me. I always thought of you go overboard with them, they use it hot water in your ear to get the wax out (or something like that). Fuck I didn't even consider that it could cause disease and infection.
 
eZipsis

eZipsis

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,435
Melbourne, Australia
darz1 said:
Thank you for posting this. I will definitely take heed.
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No problem. I'm happy to share my experience.

The Masked Mufti said:
Scared the shit out of me. I always thought of you go overboard with them, they use it hot water in your ear to get the wax out (or something like that). Fuck I didn't even consider that it could cause disease and infection.
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That's it. I never thought it would either.

Also, just as another cautionary tale. When a friend of mine was in his teens he was cleaning his ears with a q-tip when his sister came barging through the door and accidentally slammed the door in to his arm force the q-tip to rupture his ear drum. He hasn't been able to hear out of it since.

So it's not always your fault, even if you're being careful.
 
Nilson

Nilson

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,414
Don't use qtips on your video heads!!!! It's ok for a tape head or a film path, but the cotton will immediately clog your heads (no joke)
 
Mendrox

Mendrox

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,439
ITT: people that think they can clean their ears with fucking Q-Tips (LOL)

Watch this to see how much gunk is in your ears on average:



Ears clean themselves and if they don't you need to visit a doctor sometimes.
 
StraySheep

StraySheep

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,276
Messofanego said:
Your body cleans out your ears automatically. You don't need to jam anything in there and make it worse. The ear wax has a purpose to keep you safe from infection. Putting qtips in there, you're just asking for ear damage. I think you've just become addicted, so what feels clean to you is probably just a habit and isn't actually clean. You can clean the the rim of the ear or use some water but you don't need to go into the canal. Trust your ears to do the work. Once you stop using qtips, you'll realise your ears will clean themselves automatically.
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Thanks for this answer
 
Soda

Soda

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,843
Dunedin, New Zealand
I've put hydrogen peroxide in my ears when they need cleaning. Been doing this for years after having a minor blockage in my ear from ear wax about ten years ago. It was what the doctor advised.

Feels better than a Qtip. Bubbles up and softens the wax. Read instructions before proceeding, but I really enjoy it. I don't find it's needed more than once or twice a year, though, and even that's probably excessive.
 
DaleCooper

DaleCooper

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,852
They are a cautionary tale for kids to not jam them all the way into their ear canal.

I'm a normal adult and I use them to clean my ears. Have done for many years w/o problems.
 
Griffith

Griffith

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,585
I use them to clean electronics or to apply something on a wound.

An Otolaryngologist once gave me a very good tip. Never stick anything in your ears that is smaller than an elbow.
 
PeakPointMatrix

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,036
Are these ear cleaning gizmos safe? Been considering one since it scoops and you can observe how far you go in with a visual. I have earwax that builds up and just tumbles out sometimes, could use something to scrape out the excess :(
71Yt3iUjQzL._AC_SX425_.jpg
 
Soda

Soda

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,843
Dunedin, New Zealand
PeakPointMatrix said:
Are these ear cleaning gizmos safe? Been considering one since it scoops and you can observe how far you go in with a visual. I have earwax that builds up and just tumbles out sometimes, could use something to scrape out the excess :(
71Yt3iUjQzL._AC_SX425_.jpg
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Just use hydrogen peroxide to dissolve the wax, then take a warm shower and rinse a little. There are reliable guides online regarding how to do the hydrogen peroxide cleaning. You can also dilute it 50/50 with water if it is a bit too intense.
 
Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider

Member
Oct 27, 2017
855
I remember getting an ear infection when I was in my 20's. I went to my doctor complaining about ear pain, something I had never had before. The first thing he asked was if i used Q-tips. I was confused and said of course I do. He then scolded me and told me to stop. He said to
just let a little water during a shower rinse them out and that's it.
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,096
UK
PeakPointMatrix said:
Are these ear cleaning gizmos safe? Been considering one since it scoops and you can observe how far you go in with a visual. I have earwax that builds up and just tumbles out sometimes, could use something to scrape out the excess :(
71Yt3iUjQzL._AC_SX425_.jpg
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Are there any medical credentials or evidence this works? Also this seems very invasive that something is going deep into the canal, and could lead to damage. I would avoid such things, trust your ears to do the cleaning, maybe use hydrogen peroxide, or go to your doctor's for an ear cleaning appointment.
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,096
UK
CaLe said:
I seriously don't care what anyone says, I'll never stop using them to clean my ears.
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Sure, just know you're not cleaning your ears like that, you're just forcing the ear wax to go deeper and give you a chance for more blockage. Hence, when you go to the doctors, they'll ask if you've put Qtips in there. It might feel good because the ear has become irritated, and that's about it. When I stopped using Qtips decades ago, I realised that itch to clean my ears was only coming from putting the Qtips in, and so I never got such an intense urge to clean my ears afterwards.

BTW if people are curious what a Qtip's impact looks like, here's a couple of ear wax removal videos due to misuse of Qtips:
www.youtube.com

583 - Q-Tip Impacted Ear Wax Removal off Eardrums

Want to watch more Ear Wax Removal Videos? Then subscribe to my YouTube channel right here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvsg6zNnuJn1Zx_njJymZ1QTo arrang...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj3wU-A3m5U (this one you can even see the cotton bud fibers still stuck in there, and they're a repeat patient)
 
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8byte

8byte

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt-account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
9,880
Kansas
I'll be honest, I obsess over cleaning my ears. With Qtips. Show me the light, era. I'm 38 but it's not too late to change.
 
FinalArcadia

FinalArcadia

Member
Nov 4, 2020
1,793
USA
Q-tips are useful for putting some Polysporin on, so you can accurately apply the medication to a cut or something. Otherwise, I don't really use them.
 
Katmeister

Katmeister

Banned
May 1, 2021
2,434
Had my ear blocked early this year because of qtips. Took weeks of applying ear drops to clean it. I couldn't hear people asking me questions because of it. Playing games and listening to music was less enjoyable only being able to hear in mono.

Just don't put things in your ears. There is just no right way to do it and its not worth the ear ache you'll get from a blocked ear too.
 
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