Pixabay/Caters NewsA man came dangerously close to losing his hearing after getting the tip of a cotton bud stuck inside his ear.
Listen, we’ve all done it. Maybe not the losing the tip down our ear part, but certainly the using it to clean the inside of our ears part. I know we’ve all been warned against it, but how else are we supposed to get squeaky clean eardrums?
This one man’s story might put you off using the tiny buds though, especially because a video has been released that shows the complex operation required to remove the cotton bud tip from his ear.
You can watch the video here:
Mr Neel Raithatha, an audiologist based in Oadby, Leicester, otherwise known as The Wax Whisperer, posted the footage to his YouTube channel last month.
The video shows the audiologist removing the cotton bud from the man’s ear, after the patient had used it in an attempt to relieve an itch in his ear. It wasn’t long before he realised the tip had become lodged in there.
Mr Raithatha explained:
The client attended with a cotton bud q-tip stuck against his eardrum. He suffers from Otitis Externa [inflammation of the external ear canal] and was using the cotton bud q-tip in an attempt to relieve the itchiness and irritation he was experiencing.
Caters NewsUpon inspection, the specialist discovered that the ear canal was heavily inflamed, meaning he couldn’t use the standard suction probe to remove the bud. He instead had to resort to a fine ended probe.
Mr Raithatha then managed to extract the cotton bud enough to use crocodile forceps to remove it from the ear fully. Thankfully, the patient retained his hearing and was referred to his GP for further treatment.
Although many of us are guilty of using cotton buds to remove wax, the NHS strongly warns against it, writing: ‘Do not use your fingers or any objects like cotton buds to remove earwax. This will push it in and make it worse.’
Caters NewsThe health service instead advises to use two to three drops of olive or almond oil in your ear twice a day for a few days if you get a waxy build-up.
Over the course of two weeks, lumps of earwax should fall out of your ear – especially at night when you’re lying down.
If they don’t, you should visit a nurse at your local GP practice.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).