Seriously. Don’t.

The very first time I heard that cotton swabs (a.k.a. Q-tips) shouldn’t be put into ears, I was utterly confused.

Wait. What? Seriously? A cotton swab should NOT be inserted into anyone’s ear?

Yeah, right…

Next you’re going to tell me that one shouldn’t use condoms to keep cucumbers fresh…

I mean, what else is a Q-tip supposed to be used for? The human body only has so many orifices. If it’s not supposed to be used for our ear canals, then what else is it supposed to be used for?!

What’s more, how else are we supposed to play some rhythmical beats on our eardrums if not with a tiny drumstick?

But yeah, it turns out one shouldn’t insert anything more pointy than an elbow into one’s ears:

Cleaning the ears with a cotton bud is a common practice and occasionally traumatises the ear canal.

Yes, you read that right! You're traumatizing your poor little ear canal by penetrating it with a foreign object. And of course you do! I mean, what did you think?! That your ear canal would enjoy that?!

What’s more…

The cotton bud introduces bacterial and fungal element into the ear canal and if the epithelium is traumatised, infection will easily set in. Besides that, the cotton bud also acts as a ramp to push in the wax deep into the external ear canal. Over time, this accumulates and causes impacted earwax.

You read that? You’re not only potentially inserting filth, but you’re also shoving the earwax deeper in and turning it into a compressed wall of wax…

You see, your ear canal makes wax for a purpose and that purpose is not to wrap it around teeny tiny sticks to end up with a small oily stick of brown cotton candy. Your ear produces wax to waterproof your ear canal. And it does so to prevent water from going in and getting stuck in there. It’s sort of like wax on your car.

Moreover, ear wax is naturally antimicrobial. So it provides protection against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Although disgusting, that waxy stuff is good for you.

So if you just keep spooning it out of your ears, you’re not only making it more likely to injure yourself as you’re scraping around, but you’re also removing a layer of antimicrobial protection and thus making infections more likely.

As it turns out, ears are self-cleaning organs. So all you really have to do is shower and that will remove any external residue that needs to be removed.

(Bonus panels)