Ear buds - exercise caution

MANY pharmaceutical companies market earbuds in attractive boxes, which can then be purchased across the counter in retail shops.

Earbuds have many uses but are deleterious when used to clean the ears. Some people are habituated in using the cotton buds to mop up water from the ears after washing their hair. The ear canal is not a straight conduit but is contorted, and hardly allows any water to stagnate after a bath or a swim. Mere dabbing with a towel with the head turned to one side, clears the water from the ears.

People using cotton buds often experience a sense of happiness, ignorant of the hazards. Generally, the buds are used to remove wax from the ears (self-cleansing) without knowing that wax eludes the buds, going deeper and deeper in the canal after each attempt and eventually landing on the eardrum. This causes acute pain, a blocked feeling within the ears and impedes the transmission of sounds causing deafness and occasional dizzy spells.

There are sensitive nerve endings in the ear canal. An important nerve called vagus, enervates the heart, lungs, abdominal viscera and the ear canal. Any irritation caused by buds or any object triggers an intermittent cough and sometimes results in syncopal attacks, creating panic and the person consulting a cardiologist. Some hotels keep earbuds for customers to stimulate their appetites. In ENT books, it is mentioned that alcohol drops can be instilled in the ear to stimulate the vagus which increases the appetite. Probably earbuds are used in some hotels as a substitute for alcohol, to stimulate the appetite.

Sometimes the cotton gets separated from the stick while cleaning the ears and remains in the ear where attempts to retrieve it fail. This forces the patient to consult an ENT surgeon. In some cases, the cotton remains in the inner canal for a long time. Eventually the ear becomes infected, discharging a foul smelling fluid. The ear canal skin, is thin and tender, so excessive usage of buds results in abrasion of the skin. The discontinuity in skin causes ulceration and secondary infections, followed by the discharge of pus. If this is not treated, it leads to complications. Foul smell emanating from the ear is a social taboo. A more serious thing to mention here is that when severe diabetics use these buds, the resulting infection of the skin (external skin) causes closure of canal due to swollen skin. It causes acute unbearable pain, and if immediate measures are not taken, leads to severe headache and complications like meningitis and nerve paralysis.

Many times accidental perforation occurs. Some perforations close and some remain quiescent and become bigger. Such perforations need closure by an ENT surgeon to prevent complications and to improve hearing.

DR. T. RAMADASS

The writer is Senior ENT consultant, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.

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