The best way to clean your ears

Cotton swabs are the most effective tool for cleaning your ears besides soap and water, but you may want to rethink how you use them. A recent study from Henry Ford Hospital shows that direct contact with the ear with a cotton swab can damage the inner ear canal. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use them to clean other parts of your ears.

The leading brand of cotton swabs says on its website to "gently circle the outer ear with the cotton swab, avoiding the inner ear canal." This is advice worth listening to. Using cotton swabs to clean the ear canal can cause earwax impaction, which can lead to hearing loss, also known as greasy ear, or worse, a ruptured eardrum. Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague, who became deaf in his left ear last month and asked doctors to remove earwax for him, illustrates this point.

"Earwax naturally lubricates and protects your inner ear from external factors," says Rachel, a dermatologist in Chicago.

Pritzker, MD, said. Unless you don't want to get rid of it all. If you want a little advice on cleaning your ears, the study suggests mixing refrigerated peroxide or vinegar with warm water and then using a dropper to place four to five drops into the ear canal of each ear.

If you don't want to treat hearing loss or other problems at the doctor's office, remember to flush your ear canals every day instead of using cotton swabs to clean your ears.