If we’re warned by doctor’s, and even by the warning label on the box not to put qtips in our ears because of possible damage, then why do qtips feel so damn good in them, and why is it so hard to stop once you start?
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That part of your ear – the tunnel leading in – is sensitive so that if something like an insect were trying to get in, you should know about that real fast.
But being sensitive tends to also make a soft, gentle touch feel nice. The label is valid, don’t use qtips in the ear. If there is something lodged in your ear, it’s not a great tool for removing it and is just prone to shoving it in further. And as nature has already told you, things in your ears is a bad thing.
Just because something feels good doesn’t mean it is healthy. Drinking alcohol or sugary drinks feels good, but they aren’t good for our health.
Out bodys judgement of things comes from a time where we couldn’t synthesize drugs, refine natural products or manufacture tools. So it might respond positively to something because it resembles somethin else that was beneficial to us so evolution did its things and we ultimatively evolved to a positive response to that feeling.
Just like sugar was important then when food wass scarce but not now when it’s easy too eat far too much.
The vagus nerve passes right by the ears. Gentle pressure stimulates the nerve. The vagus nerve plays a part in the generation of oxytocin, the hormone at brain uses to trigger feelings of relaxation. So rubbing your ear canal with a q-tip makes you feel calm and relaxed.
Unfortunately it also gets dangerously close to your eardrum, risking irreparable damage and hearing loss for a momentary feeling of relaxation. Also, q tips aren’t the best for cleaning out ear wax, and can sometimes lead to just stuffing it down into the ear and hearing loss that way. So it’s better to just use some warm water and gently spray it in to clean out your ears.
Know what else feels good but isn’t healthy and is hard to stop once you start? Heroin. Sometimes things that feel good aren’t that great for you.
You could ask the same thing about heroin. Just because something feels good and is hard to stop doing, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to start doing it.
The warning is on the Q-Tip box because it’s very easy to cause problems by doing this. You can rupture your eardrum or push foreign objects deeper into your ear. Wax is in your ear for a reason and you can push it places it shouldn’t be. Warning you about that stuff on the box is how the company avoids some random court case going poorly for the company because a person argues that’s what they thought cotton swabs were for.
Why it feels good is just related to the body’s evolution not always making the choices you’d make if you were playing a video game and trying to max your stats.
That part of the ear is super sensitive so if anything IS entering your ear you feel very uncomfortable and try to remove it. That trait persists because somewhere in our evolutionary history, some situation where organisms with this kind of setup were better at surviving than organisms without it. (Or at least, by coincidence, the organisms that survived majority had this trait).
Also sometimes when you get sick, the tissue gets inflamed and can feel itchy or irritated. Some of the nerves in that area are shared, so a sore throat in the right places can make your ear feel funky. Those bad feelings go away temporarily if you stimulate the nerve, which the Q-tip does. Even if you aren’t feeling funky, it feels kind of good to stimulate that nerve.
Now, if we were sitting at a video game menu, we might choose to stop making it feel good so people don’t damage their ears with Q-tips. But would it help? Now people might be less likely to respond quickly if something like a bug tries to get in their ear. That seems bad.
And in the end, this doesn’t impact reproduction or evolution. Even if someone *does* make themselves deaf with a Q-tip, they might still find a way to woo a partner and produce babies. Those babies aren’t going to be deaf. And while they may have some of the traits that led their parent to damage their ear, it’s also likely their parent will tell them “Don’t do this, it’s how I went deaf” and they might just listen.
Sometimes that’s just how stuff is. It’d be nicer if our body worked a different way, but nothing’s making the randomness that drives evolution push us in that direction.
If you’ve never had your ears cleaned out by a doctor, do yourself a favor and go see an ENT. Not only for that, but to check on any other ear, nose, or throat issues.
Years ago, my ears were so clogged with wax, I broke the vacuum machine he used to remove wax. It was both disgusting and impressive at the same time. I walked out and could audibly hear a difference in sounds. Higher pitched wounds were louder, and this was just walking outside the hospital. I go every 4-5 months now, and still have quite a bit removed. But I also know I don’t need to take a Q-tip and try to remove wax that my doctor will be removing.
I know the Kroger Minute Clinics also advertise earwax removal. If you’ve never had it done, it’s worth it for no other reason than to also get your inner ear examined.
Interesting. Q-tips don’t feel good in my ears at all. Sometimes they make a tickle in my throat that makes me cough uncontrollably.
But anyway, get a bulb syringe. They sell them in the baby section. When you get jammed up, suck up some warm water from a cup. With your head over the sink, put to the tip to the hole and squirt it in there. It might take a few tries but you’ll be rewarded with the most insanely satisfying and disgusting copper-brown nuggets all over your sink.
P.S. after you see what real impacted wax looks like, you’ll understand why earwax candles are BS.
It is very possible to scratch the ear channel with a q-tip, and these tiny scratches can allow fungus or bacteria to grow. This infection causes itching and/or pain, and may take several trips to an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) to clear up.
Dr told me they were bad then said we’ve been without them for thousands of years and we’ve done just , but we didn’t have too rushed for thousands of years either so grain of salt
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