i need some help/advise on what to do with this habit of mine...
By mylesnarvaez
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
Philippines
June 13, 2007 1:08am CST
i can't stand it if i don't often clean my ears to the point that it has sometimes become sore because of too much cleaning.
after every shower or bath or even washing my face, i get irritated if i don't remove moisture or other irritants in my ear (inner/outer lobe). so i use at least 3 cottonbuds in a session. before i retire in the evening, i once again do the same thing coz of the pollutants during the day.
whenever i have an opportunity at any time of the day/night, i would clean my ears or relieve them of irritants. now this habit has become bad for my ears. too much cleaning would leave my ears sore. imagine that i do it 6 times (at the most) everyday. sometimes i couldn't stop myself even if i know the cotton buds i used are quite clean and no trace of dirt or whatever.
do you have any advise on what i can do to help me not clean my ears too much? any help would be greatly appreciated.
2 people like this
11 responses
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
14 Jun 07
oh myles, you should be over this habit soon, this is truly harmful!! i think, there is no method to refrain from over cleaning, i mean, any thing which would substitute it would become another habit and this will go on on and on...
my advice would be, JUST STOP DOING IT and that's it. easy, prompt and without any side effects. lol..
fun apart, motivate yourself to actually stop cleaning it that often and restrict to a regular, less often, cleaning regime.
good luck sweetie!!
PS: Do or donot, there is no try: YODA
2 people like this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
16 Jun 07
i just can't stop. but i made it twice everyday for the last 2 days... with great effort. and i used less number of buds... so i think it's a little improvement already.
i just have to make my hands pre-occupied while killing time. thanks! :)
@yuanchang (474)
• Philippines
25 Jun 07
wow! my mother's doctor said we should not even clean our ears as it dirt falls off without us knowing it. it is risky to clean our ears with buds or with hair pins as used by others. i do not clean my ears very much. i just clean the outside part not the earhole part as it is very risky. well i am still fine.
1 person likes this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
26 Jun 07
yes, true. that's why i'm very careful with the way i clean my ears. i guess the habit id just too much that's why i'm concerned. but it's minimized now. :)
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
26 Jun 07
thanks! they are still intact. same goes for your ears as well. :)
@kaplya (1578)
• India
13 Jun 07
you are facing what is called OBC or obssessive compulsive disorder. in this one does something or think about something particular all the time though s/he doesn't want to. try to do something else whenever you have this yearning for cleaning your ears. it's more better if you do another active work which would occupy you, your hands especially. like knitting or playing some instruments or any other such hobby u have:)
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
14 Jun 07
yeah, i agree, i think it's a compulsive behavior that went out of hand. i used to enjoy the tickling feeling of having my ears cleaned. maybe i liked it too much that made me do it too often.
i used to have busy hands when i bring my paperwork at home. but now i leave it back in the office so i have free hands for the past 2 weeks. now i'd better choose the lesser of 2 evils. hahaha
thanks! :)
@nicolec (2671)
• United States
25 Jun 07
Oh yes, this is bad. Very bad for the health of your ears. I would tie my hands behind my back. And put on earmuffs strapped to my head.
AND to top that off, put a big sign on your mirror that says DO NOT CLEAN THY EARS. Right in front of you so that you see it. and then throw away all your cotton buds so you don't have anything to clean with.
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
26 Jun 07
oh, i forgot to mention that my habit has been kept to almost my minimum that i could bear, 2x a day. :)
@glamgrl (384)
• Ireland
25 Jun 07
hi m.n. i have this addiction too.how i deal with it is as follows i do not keep cotton buds in the house.once a month i buy them and clean my ears once or twice then i throw them all in the bin to stop myself using any more.it works for me
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
26 Jun 07
thanks! :)
i tried that before actually. when i ran out of buds, i intentionally did not buy the next pack coz i tried to limit my use. but then, i used tissues instead.
@guss2000 (2232)
• United States
13 Jun 07
That does sound like too much cleaning. I wonder if they make ear drops or something that you could use in replace of cleaning them. I have no idea if they do though. Maybe you could run it by your doctor and see what they say. good luck!
1 person likes this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
yes, i know it's too much already. sometimes i couldn't help it. i'm contemplating visiting a doc actually if i don't find a way to minimize this habit. thanks! :)
1 person likes this
@magnel (2263)
• India
13 Jun 07
Actually I'm too going through the same dirty ears problem, but i don't really care about it. I just put some warm water in my ears while taking bath and thats it, everything dirty comes out and i'm left with clean ears for the day and after that I don't bother to clean it until next morning...
1 person likes this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
14 Jun 07
it's not really about the problem of dirty ears. it's the act of cleaning even when it's actually clean in the first place. :)
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
14 Jun 07
it's not itchy or anything. just that, i like using cotton buds in my ears even if my ears don't need cleaning.
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
14 Jun 07
it has turned out to be a bad habit. coz i think it's more of the act of cleaning than actually cleaning it. coz my ears are never dirty or anything. i just have this bad habit of using cottonbuds in my ears even if it's already clean.
once in every 3 days would be a little too much for me right now. too abrupt. i'll try minimizing the use of cotton buds for now. thanks. :)
1 person likes this
@rb200406 (1824)
• India
15 Jun 07
Actually cleanliness is a good habit but too much of everything spoils it.Too much of cleanliness frak is not good for yourself or others.This habit of yours will only make your ears more sour.Try to curb on this habit of yours.Some moisture is essential for your ears.
1 person likes this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
16 Jun 07
yes, i know that the natural wax keeps the ears healthy and too much cleaning spoils it. i was able to downsize this habit of mine in the last two days and i do hope to keep it up. thanks! :)
@pepperannem (43)
• United States
13 Jun 07
I was once told that cleaning your ears with something that you have to stick in your ear was very bad for you. It ends up pusing the wax and other stuff farther back. I think that they do have ear drops that would help clean them out better. The next time you go to the store check in the medicine section. That is most likely where it is at. It might be with soap and other stuff but I'm not sure
1 person likes this
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
yes, i imagine so. i know there is supposed to be a natural wax in our ears. and cleaning too much would just dry out my ears... hence more irritants.
next time i go to a pharmacy i'll check out the drops you mentioned. thanks! ;)
1 person likes this
