TikTok post goes viral as doc reveals the right and WRONG ways to clean your ears
A TIKTOK post has gone viral suggesting you’ve been cleaning your ears wrong your whole life.
It shows a woman called Ayisha pouring hydrogen peroxide into her ears while laying on her side, letting the product “sizzle” away.
And it's not the first time the method has gained popularity online, with another user gaining 1 million likes trying it out.
The idea of using something called “hydrogen peroxide”, a mild anticeptic, in the ear canal sounds both terrifying and toxic.
Dr Tonia recommends putting five to ten drops of hydrogen peroxide into the ear canal, laying down for five minutes. Then, you should sit up and tilt your head so the peroxide and wax can run out of your ear.
She added: “However, I stress that peroxide shouldn't be used if there is a hole in the eardrum from a perforation or ear tube."
"At higher concentrations it can even cause burns. Using hydrogen peroxide can irritate the skin inside the ear, leading to inflammation and earaches.
How you should not clean your ears
Most people are used to sticking a cotton swab into the ear and wiggling it around.
But if you haven’t heard already - experts never recommend using these.
Phil said: "Using Q-tips or cotton swabs is not recommended. They are often used as an easy and convenient method to remove ear wax but can actually cause more harm than good.
"Using Q-tips or cotton swabs can push wax further into the ear canal, which can cause impaction, discomfort, or a rupture in the ear drum."
Cotton buds or “Q-tips” will soon be banned in England anyway, because the billions of plastic sticks used every year are not environmentally friendly.
The health watchdog National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) also warns against using ear syringing, which involves a large metal syringe being used to pump water into the ear to clean out wax.
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Both methods of cleaning the ear are "potentially harmful and should not be used".
The NHS also says “there's no evidence that ear candles or ear vacuums get rid of earwax”.