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Is using cotton buds bad for your ears? episode artwork

Jun 18, 2026 5 min

Is using cotton buds bad for your ears?

from Do you really know? Hosted by Bababam

Polish-American man Leo Gerstenzang is credited with inventing the humble cotton bud in the 1920s, an item which has since gone on to be used for many different purposes, having originally been thought up as a baby hygiene product.Yougov research from 2019 found that 62% of Brits use cotton buds to clean their ears, and 22% of us only use them for that purpose. That’s particularly true for men, given women are more likely to use them for touching up nail polish mistakes, or applying make up. But you may well have heard warnings that cotton buds can be bad for you. 2019 also saw the unlikely case of a man who developed a severe bacterial infection, which sprread to the lining of his brain, after the tip of a cotton bud got stuck inside his ear. He ended up having a seizure and had to be treated at University Hostpital Coventry, according to Livescience.com. How can I clean my ears then? Are there any safe ways? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠⁠Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Is nostalgia good or bad for us?⁠⁠ ⁠⁠How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?⁠⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 21/2/2024

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