Ways you shouldn’t take care of your ears
The ear is an important organ of the human body that is responsible for hearing. It is so sensitive that any act of carelessness could lead to the loss of the sense of hearing. People have different ways of taking care of their ears which could damage rather than care for them.
Dr Abdulazeez Ahmed, a consultant Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Hearing and Balance Disorder specialist at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital said the best way to take care of the ear is not to put things that do not belong there, like cotton bud, pen cover, birds feather and other sharp objects, adding that people should also avoid taking bath in ponds and exposing the ears to loud noise.
Cotton buds and ear piece
He said people should not use cotton bud to clean their ears because it could easily cause infection in the ears. He said that the use of ear pieces could also affect one’s hearing.
“Most people want to listen to music quietly without disturbing others, it is good for others but not for your hearing. You have to allow your ear to rest. If a person sitting next to you could hear from your earpiece, then that is bad for your ears. Long time use of the ear piece can affect one’s ears.”
How to scratch the ears
On how best to scratch the ears when itching, the doctor said one should press the smallest outer part of the ear systematically to stop the itching, saying when the itching becomes too severe, a doctor should be consulted.
He added that itching could be as a result of an infection which could be caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus. In each case, the doctor should be consulted. He said some itching could be an allergy.
According to him, if an insect gets into a person’s ear in the night, the first aid treatment that could be given was to apply any oil available in the house; he added that olive oil was the best oil to be used because it is natural.
He said many things could cause hearing impairment, “Hearing loss may result from genetic causes, complications at birth, certain infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, the use of particular drugs, exposure to excessive noise, and ageing.”
Asked when a person is expected to wash his ears, he said it should never be washed.
“As long as you don’t have hearing problem, we don’t encourage washing of the ears because the ear has its own cleaning mechanism inside the ear. The wax seen in the ears is not dirt; it is a protection for the ears against bacteria and dirt from the air.”
He further added that washing the ear which is called syringing is done therapeutically or for diagnosis purpose and only doctors trained on it could do it because if done anyhow, the person could easily collapse.
The doctor said there was need for government to do much for the protection of peoples’ hearing as it is doing for the eyes and the teeth. He said there should be provision for ear care at the primary facility to ensure that children with the hearing impairment could be easily detected and corrected on time. He said because of lack of such provision, many children were losing their hearing.
Interventions to prevent, identify and address hearing loss are cost-effective and can bring great benefit to individuals. People with hearing loss benefit from early identification; use of hearing aids, cochlear implants and other assistive devices;
captioning and sign language; and other forms of educational and social support.