Good Hygiene Begins with the Proper Tools
Chances are, you’ve come across this site because you’re looking for an ear cleaning solution. Earwax can cause a variety of problems ranging from itchy and uncomfortable ears all the way to intense pain and hearing loss. What most people don’t know is that a large percentage of these problems can be attributed to improper cleaning methods and inadequate tools.
Q-Tips
You’ve probably heard that using Q-tips to clean your inner ear is ill advised and potentially harmful, in fact, almost all of the packaging material for these products warns consumers against placing them inside of the ear. It’s easy to shrug these guidelines off, but understanding why they’re in place might cause you to think twice.
Because you have no visibility when using Q-tips, it is easy to irritate or cause unnecessary damage to the ear canal. The damage caused by these minor injuries can lead to pain and discomfort, but the real danger lies in the irreparable damage you can inflict on your eardrum.
Aside from causing undue harm, using cotton tipped applicators to clean the inner ear is extremely ineffective and can even create or worsen existing earwax blockages. The shape of a typical Q-tip pushes cerumen further into the ear, compacting rather than extracting. In extreme cases, this can cause an earwax impaction and eventually lead to hearing loss, further damage, and significant pain.
Ear Candles
Many alternatives to the Q-tip have been proposed in recent years, one of the most notable being earwax candles. This fad has blown up over the last few years in the world of alternative medicine. Ear candling or thermal auricular therapy involves inserting a lit tube of fabric coated in beeswax or paraffin into the ear. The theory is that the suction produced will pull wax out of the ear canal. This method has no basis in real science and is virtually ineffective, especially when employed to treat serious impactions. In fact, this treatment offers more potential harms than benefits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of serious burns to the ears and face, bleeding, and even punctured eardrums.
The Bebird Solution
Luckily, there exists a safe and affordable alternative to these risky at-home treatments. Our products are engineered with safety in mind. The otoscope and gyroscope in each Bebird cleaning device work in tandem to provide stable, clear images to prevent accidental damage to the ear canal or eardrum. Each device is also regulated to ensure that the temperature never exceeds that of the human body, completely eliminating the risk of burns or even discomfort. Not only are our products thoroughly tested for safety, they are proven to be very effective in removing wax buildup and detritus from the ear. The ear spoon tips that accompany each model help to gently scoop wax out of the ear rather than compacting it further into the canal. You can even use the Bebird app to record video and save images of your ear canal! For those with more serious earwax issues, this makes it much easier to communicate complex health problems with an ENT professional.
