Can I clean my baby's ears?

Many parents like to clean the ears of their newborn babies, especially many superstitious elderly people who think that this will affect the children's hearing. However, everyone often overlooks a problem: is it really okay to clean the ears of babies? How much damage will it do to the children's ears?

Babies have smaller ear canals, which are prone to earwax accumulation. Does earwax need to be removed? When I took my baby for a physical examination, I consulted the doctor. The doctor said that earwax is medically known as cerumen, which is a substance secreted by the cerumen glands in the external auditory canal. Earwax can usually be discharged on its own with the help of head movements, chewing food, opening the mouth, etc., and generally does not need to be removed. In addition, a small amount of earwax will not affect hearing, but can also adhere to foreign matter such as dust and small flying insects, and has a protective effect on the skin of the external auditory canal.

Some parents use ear picks to clean their children's ears. In fact, this is very dangerous. If not properly cared for, the children's ears can easily become infected. According to hospital outpatient statistics, more than 85% of children suffering from external ear canal infections have the habit of picking their ears or are directly infected due to injuries caused by ear picking. This is because the skin of children's external auditory canal is relatively delicate, closely connected to the perichondrium, with less subcutaneous tissue and poor blood circulation. If improper force is used when cleaning the ears, it can easily cause damage to the external auditory canal and infection, leading to furunculosis, inflammation, and ulceration of the external auditory canal, and even cause unbearable ear pain, affecting mouth opening and chewing. Frequent ear cleaning of children can easily cause the stratum corneum of the skin in the external auditory canal to swell, block the hair follicles, and facilitate bacterial growth. In addition, the eardrum is a very thin membrane, only about 0.1 mm thick. If the child moves around when you are cleaning his ears, the ear spoon may damage the eardrum or auditory bones, causing perforation of the eardrum and affecting the child's hearing.

Taiwan's ear specialist Hsiao An-sui said: "Earwax only needs to be removed when the eardrum needs to be checked (otitis media is suspected) or when earwax blockage causes discomfort (baby is crying), or when hearing impairment is suspected." The expert suggested that if the area near the baby's ear canal opening is damp after bathing the baby, you can wipe it lightly with an ear cotton swab, but do not go deep; you can also use a hair dryer (about 30 cm away from the ear canal opening, weak wind) to dry the ears.

In the above article, we introduced the phenomenon of picking the ears of babies. This phenomenon is absolutely not allowed. In the above article, we also said that you can choose some appropriate methods to pick the ears of children. Do not pick the ears of children frequently, which will affect their hearing.