Frequent ear cleaning may be harmful, but it may be considered cleaning

In the past two years, there have been more and more ear cleaning shops on the streets. Is ear cleaning really necessary? What is the sign of persistent buzzing in the ears? Let's hear what Su Shanshan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology of Quanzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, has to say.

A 7-year-old child with a stuffy nose and a cold developed otitis media after blowing his nose hard

After catching a cold, 7-year-old Xiao Jian (pseudonym) always liked to tilt his head and would pull his ears from time to time. He felt as if his right ear was stuffed with wet cotton and could not hear clearly and was stuffy. "There is water in the child's middle ear, which is secretory otitis media," Susan said after an ear endoscope examination. Xiao Jian's mother thought that it was caused by water accidentally dripping into his ears when he was taking a bath or washing his hair. Unexpectedly, Susan's next words surprised her mother even more: "Has the child caught a cold recently? Do you always blow your nose hard?"

"This seemingly hygienic habit is an important cause of middle ear effusion." Susan explained that there is a channel connecting the nasopharynx and the middle ear called the Eustachian tube. In childhood, this tube is flat, short and wide, and inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses can easily affect the middle ear through this tube. Data show that the incidence of otitis media in children under 5 years old in my country is as high as 60%, but it is often ignored because the symptoms are hidden. "Many children have nasal congestion due to colds, rhinitis or sinusitis, and then blow their noses desperately. Blowing too hard can easily cause otitis media. It is recommended to blow your nose lightly on one side alternately." Susan said that if a child has nasal congestion and runny nose for more than 10 days accompanied by ear discomfort, and frequently rubs the ears, is slow to respond to calls, etc., be alert to otitis media.

Picking out black hair from behind the ears

Fungal infection of the external ear canal

Mr. Huang (pseudonym), 30, always felt stuffy and blocked in his ears, had tinnitus from time to time, and even had hearing loss. He often couldn't feel when others were talking to him. Mr. Huang had to seek medical treatment in a hurry because of hearing loss at such a young age.

"Not long ago, I went to a foot bath with a friend and cleaned my ears. It felt very comfortable when I was cleaning my ears, but I didn't expect that I would feel uncomfortable not long after I got home. I felt like my ears were blocked by something. I used a cotton swab to clean my ears from time to time, and one time I actually pulled out a bunch of black hair-like things, which was very disgusting." Mr. Huang said.

Upon examination, Mr. Huang's external auditory canal and eardrum were covered with black filaments, which is a fungal infection of the external auditory canal. "This may cause the skin around the external auditory canal to become red, swollen and moist, and secretions and mold to block the external auditory canal, causing hearing loss." Su Shanshan said that most fungal infections of the external auditory canal are caused by frequent ear picking, swimming, haircuts, and chronic suppurative otitis media. The main symptoms are ear pain, pus discharge, hearing impairment, tinnitus, dizziness, etc.

"The acidic environment of the ear canal can inhibit fungi, and frequent ear cleaning will damage the barrier and increase the risk of infection by 5 times." Susan said that you should not clean your ears at every turn. Ear cleaning shops may even become high-risk places for fungal transmission due to inadequate disinfection of tools.

Tinnitus for half a year, thought it was due to kidney deficiency

It was nasopharyngeal cancer that sounded the alarm

Six months ago, Ms. Li, 60, began to feel a constant buzzing in her right ear. At first, she thought it was caused by fatigue and did not pay much attention to it. However, the tinnitus became increasingly severe, and was occasionally accompanied by a stuffy feeling in the ear. She heard that it might be caused by kidney deficiency, so she began to try various kidney-tonifying dietary prescriptions such as donkey-hide gelatin and Liuwei Dihuang Pills. After a period of time, the symptoms did not improve. Unable to bear the tinnitus, she had to seek medical treatment. Susan used an otoscope to observe that her right eardrum was slightly retracted, and after patient communication, she persuaded her to undergo a nasal endoscopy.

As the scope was inserted into the nasal cavity, an uneven mass was found in the right nasopharynx of Ms. Li. After sampling and biopsy, the pathological report showed that there were cancerous cells - tinnitus was actually a warning of nasopharyngeal cancer. "About 35% of nasopharyngeal cancer patients have unilateral tinnitus as the first symptom, which is caused by the tumor compressing the Eustachian tube. It is worth noting that the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in my country is 3 to 5 times higher than the national average." Su Shanshan introduced that nasopharyngeal cancer is the only malignant tumor named after a region, also known as Guangdong cancer. Generally speaking, there are more male patients than female patients, and the age of onset is mostly between 40 and 50 years old.

"According to current research, the main causes of the disease are genetic inheritance, Epstein-Barr virus (herpes virus), and dietary habits, such as eating a lot of pickled foods and smoking."