Even a single use of in-ear headphones can cause earwax buildup and serious inflammation in the ears. Candidate of Medical Sciences at GUTA CLINICS, audiologist, otolaryngologist, Marina Paukova talked about this in an interview with socialbites.ca.
“The formation of a sulphurous plug can happen to anyone at any time. If it is a sulfur plug, it is due to a violation of the function of the secretory apparatus itself or the epithelium. Sometimes the cause of the formation of fungus is improper hygiene of the ear canal. The placement of a foreign body in the ear canal and intra-channel – ed .) this is exactly what happens when we use headphones – earwax is a substance that pushes deeper into the outer ear canal part. And this is already fraught with consequences, ”said Paukova.
The fact is that in the ear canal there is a movable cartilaginous part located directly inside the skull, and a fixed, bony part. In the mobile cartilaginous part there are villi that expel sulfur and ensure the normal cleaning of the external auditory canal from sulfur. If sulfuric masses get into the immovable part of the bone, the ear itself cannot be cleaned – this will require the help of a doctor.
“Normally there is no foreign body in the ear, so as soon as it is blocked, the ventilation is broken. As a result, humidity increases and sulfur secretion increases, which creates a risk of congestion. If you use headphones for a long time when changing pressure, for example, when taking off and landing on an airplane, even barotrauma can occur, since the eardrum does not move during pressure drops, ”warns the doctor.
How often and for how long earplugs can be used without risk of clogging depends on many factors, including the person’s sulfur formation process and the environment. If the earphone is left in the ear for a long time in a humid climate or at high air temperature, the risk of plugging increases greatly: the secretion of sulfur increases and the villi cannot get it out, the foreign body interferes.
“Prolonged use of in-ear headphones can cause severe inflammation, hearing loss, eardrum injury, dizziness and pressure sores on the ear wall. Moreover, “big”, there is no such risk from the use of external headphones, “Paukova concluded.
Formerly socialbites.ca saidThe most popular gift of February 14 was wireless headphones.