Local Hearing Specialist Waxes Lyrical about…
Cotton Buds!
You may have read about the plight of an 11 year old boy who had suffered partial hearing loss in one ear for nine years, and was instantly cured – when a cotton wool bud popped out of his ear!
He was diagnosed with single sided deafness when he was just 2 years old. Somehow a cotton bud end had become stuck in his ear, and had been routinely missed on examination. But whilst playing with friends one day, his ear popped and out came the end of a cotton bud, restoring his hearing to normal!
It is situations such as this, that Richard Moss, senior partner at the Oxford Hearing Centre hopes to bring attention to, by raising awareness of the risks associated with the humble Q-Tip or cotton bud, as it is more commonly known.
Originally launched in the USA in 1923 and marketed under the name of ‘Baby Gays’, cotton buds (Q-tips are the registered brand name), are now one of the world’s most widely used cosmetic products.
Demand for the product has grown as people have found more uses for it. Families used tips moistened with warm water to clean a baby's outer ear, the folds of the neck or between the toes. They're even used to apply makeup, as well as clean parts of CD players.
Unilever, the company that now owns Q-tips, produce in the region of 25.5 billion Q-tips each year.
“In our local area”, says Richard Moss. “Thames Water estimates that every single week 100,000 cotton buds are flushed down the drains!
As the plastic is not biodegradable, they cause pumps and filters in the sewer network to fail, risking pollution and putting even more pressure on our local drainage system.
Cotton Buds are found in the bathroom cabinet of just about every home in Britain, and are often incorrectly used to clean inside the ear. Despite warnings on boxes, nearly everyone does it, mostly to try to clean wax out of the ear.
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| Ear drum damaged by Cotton Bud |
This is why as hearing care specialists, Oxford Hearing Centre has good reason to dislike cotton buds.
Because, in fact, using cotton buds often pushes earwax deeper it can cause the ear canal to become blocked, bruised and potentially even infected, as if the bud is pushed too far in, it can penetrate the eardrum and cause permanent hearing problems.
“Fresh Earwax is a good thing and is a sign of a healthy ear!” says Richard Moss. “It helps moisturise the skin in the ear and prevents the growth of bacteria.
“If you suspect that wax has built up and it begins to affect your hearing, you should have your ears examined by an experienced doctor or audiologist, if confirmed they can carefully remove the wax.”
“We know that ear wax is not the most exciting thing to talk about”, said Richard, “but if there’s one thing that regularly affects our clients, their hearing aids and our ability to carry out our job, it’s ear wax! Blocked ears can render hearing tests inaccurate, cause hearing aids to malfunction or whistle, and ear impressions to be useless”.
Oxford Hearing Centre now offer a specialist ear wax removal service, “All of our audiologists”, explained Richard, “are able to clean and clear ears by using water irrigation or dry clearing with specialist tools. This is carried out with a specialist microscope to provide the safest, most comfortable and highly effective procedure possible. We also offer a quick free check to see if the ears are actually blocked”.
So... a couple of ‘Tips’ from the team at Oxford Hearing Centre are as follows; “Don’t suffer an unnecessary hearing loss by using a cotton bud to clean inside your ears, if you must, you can use them on the outside folds of the ear, but never push a cotton bud into the ear canal.
“And ... Please don’t flush cotton buds down Oxfordshire’s drains, we may want ears to be clean, but we also want to be green! The future of ear cleaning should most definitely be environmentally friendly!” concluded Richard!
For further information about Oxford Hearing Centre’s ear wax removal service and hearing tests call: 01865 861861 or visit: www.oxfordhearingcentre.co.uk
Or, simply call into the Centre at: 157 Eynsham Road, Oxford OX2 9NE.
About Oxford Hearing Centre
The Oxford Hearing Centre was formed in 1982 as a hearing aid and audiological centre of excellence. The practice is a founding member of AIHHP – The Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals. AIHHP is a professional body representing the leading independent hearing aid audiologists in the United Kingdom. Full members of the association have to meet rigorous clinical standards and are subject to peer evaluation before admission.
As well as helping people to hear, the Oxford Hearing Centre provides individual and organisational guidance on hearing conservation.
The centre has been acknowledged in both 2009 and 2010 for the Audiologist of the Year Awards. The Awards are issued as a result of members of the public nominating those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help them overcome their hearing difficulty.
Richard Moss also acts as consultant to the music industry, advising many famous professional and amateur musicians on issues of hearing protection and healthcare.
The Oxford Hearing Centre’s diverse client list covers all walks of life, from royalty to rock stars.
For more information contact:
Oxford Hearing Centre
157 Eynsham Road
Oxford OX2 9NE
Tel. 01865 861 861
