when i clean my ears with a cotton bud i cough like there is no tomorrow. Any ideas?

Question

the day i take advice from a scouser.What do you know i hear you hide your money under the soap

Thanks Storm I thought i was the only one to.

Answer 1

There are cough receptors in the ear, believe it or not. A small branch of the vagus nerve is responsible. The link below can explain it in more detail. Look for "vagus reflex."

Answer 2

It's an automatic reaction. The answer is DON'T clean your ears with cotton buds! Ears are supposed to have wax in them, if you remove it with a cotton bud it is simple replaced with more. You run the risk of perforating your eardrum and will also be pushing wax further into your ear canal causing impaction. An Ear Nose and Throat consultant I used to work with said this phrase so many times that he had a notice put up in his office (he also used to say that if people actually listened to the advice on it he'd go out of business!):

'THE ONLY THING YOU SHOULD EVER STICK IN YOUR EAR IS YOUR ELBOW!'

Follow that advice and you won't go wrong.

Answer 3

There is a connection between your ear and your throat and this why you cough probably.Using cotton buds in your ears is not a good idea. It compresses the wax and makes it harder to remove.Don't buy anything special to clean your ears,Olive oil with a dropper is as good as any of the proprietary things on the market.

Answer 4

Your ear canal is linked by the eustation tube to your throat. So that's why you're coughing...you're going in too deep.

You do know it's not good to poke your ears down the canal bit, you can cause serious damage and many people have been in A & E with the cotton tip lodged in their ear where it has come away from the stick.

Answer 5

If you keep poking a cotton bud in your ear for you there will be no tomorrow. Soften the ear wax with a proprietary product and throw the cotton buds away.

Answer 6

My boyfriend does the same thing, when i hear him having a caughing fit i know he's cleaning his ears with a cotton bud, the thing is its dangerous and u should never poke anything in your ears, perhaps its a warning. Clean with a soft cloth but dont poke your ears with anything.

Answer 7

same happens to me to,my problem is i go to far down,i get this mad itching in my ear the only thing that sorts it out are cotton buds,then im constantly coughing when iv done it,i never learn.

Answer 8

My guess is that you're triggering some sort of reflex when you clean your ear canals; it's also possible that when you clean them, you allow air in, and that in turn allows fluids to travel down the Eustchean tubes to the throat (like taking your thumb off a liquid-filled straw allows the liquid to flow out), and the bit of liquid triggers a cough.

Answer 9

You shouldn't be poking your ears with anything it's dangerous. The old saying goes, only poke your ears with your elbow,[cos your elbow won't fit in]. Doctors will tell you earwax is there to protect foreign objects going in your ear, it's natural.

Answer 10

the ear drum is made of the same type of stuff as the back of the throat maybe thats why