Cotton buds are not at all suitable for cleaning ears, because they often push the cerumen in front of the eardrum, which leads to the formation of a plug  . Ear wax is a natural protective film that has a killing effect on germs and bacteria and is used to clean the ear canals. When using cotton swabs, this protective film is pushed into the ear canal, where it can clump together and dry out. Damage to the eardrum, ear pain and, in the worst case, tinnitus  or acute hearing loss are not infrequently the result of improper use.  To get an idea of ​​how to clean the ears, it is worth taking a look inside the ear. The ear canal becomes narrower and narrower deeper in the ear. After this "bottleneck" it expands again before it ends at the eardrum. This funnel shape in the first few centimeters explains why it makes no sense to remove ear wax with a cotton swab. This is because it automatically gets into an increasingly narrow area when you try to remove it mechanically. Therefore you have to loosen the wax in order to let it drain outwards.  Nevertheless, many believe that they can clean their ears with ear buds. Perhaps because these are often used to care for the auricle in infants. But they do not have to be placed directly in the ear canal: the skin in the ear is very thin and not designed for mechanical friction. Even the “cotton wool” ends of the swab can injure the skin, creating space for bacteria that can cause inflammation when cleaning the ears.