A few days ago, there was a media report about a man in Chengdu who had a papilloma in his external ear canal due to long-term ear digging, and the report was reprinted several times. So many people have become concerned about the small matter of ear-picking. In our daily life, pulling out ears is something that everyone does and feels “cool”. The wrong way of “enjoying” can lead to bad consequences. There are certain misconceptions about pulling out ears frequently, using incorrect tools, and helping children pull out their ears indiscriminately. If you are not careful, you may also get otitis media. Myth 1: If the tympanic membrane is broken, you will definitely become deaf Correct: Hollowing out the tympanic membrane can cause hearing loss The popular understanding of the tympanic membrane is that once the tympanic membrane is broken, hearing is gone. In fact, this is not true, as damage to the eardrum is a fairly common occurrence in everyday life. Many people pull out their ears so deeply that it hurts when they touch their eardrum. The function of the eardrum is to expand the volume of sound and enhance hearing. A break or even rupture of the eardrum will only affect hearing, but will not completely cause deafness. A small hole in the tympanic membrane that is accidentally broken when people pull out their ears can generally recover on its own in about 3 months. It is important to note that not only can the eardrum be pierced by pulling out the ear, but it can also be pierced by excessive volume, a heavy slap in the face, or a ballistic impact. For example, one child injured his ears while playing with a sand cannon and broke a hole in his eardrum, leaving his hearing greatly impaired. Myth 2: If your ear hurts, take anti-inflammatory drops Correct: Don’t take drops if you don’t have an infection Just like eye drops for dry eyes, many people take anti-inflammatory drops for ear problems. Unbeknownst to you, drops can also cause inflammation. If you use a clean ear stick to pull out your ear until it hurts or is injured, you don’t need anti-inflammatory drops in this case. At this time, the outer ear canal is not infected by bacteria and remains dry and clean. However, the anti-inflammatory drops create a moist and warm environment that is more likely to harbor bacteria. When can I take anti-inflammatory drops? When there is an ear infection or pus, it is best to take anti-inflammatory drops on the advice of your doctor. When taking a shower, it is best not to get your ears wet. You can use cotton balls to plug your ears before bathing, and change them when they get wet. It is also a good idea to take two drops of disinfectant after each swim in a public pool. Because the water in public pools may contain various bacteria.