BUFFALO, N.Y. — Removing ear wax may sound humorous, unless you need it done. Then it can be a personal emergency that can hinder hearing and cause pain. The need is more prevalent among older people.

Many of us reach for a cotton swab (commonly known as an earbud) to clean our ears, believing it's the best way to remove earwax. However, what appears to be a harmless habit can actually put your ...

Earbuds, often thought to clean earwax, actually cause harm by pushing wax deeper, irritating the ear canal, and increasing infection risks. Your ears are self-cleaning; this habit disrupts the ...

There are different ideas about how to clean your ears. Doctors generally agree that putting anything inside your ear is a bad idea. Your ears usually do a good job cleaning themselves and don’t need ...

"Don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear." It's the kind of thing you may have heard your grandmother say, but, for the most part, it’s true, says Dr. Bradley Kesser, an ear, nose and ...