how often?

how often are you supposed to clean your ears?

you know .. with a q tip.

can you do it too much?

Well, cleaning the outside of the ears is never a bad thing. But those Q-Tip directions tell you not to insert the stick into your ear canal for a good reason. The ear canal is self-cleaning:

I have to admit I don't follow this advice, though. I go through Q-Tips like hipsters go through cigarettes...

[Edited on Sep 18, 2005 by jonasgrumby]

You aren't even supposed to use a Q-Tip (the old saying goes something like "Don't put anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow"...I think).

i thought it was "don't put anything in your ear except your elbow."

Q-tips are nice, though I have a problem with ear wax, so I have to use those things that squirt water in there every once in a while to clean them out.

Think about it...that means the same thing, basically, right?

Inside my ears? Never.

My mom used to be notorious for excavating my ears when I was growing up; I was more than pleased one day when I threw it in her face and showed her that you're not supposed to.

I really want to try that ear candling thing. Apparently it's supposed to do wonders. Having flame that close to my head is a little off-putting though.

ear candling is awesome... it feels cool and sounds cool and then when it's done you can open up the candle and be all grossed out by the stuff that comes out of your ear. it's spiffy...

and there's a plate between your head and the flame, so you should be fine...

The Ototek loop kicks ass for cleaning your ears. Once every couple of weeks you stick it in your ear and scrape the wax out. It's totally safe since it doesn't allow you to go balls deep and cause damage.