What Are the Dangers of Ear Plugs?

[IvanRus]

Do you use earplugs, how often?

I use usual soft earplugs made of foamed polyurethane. Infrequently.

The thought came - are not the ear plugs dangerous?

After all, they absorb a lot of earwax, which is necessary to protect against bacteria and noise.

Secondly, they can push the ear wax deeper, creating the danger of the formation of a sulfur plug. How do you think?

 

[fishbone]

They can interact with wax. I use ear plugs only at concerts and live shows or somewhere that I know, will be loud. For me I don't use them everyday. I use them, when it gets loud in my gym or martial arts class.

 

[Luman]

I believe they played a major role in the reason I have T and H. I slept wearing them for five years, which caused wax buildup. I don't know exactly what happened but I'm sure that cleaning that wax, and spending every night wearing them, had a lot to do with this. I'm sure that occasional use, not for sleeping but for protection, is not dangerous and probably the best option. I carry a pair around, along with silicone ones, but have weaned off of both types for anything other than subways or other places that are very loud. I have hundreds of pairs of them, unused, most of which I will probably discard, eventually.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I use ear plugs whenever I am outside of my home. I also use them every night when I sleep. I make sure that there is no wax in my ear canal, so I don't think the ear plug can push any wax back.

 

[Julien87]

I noticed some of them can create a "suction" effect when you remove them, which may, I assume, be harmful for the eustachian tubes.


Also, I sometimes wonder if wearing them often or constantly when being in not so noisy environments can increase your tinnitus. Because they amplify your tinnitus sound, so maybe this amplified sound may be then considered the "standard" tinnitus by the brain and it "saves/registers" it. Just an assumption.

Two things make me think of that: I notice that my T is louder after wearing earplugs (it then gradually gets back to its normal level. And I know that the brain can save noises: it already happened that I was bothered by a mosquito during all night, and the day after, I still heard its noise in calm environments even if it wasn't here.

 

[Niko]

After a shower if I don't clean my ears, next day there is a wax build up, either it falls out, but then I need to use my fingers.

If I clean my ears with cotton, just close to the outside ear, wax never builds.

Don't know if water in the ears makes the ear produce wax, just as something protective against bacteria etc. from the water. Just clean your ears to avoid wax, you will not have issues having the wax pushed in when using earplugs.