Spring cleaning is an opportunity to wipe down every forgotten surface and finally bring that collection of old and unworn clothes you’ve been harboring in your closet to Friendly Mission. While spring cleaning focuses on the practical side of a fresh start, there’s no reason you can’t also take this opportunity to clear out bad habits and replace them with shiny, helpful ones. For some of us, many of those habits surround our ears.
Bad Ear Habits
A few bad ear habits you may have picked up in the past include:
- Using cotton swabs in your ears. Despite the dangers it poses, including wax impaction and torn eardrums, many people use cotton swabs to clean their ears. A 2025 study with 229 completed surveys found that although 92.6% of participants were aware that medical professionals discouraged using cotton swabs to clean their ears, 95.6% reported using them, usually to remove earwax. If you’re among the number of people sticking cotton swabs in their ears, take this opportunity to clear that habit out of your life.
- Maxing out your music volume. Any noise above 85 dB can permanently damage hearing. The higher the noise, the faster the damage will occur. One of the biggest sources of noise-related damage is personal audio devices. If you often reach the upper limit of your volume, set a decibel (dB) limit in the headphone safety settings on your phone. Your ears will thank you for it in the long run.
- Wearing unclean hearing aids or earbuds. Wax, sweat and oil can easily accumulate on your hearing aids or earbuds. When any of that grime blocks the speakers or microphones, it can muffle or distort sound. Make a new nightly habit of cleaning your hearing aids or earbuds for clearer sound and happier ears.
Spring cleaning these habits out of your life is the perfect way to enjoy a fresh, healthy year—and we can help you take it one step further.
How We Can Help
Scheduling a hearing test with Audiology and Hearing Aid Services is the final, essential addition to your spring cleaning checklist. Even if we don’t have hearing loss, the test will allow us to establish a baseline hearing test that we can measure future hearing against, paving the way for early detection and treatment of hearing damage. Call us today to schedule your appointment.