Careful with the Q-Tips
Posted: 06/02/08
Here in Canada we have a news story that should send out a warning to people who like to jam Q-Tips up their ears really vigorously. An investigation into the death of Montrealer Daniel St-Pierre by Quebec coroner Dr. Jaques Ramsey has concluded that St-Pierre died as a result of swabbing his ear drum too hard.
I guess it’s a fair warning here because many musicians and sound engineers like to clean their ears frequently. The coroner is suggesting people use their pinky finger to clean their ears, and they want a diagram on all cotton swab boxes that warns consumers against inserting them in the ear. This comes as a big surprise to me cause growing up I thought that’s what these were made for. I’m sure they’re fine if you do a gentle cleaning but there were also warnings that they can lead to hearing loss as well.