How often do you clean your ear buds? Do you even think of cleaning them? After all, they are your own personal item that you do not lend out, so what is the issue? Well, it turns out it is an issue and can be a big one. Infections and hearing loss are key impacts of not cleaning your earbuds properly and in a timely manner.
Ear Infections:
Every time you put the ear buds in your ear, you are transferring some of the wax and oils from your ear to the buds. When the buds are not in your ears, they are picking up dirt and bacteria and sticking to the wax and oils just waiting for the next time you put them back in your ear. This dirt and bacteria can cause an ear infection.
Contribute to Hearing Loss:
Dirty ear buds and block the speakers resulting in increasing the volume. Turning up the volume can increase other frequencies in the sound that could damage the ear.
So how do you clean them properly?
The best way to clean them is with a little rubbing alcohol on a cloth and give them a gentle wipe. Avoid using wet cloths or chemical cleaners as they can damage your buds. If there is wax build up in the speakers, use a hearing aid cleaning brush with a wax pick to get it clean.
Ideally, you should clean your ear buds everyday, but if that seems to onerous, aim for every few days or once a week.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/13771980-effects-never-cleaning-earbuds/
