An Australian woman has developed a bacterial infection that ate away at her skull and left her with permanent hearing loss, after using cotton buds to clean her ears every night, for many years.

According to an Australian tabloid, That's Life, the woman, known as Jasmine, stated that she developed ear aches, a ringing noise in her left ear, along with difficulty in hearing her sons.

Initially diagnosed with ear infection

As such, when Jasmine first saw the doctor, she was diagnosed with an ear infection and given antibiotics.

Jasmine also continued cleaning her ears with a bud, at which point she began noticing blood on the cotton.

Subsequently, she took a hearing test on the advice of another doctor, only to discover that she was moderately deaf.

Surgery required to stave off brain infection

Eventually, Jasmine was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist.

A CT scan revealed that a bacterial infection had been eating away at her skull and was threatening to become fatal once it reached her brain.

Surgery was therefore required for the reconstruction of her ear canal and the removal of infected tissue.

Infection caused by cotton fibres from bud

Jasmine added that when she told the surgeon that she had been using cotton buds, he replied that the fibres from the bud had lodged themselves in her ear and become infected.

As per Jasmine, on the state of her infection:

"The cotton had been collecting and festering for as long as five years, and my skull bone behind the ear was paper-thin. I had no idea that a hidden killer was wedged inside my ear!"

A doctor also told Jasmine that she had pushed the buds too far into her ear, with too much frequency.

As a result, in spite of the operation clearing her infection, her hearing has since been permanently damaged.

Cotton buds should not be used to clean your ears

According to the guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, it is highly recommended not to put things inside your ear such as cotton buds.

This is because such items can push earwax further inside your head, resulting in the internal irritation of your ear, or earwax impaction, which is like a blocked nose but in your ear.

The human body can naturally circulate old wax out of the ear to avoid earwax buildups. This is possible as the inside of your ears grow more skin cells, according to the report.

But if that process is affected, earwax can build up in your ears, making it difficult to hear or developing a stiff feeling.

Should you suffer from earwax buildup, ask your doctor about safe ways to treat it.

More details on why you shouldn't use earbuds:

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