No bugs… what?! Not even a single earwig??
You’re providing evidence that Q-tips are causing serious damage in some cases. I didn’t know that and I accept it.
From this point things get complicated, in my view. We have to think about things like the rate at which it happens, who it’s happening with, what the alternatives are, etc. And there isn’t good data, no doubt, for making a good decision.
So, anecdotally, at one end of the spectrum we have people like me. I would estimate that I have cleaned my ears with Q-tips well over 6,000 times in 60 years, with not a single incident and no dry ears. At the other end we have cases where people create a very serious problem for themselves.
What society has done is to take the recommendation to the lowest common denominator: If it’s possible to create harm, avoid doing it. “Never stick anything but your elbow in your ear” is the guidance that we got, back then.
What I always wonder is, who are the people who are behind the statisticcs? Here is a weird and true story that happened to my high school grandson, this summer. On his very first day of his lifeguard job, in his very first station assignment (diving board), in his first few minutes at his first station assignment, a guy in his 20s stepped onto the diving board, declared “I can’t swim!”, and jumped. And he was right! My grandson had to fish him out because he was beginning to drown.
So, who are the people behind the perforated ear drums? Are they normal people who are performing a procedure that is inherently too risky? Or are they diving board jumpers, who are candidates for the Darwin Award? All I know is that I have never had a problem with dry ears or perforated ear drums or anything else, and I have avoided the problems associated with excessive earwax. And my wife does it, and my kids do it, with no problems. Should the standard be set to people like my family and me? Or to the two people you have examined who have perforated ear drums? Beats me. All I know is that, in my case, my dear mother gave me advice that has served me well, lol.