Elisa Gil-Carcedo is an otorhinolaryngologist at the Río Hortega University Hospital in Valladolid. Wax is produced by glands in the ear canal and acts like a broom that moves outward.

Swabs are not dangerous, only if they insert what is naturally trying to come out. The most useful ones to use at home are drops that act as wax solvents, oils that degrade the wax little by little and prevent plugs from forming.