Using earphones for a long time is dangerous! Fear of ``ear mold'' that surges during the rainy season (July 10, 2019)

During the damp rainy season, mold isn't just growing inside your home. It can even grow in your ears! We asked Dr. Yasuhiro Inoue, director of the Otolaryngology Inoue Clinic, who is familiar with ear mold.

■Don't pick inside your ears. Dry it with a hair dryer!

──Is it true that mold grows in your ears?

Inoue Yes. Mold fungus inhabits all year round, but it also multiplies during the damp season. As a result, many people develop ear mold (mycosis of the ear canal).

──What happens when you get ear mold?

Inoue First of all, my ears are itchy and I have fluid coming out of my ears. When it gets worse, the ear canals become blocked, making it difficult to hear sounds. There is always a painful and itchy feeling.

──Will mold clog your ear canals?

Inoue That's right. It looks like a photo.

The dark spots in the background are mold spores. It completely covers the ear canal. The inside of the ear is dark and poorly ventilated, making it easy for mold to grow. (Photo courtesy of Yasuhiro Inoue)

──Uh... (at a loss for words).

Inoue In the end, there are times when you end up with a hole in your eardrum.

──Why do you get ear mold?

Inoue Normally, mold doesn't grow on the skin, does it?

──Yes.

Inoue That's because the skin acts as a barrier. However, if the skin is damaged by picking the ear canal or scratching the ear, mold bacteria will invade the damaged skin and multiply.

──So you don't have to pick your ears?

Even Inoue, there are times when you touch your ear without knowing it.

──That's right. For example, when I wear earphones, I often pick my ear holes when I take them off (laughs).

Be careful when wearing Inoue earphones. Wearing earphones reduces ventilation, so it's easy for moisture to build up in your ears. Especially during the rainy season, it is very humid.

──It's just the season.

Inoue: Moisture builds up in the ear, making it itchy, and if you scratch the inside of the ear when removing it, there is a possibility that mold will enter from there.

──Oh!

Inoue Also, some people get eczema from wearing earphones for a long time. If mold bacteria attach to the eczema, it becomes ear mold.

──Hey!

Inoue You also need to pay attention to materials. Using hard earbuds can damage the skin inside your ears. People who use earphones frequently are at greater risk.

──Then what should I do?

Inoue Headphones that don't fit inside your ears are less risky.

──I see! But if I get ear mold, how long will it take to heal?

It depends on the type of Inoue mold. In the case of candida, tinea pedis, or ringworm that causes athlete's foot, if you remove the mold and apply an ointment, it will usually heal in a week or two.

However, if it is a highly toxic mold called Aspergillus, it may take a month or two for some people. Depending on the mold and the health condition of the person, there will be a lot of difference.

──If you are not feeling well, it will last longer.

Inoue That's right. If your immune system is weak, you may develop nose mold as well as ear mold.

──Is that nose fungus!? ?

Inoue When a person with weak resistance inhales mold spores, the mold grows in the nose. Basically, one nostril becomes clogged, and eventually the nose becomes stinky and smelly nasal discharge.

──A stinky runny nose.

Inoue This also depends on the type of mold, but Candida and Aspergillus are still good, but Mucor, which is even more toxic, is quite dangerous.

──How dangerous is that?

The Inoue mold fungus enters the eye and causes the eye to swell. blindness in some cases. Furthermore, if the fungus spreads into the brain, it can lead to mucorrhinoencephalopathy, which can be fatal.

──Ma, are you serious!? ?

Inoue Yes. However, nose mold is less likely to develop than ear mold, so unless your resistance is extremely weakened, I don't think you have much to worry about.

──From now on, I will eat a lot of food that builds resistance! How should I clean my ears?

Inoue: People with strong skin inside their ears can pick their ears, but if you have weak skin, we recommend that you dry them with a hair dryer so that you don't get burned, instead of cleaning them with a cotton swab after the bath. .

Ear wax will come out after a certain amount of self-cleaning action, and even if ear wax accumulates, it is not a disease, so it is better not to clean it too often.

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Even if the inside of the ear becomes itchy, it seems better not to pick it too much. And if you feel uncomfortable even a little, let's go to the hospital and see if it's ear mold.

Interview / Text / Takayasu Murakami