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Answerman - Why Does Anime Often Feature Ear Cleaning?


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ZeArNkN



Joined: 27 Dec 2010
Posts: 95
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:56 pm Reply with quote
Oh, great. I've used Q-Tips my whole life. How else should I clean my ears.
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SejinPK



Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:01 pm Reply with quote
ZeArNkN wrote:
Oh, great. I've used Q-Tips my whole life. How else should I clean my ears.


This is exactly what I was going to ask. The only thing I've ever been told is to use Q-Tips, so I have no idea what any alternatives could even be.
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13556
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:02 pm Reply with quote
I will be honest and say that this ranks among the weirdest to downright of the many Answerman entries I have seen. I guess I didn't real think of this aspect of anime and now I think I don't wan to.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3451
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
... while 90% of Asians and Native Americans have white, dry earwax with little to no odor. ...
...It turns out this is a side-effect of a genetic mutation that occurred around 2000 years ago. ...

Considering the timescales of human migrations involving the Americas, am I to assume the mutation has happened multiple times?

Edit; Went on a little research-trip myself, and, seems the article gets a few things wrong, first concerning the above, it seems the mutation occurred ~40 000 years ago, in central Asia in one of the later major human migrations. Source;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3539816/

Also, now for the other MAJOR error;
Quote:
There's a compound called cerumen that makes earwax yellow, viscous, and smelly, and Asian earwax usually doesn't contain it.

Actually cerumen IS earwax. Both wet type as well as dry type.
Sources;
https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/qjmed/hch082
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cerumen
http://american-hearing.org/disorders/ear-wax/
The main difference between the two types is wet contains ~50% lipids while dry contains ~20% lipids.


Last edited by Blanchimont on Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:39 pm; edited 3 times in total
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2193
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:04 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Public service announcement: no matter what kind of earwax you have, do NOT use a Q-tip. It can push earwax in further and cause some real damage in there.

Welp, looks like I'll be going deaf by 50.
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Puniyo



Joined: 08 Oct 2015
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:08 pm Reply with quote
ZeArNkN wrote:
Oh, great. I've used Q-Tips my whole life. How else should I clean my ears.


I had an injury inside of one of my ears from repeated use of q-tips, and that really messed my hearing up for at least a month. I was hearing everything in this strange sort of mono, but all audio was doubled and pitch-shifted. Never again.

You should have it done by a doctor the way that the article mentions (syringe and warm water). It's the same no matter what earwax type you have.
I live in England where healthcare is free though, so I can have this done whenever and however often as I want.

I'm pretty sure you can get eardrops that soften and break down earwax, too.


Last edited by Puniyo on Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:14 am; edited 1 time in total
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:43 pm Reply with quote
I actually failed a hearing test, Freshman year in High School, because of wax being jammed in my ear thanks to Q-Tips, they really are the worst. I mostly just try to wash it out in the shower now, but trying to take care of it really is a massive pain. I will never use another Q-Tip though.

I can fully get behind this whole Japanese practice, personally. I've had previous romantic partners clean my ears before, and it is a pretty intimate moment.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5925
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:49 pm Reply with quote
ZeArNkN wrote:
Oh, great. I've used Q-Tips my whole life. How else should I clean my ears.


Go to the doctor, have long nails, or occasionally wait for the wax to come out on it's own.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:55 pm Reply with quote
It seems like this article has suddenly turned into a case of "Everything I've been told about Q-tips is a lie!" now. I've been using them for years too, though I'm always careful about it. I don't jam the cotton swab into my ear canal or anything.
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1684
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:58 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
Edit; Went on a little research-trip myself, and, seems the article gets a few things wrong, first concerning the above, it seems the mutation occurred ~40 000 years ago, in central Asia in one of the later major human migrations. Source;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3539816/
[...]
Actually cerumen IS earwax. Both wet type as well as dry type.

Ugh, that seemed a little suspect to me too. I’ll fix the article. Thanks. (The lipid difference doesn’t explain the lack of smell though.)
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3451
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:04 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Since having your ears cleaned like this is a quiet moment of intimate care, it's become a symbol of maternal love, especially in Japan. The sensation of laying with your head in a woman's lap as she cleans your ears is one often associated with childhood, unconditional love, and being cared for. It's a moment of peace.

One would assume ear cleaning serves as a common trigger for ASMR and that in turn has often been associated with social grooming behaviour in animals. So in a sense it makes perfect sense...
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epicwizard



Joined: 03 Jul 2014
Posts: 420
Location: Ashburn, VA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:16 pm Reply with quote
Interesting article. I believe my first exposure to ear cleaning in anime was in episode 7B of Sgt. Frog in which Angol Mois was cleaning Keroro's ears.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Public service announcement: no matter what kind of earwax you have, do NOT use a Q-tip. It can push earwax in further and cause some real damage in there.

And so I glance at the ever-ready box of cotton buds beside my desk. At once I come across a warning message printed boldly thereon, somehow having never previously noticed it: "For external use only." A caution that defies the ergonomics of the buds themselves, I suspect.
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:29 pm Reply with quote
SejinPK wrote:
ZeArNkN wrote:
Oh, great. I've used Q-Tips my whole life. How else should I clean my ears.


This is exactly what I was going to ask. The only thing I've ever been told is to use Q-Tips, so I have no idea what any alternatives could even be.


Before Justin's PSA, I tried using Q-Tips for years, and one time jammed so much wax up against the eardrum, it left my right ear blocked for a week until I went to the clinic to have it flushed with hot water. (Doesn't hurt, but it's like getting a slightly more comfortable wet-willie for twenty minutes straight. And Medicare covers very little of it.)
No Q-tips ever since. But, yes, I still have no earthly idea what ELSE they're ever used for.

If you don't have an unusually devoted girlfriend, frankly, I don't know how you remove ear-wax, although I've seen personal flusher-bulbs to be used in the home and shower.

As for "Why in anime", it's pretty much the same reason why old people and significant others in anime keep getting shoulder massages.
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LegitPancake



Joined: 26 Jun 2017
Posts: 1294
Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:33 pm Reply with quote
Although it’s not the same thing, I am kinda disappointed there was no reference to the toothbrush scene in Nisemonogatari haha
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