In the event you’re still in the market for a New Year’s resolution, the American Academy of Otolarynology (We’ll just call them the AAO) has one for you…
We’ve been taught that using cotton swabs to clean out our ears is just part of basic hygiene, but the truth is that it does virtually no good and a lot of damage. Let’s start with earwax. Sure, it’s gross, but it serves an important purpose. It traps dust and foreign objects, preventing them from going further into your ear where they can do some serious damage.
“Patients often think that they are preventing earwax from building up by cleaning out their ears with cotton swabs, paper clips, ear candles, or any number of unimaginable things that people put in their ears. The problem is that this effort to eliminate earwax is only creating further issues because the earwax is just getting pushed down and impacted further into the ear canal,” Dr. Schwartz said. “Anything that fits in the ear could cause serious harm to the ear drum and canal with the potential for temporary or even permanent damage.
Impacted earwax can cause symptoms like ear pain, itching, feeling of fullness in the ear, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), hearing loss, discharge coming from the ear, odor coming from the ear, cough, and/or change in hearing aid function.”
In case you glossed over that block quote, the first sentence suggests that enough people are cleaning their ears out with paper clips that a group of doctors has to call the practice out specifically to get the offenders to knock it off.
If you’re a lifelong ear cleaner, you might be wondering what will become of the old earwax if you’re not manually removing it. The body’s a wonderful thing, and the doctors say that it’s got you covered:
Chewing, jaw motion, and growing skin in the ear canal help to move old earwax from inside the ears to the ear opening where it then flakes off or is washed off during bathing. This normal process of making wax and pushing the old wax out is continual.
You’ve likely heard all this advice before from friends, coworkers (eww), or parents. This time, it’s coming from ear doctors. If you were continuing the practice until an authority weighed in, you can stop now. The authorities have weighed in. They want you to stop jamming earwax further into your ear, regardless of how good your intentions are.
Meditation has been a practice for thousands of years, as early as 5,000 to 3,500 BCE. While typically a spiritual practice, meditation has since become a method to enhance mental and physical wellness. Many use meditation to lower stress and anxiety to feel more calm and grounded. Some practitioners meditate for hours at a time to achieve this, but, according to recent scientific research, they may only need seven minutes.
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A study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bengaluru, India found that while meditation can alter and change the brain over multiple sessions, it only takes around seven minutes for that mental change to peak per session.
“Meditation research has traditionally compared broad states such as ‘rest’ versus ‘meditation,’ but we still know surprisingly little about when changes in the brain actually emerge after meditation begins,” said researcher Malipeddi Saketh to PsyPost. “Many people assume meditation effects require long sessions, yet little work has examined the moment-to-moment temporal dynamics of brain activity during meditation.”
Studying the brain while it’s meditating
For the study, Saketh and his colleagues separated 103 participants into three groups. The groups were separated by their meditation experience, from novices to regular practitioners. In a sound-proof room, they had the participants individually engage in a 15-minute breath-watching meditation. During these sessions, the researchers analyzed their brain activity at a rate of 1,000 measurements per second. They did this using a specialized net of 128 electrodes placed across the scalp.
The researchers also looked at a transitional band called theta-alpha, which ranges from 6 to 10 hertz. This band is said to reflect a calm, focused state when both alertness and relaxation overlap. This is in contrast to 8 to 12 hertz alpha waves, a state of relaxation in which a person is wide awake with their eyes closed.
To track changes in brain activity over time, the researchers compared the data collected during successive one-minute segments against the baseline, which was the first 30 seconds of the meditation session. They also ran a separate analysis comparing a period of eyes-closed rest to the participant’s meditative state.
The results were promising, especially for newbies to meditation. The researchers found that brain changes during meditation were found within the first two to three minutes. They also found that regardless of experience, these brain changes peaked in intensity within the first seven to ten minutes. This means someone could get the benefits of meditation in less time than it takes to watch a YouTube video.
Effective meditation requires less time than previously thought
“From a mental well-being perspective, this is encouraging because many people feel they lack sufficient time to meditate or believe they need to practice for very long durations to experience benefits,” Saketh noted. “Our findings suggest that even brief periods of intentional mental training may begin engaging brain processes related to attention and internal awareness.”
This study means that even if you have little time in your schedule, you can benefit from meditation. According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can help a person manage symptoms of a wide assortment of ailments. This can range from IBS to high blood pressure. In general, meditation is seen as a good practice for stress management.
While there are several videos online and various venues for professional meditation sessions, beginners don’t necessarily need those at the start. They may not even need them at all.
Meditation tips for newbies
Experts have a few tips to get begin meditating regularly. Set some time aside for meditation, either in the morning to get your day off to a good start or later in the evening to let go of the day’s tension. Meditate in a relaxing, distraction-free spot while seated in a comfortable, upright position. Then, with your eyes closed, focus on the words “breathe in” and “breathe out” as you do so. While you might peak at seven minutes like in the study, you might want to have a full 20-minute meditation session.
If your mind wanders during your session, just acknowledge that it wandered and continue focused breathing. You may want to initially practice mindfulness as you begin your session. Notice what you are feeling, smelling, and what your other senses are engaged with.
This practice can take time to master. Some professionals highlight best practices to help you find what’s most effective for you. It should also be noted that meditation is not a replacement for medical treatment. It’s best to consult your doctor and/or psychiatrist to see if meditation can help you with specific needs.
Meditation may or may not work for you. However, based on this study, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try for at least seven minutes.
Itchy and irritated eyes are some of the most common reasons that patients visit eye doctors. We have experience in treating the causes of eye rubbing and the consequences, which can require specialized contact lenses or corneal transplantation.
Causes of eye rubbing
Rubbing your eyes is often a reaction that occurs when your eyes feel uncomfortable or itchy.
The most common reason for that itchy sensation is allergic conjunctivitis, which accounts for nearly 50% of itching cases. Allergic conjunctivitis is an inflammatory reaction of the conjunctiva, the clear skin on the surface of the eye. Allergens bind to the surface of cells, ultimately leading to the release of inflammatory chemical molecules that trigger the sensation of itching. People may experience redness, swelling and little bumps on the inside of the eyelids.
Sometimes the urge to rub happens if there is a gritty sensation, dryness or something stuck in our eyes. This is often a symptom of dry eye syndrome, or blepharitis.
The urge to rub the eyes can also occur because the eyelids feel itchy, often from other conditions such as dermatitis, which is an inflammation of the eyelid skin.
Because of the anatomy of the eyelid and the thin outer layer, called the epidermis, it is more vulnerable to irritation from the environment or from contact lenses.
The most serious risk that has been associated with eye rubbing is the development of keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea – the clear window in the front of the eye – becomes progressively thinner and more irregular in shape.
While healthy corneas have a more spherical shape, those with keratoconus become steeper and cone-shaped. Keratoconus often causes high degrees of irregular astigmatism, which is an imperfection in the curvature of the cornea that leads to blurry vision.
Fortunately, keratoconus can now be treated with a procedure called corneal cross-linking, which can halt further progression in many cases. During this procedure, collagen strands are cross-linked together, strengthening the cornea. Many patients with keratoconus need specialized contact lenses to achieve optimal vision, even after treatment.
In the most advanced cases, patients may need corneal transplantation to remove the damaged corneal tissue and replace it with healthy donor tissue.
Other conditions associated with eye rubbing
A corneal abrasion is a scratch in the thin, clear skin that covers the cornea and can be triggered by aggressive eye rubbing or a fingernail that inadvertently touches the cornea. An abrasion is exquisitely painful and usually causes blurry vision. Corneal abrasions require treatment with antibiotics to prevent infection.
Eye rubbing can also cause a subconjunctival hemorrhage. This occurs when rubbing breaks a small blood vessel on the surface of the eye and makes the eye appear very red. While it can look and feel alarming, a conjunctival hemorrhage is essentially a bruise on the surface of the eye and does not cause lasting damage. This condition typically resolves in one to two weeks without any intervention.
Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, is an infection of the conjunctiva that can be spread by eye rubbing. It can be caused by viruses or bacteria. If you must touch your eyes, washing your hands first is a good practice to prevent the spread of infection. Viral forms of conjunctivitis are highly contagious, so you should be particularly careful about rubbing your eyes if you have had contact with someone with pink eye.
Most people rub their eyes without even realizing it. But there are ways to address underlying conditions that might trigger eye rubbing.
Often, over-the-counter treatments and home remedies can be quite helpful. One treatment that helps address most underlying causes of the urge to itch is to use artificial tears. Pro-tip: Cooling them in the refrigerator helps too!
In cases of allergic conjunctivitis, it’s important to try to avoid the allergen that triggers the symptoms. For example, if allergies are due to pollen, staying indoors, using sunglasses or rinsing off your face after exposure can help decrease allergen load around your eyes.
The next option is to try over-the-counter artificial tears to rinse out the allergens. In general, it’s best to avoid the drops that advertise “get the red out,” which provide temporary relief but carry risks of side effects. Cool compresses can also provide some relief from itching, decreasing the urge to rub your eyes.
If you still find no relief from the itch, the next step would be to try allergy eye drops, which are available with or without a prescription. There are topical treatments that are antihistamines, mast cell stabilizers or a combination of both. Antihistamine eye drops help block the release of histamines, a substance that the body releases after exposure to allergens. Mast cell stabilizers block the breakdown of mast cells – part of the body’s immune system – which helps reduce the release inflammatory chemicals. Combination eye drops help by targeting both mechanisms.
Since there are many options available, it’s helpful to discuss with your eye doctor which one is the best for you. In cases where there are other symptoms of allergies, such as sneezing or a runny nose, an oral allergy medication could be effective for treating all these symptoms. If you have persistent symptoms, a prescription steroid eye drop can be helpful.
If the urge to rub your eyes is not improving with artificial tears, cool compresses or over-the-counter allergy eye drops, it’s time to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor for an evaluation.
Most people think they come across as helpful, engaged, and supportive in conversations. But according to one therapist, these talking habits may be sending a very different message than intended.
Jeffery, a licensed therapist on TikTok, breaks down five common conversational mistakes people make that can come across as annoying. In the post, viewers didn’t just agree with the list. They began recognizing the same behaviors in friends, family, and even themselves.
People can mistake sharing personal experiences for the perfect way to show empathy and compassion. It begins innocently enough when someone opens up about something personal. Unfortunately, the listener responds with a story of their own. Both people are trying to connect, but the focus has now completely shifted.
“When someone constantly redirects conversations back to themselves, people start feeling unimportant,” Jeffery explains. “When every story somehow becomes about you, people stop feeling listened to and start feeling dismissed.”
A 2023 experiment suggested that reciprocal disclosure increases interpersonal trust. However, an imbalance in the conversation can create feelings of one-sidedness. This “stealing of the spotlight” reduces connection.
An unhappy couple gets defensive. Photo credit: Canva
Getting super defensive
Few things shut down a conversation faster than defensiveness. Even simple misunderstandings can turn tense when people instinctively try to correct rather than understand.
“If every single piece of feedback turns into an excuse or an argument, people eventually stop being honest with you,” Jeffery points out. “Constructive feedback and even some criticism is not always an attack. Sometimes people are simply trying to improve the relationship or communicate something important to you.”
Psychologists describe this behavior as “psychological defensiveness.” Interestingly, a 2024 study found that defensiveness can be reduced if people are warned beforehand in the right way. Conversation works best when it is framed as a collaborative effort rather than an educational or teaching moment.
A woman receives a polygraph test. Photo credit: Canva
Drilling people after they apologize
There is a delicate balance between asking for clarity after an apology and turning the conversation into an interrogation.
“If someone apologizes and you accept it, but then you keep hammering them over the mistake afterward, it will become exhausting and very annoying,” Jeffery adds. “If people feel like apologizing never actually ends the conflict, they actually become less likely to take accountability in the future.”
People often mistake feedback for a personal attack on their own truth. There’s a popular statement often attributed to Marcus Aurelius claiming that much of what we perceive is shaped by interpretation rather than fact. People can share their opinions. We don’t have to defend ourselves against all of them.
Stop constantly complaining
Everyone deserves an opportunity to vent. But when every conversation circles back to frustration without change, it can become emotionally exhausting for the listener. Over time, even the most supportive friends can start to pull back.
“Talking about problems is normal,” says Jeffery. “But if almost every interaction revolves around negativity, people start associating you with emotional exhaustion. Nobody wants to leave conversations feeling drained every single time.”
This pattern of constant, dissatisfied venting has even found its way into pop culture. Maybe you remember the infamous George Costanza from the award-winning show Seinfeld. His nonstop stream of complaints was a running joke about negativity. It’s fun to watch and laugh at, but far less enjoyable to encounter in real life.
A conversation turns to comparison. Photo credit: Canva
One-upping people’s negative emotions
Sometimes, someone takes a risk and shares a particularly challenging experience. In an attempt to show empathy, saying “I get it” might land more like “that’s not a big deal.” It’s important to offer emotional validation rather than comparison.
“If someone opens up about something painful and your immediate reaction is to explain how you had it worse, it can make the other person feel completely invalidated,” Jeffery says. “They just want to feel heard and emotionally supported in that moment.”
A 2023 study revealed that someone trying to relate can sometimes redirect attention away from the original speaker. People feel more supported when their emotions are directly acknowledged instead of reframed or one-upped.
Many people said Jeffrey’s list felt immediately familiar, whether in conversations with friends or in their own behavior. These annoying habits became surprisingly relatable once someone pointed them out. Here are some of those thoughts:
“silently reposting this for one of my friends to find”
“The first one has ended relationships for me, not because I do it, but because they did it. It’s absolutely exhausting.”
“I know one of my friends are gonna tag me in this later”
“I’ve noticed over the years that my annoying personality will surface when I’m trying to protect myself..”
“I have such a hard time with #1 and I am so aware of it sometimes but I find it so difficult to not do when talking to someone.”
“I do all of these maybe I should go back to therapy”
What might be surprising is that many of these habits are things people slip into without realizing it. Jeffrey’s list doesn’t suggest people are intentionally difficult. He points out that annoying conversations can arise from good intentions, too. Allowing a person to be heard can matter more than offering advice that might fix the problem.
