Forum - View topic

Answerman - Why Does Anime Often Feature Ear Cleaning?

Quote:

Additionally, the sort of Japanese businesses that cater to lonely men often offer this as a service.

What about lonely women? Where do they go to get their ears cleaned?

Nodz wrote:

Ok I agree the color is different, but smell? I am European and my ear wax doesn't smell anything, though it does have this yellow color.

People usually don't smell their own smells. Ok, if you've worn the same clothes for a few weeks then it's understandable, but normally people don't realize how they smell to others...

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.

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.

It's basically a small spoon on a long handle, so anything you can make a spoon out of will do. Mostly plastic nowadays, but historically usually wood of some kind. As you moved up the social scale, the wood got rarer and more expensive naturally. I've seen ivory ones too, presumably for the top of the ladder.

For those asking what to use instead of Q-tips/cotton buds, there are plenty of ear wax removal drops available at drug stores e.g. Murine Ear Wax Removal System http://a.co/iUotf9w.

For people in Japan who live by themselves, or they live with no one whom they can trust to remove earwax without harm, what do they do? Do they do what Justin does and see a doctor every now and then for it?

When I was little, my mother used a hairpin. It was pretty effective, though it did sometimes leave my ear aching a bit. No permanent damage though.

I just thought it was one of those weird creepy pervy anime things that no-one does in real life like head pats.

...No Q-tips ever since. But, yes, I still have no earthly idea what ELSE they're ever used for.

I clean my ears regularly (at least once a week) with a metal ear pick, but I still use cotton swabs after showers to dry my ears. I never jam them into my ears, just a quick swirl along the outer parts to wipe away any lingering water.

That's safe... right???

I'm white but my earwax has always been flaky/white/dry. I honestly thought that was the normal mode earwax is in, until I saw my dad's gross Q-tips he'd used to clean his own ears (he didn't get the memo either I guess) covered in horrid yellowy goo. I actually asked him if he had an infection, and he was genuinely surprised when I told him that mine isn't like that. Then I found out everyone in my family also had the type like my dad's and only I was different.

I had no idea it was a geographical thing until I was in Daiso the other day and saw some ear cleaning tools and one was 'for japanese earwax' and another 'for american and european earwax'. Thought I was seeing some weird lost in translation thing for a bit.

If its genetic, I'm not sure where mine came from...

If its genetic, I'm not sure where mine came from...