If you're still reaching for this common product to battle ear wax, it's time to try a better — and safer — method.

Here's what the truth sounds like. Should I ever clean inside my ears with cotton swabs? No. You could technically scratch your ear canal or push wax in deeper. Then what should I do about earwax?

Learn why your ear wax smells and when it signals a health problem requiring medical attention, according to top ENT specialists.

It helps keep our ears ... that don’t, and can’t, clean themselves. The trapped earwax may also contain bacteria from the outer ear that could cause infection. Furthermore, removing wax ...

The human ear ... produce a lot of ear wax or have “really hairy ear canals,” Kasper said, which means they may need a little more help to keep their ears clean. “In those particular cases ...