When it comes to other possible medical problems caused by earplug use, Dr Jeff Foster from H3Health said: “They are known to increase the risk of certain medical problems.
“In particular, a common condition known as otitis externa.
“This is where the ear canal becomes painful, inflamed, and often infected.
“There are many causes for this the presence of a foreign body that can scrape the ear canal greatly increases the chances of this happening. This is the same reason we tell people not to put cotton buds in their ears.
“In addition, how far you put the ear plug can affect safety – so normal insertion reduces hearing by about 10 decibels but if you really want to block out noise, inserting it more deeply can block out 25 decibels but poses two risks.
