Obviously I was making light of this but they don't want you even using Q Tips. I sent a E-mail of my little adventure to my daughter at work. Her reply is as follows

"What the hell's goin' on with ears lately! My friend at work gouged her ear drum with a Q-tip and now she can't hear! Well, glad it wasn't something more serious like severed limbs!"

So just how do we keep out ears clean?

Vacuum Cleaners? LOL