• Mechanical damage would require a major freak accident or you to be an idiot about it.

    The real issue (according to my doctor, who has a lot more patience than most doctors and actually educated my stubborn ass on this) isn’t just the cotton residue you mentioned (though that is very much a factor) but also the fact that for every [small unit of measurement] of wax the QTip pulls OUT, it is also pushing IN about [small unit of measurement] of it.

    This can mean infections, as you mentioned. As you push foreign content AND the wax (which is itself full of trapped bacteria) closer to your sensitive bits. It can also accelerate blockages depending on the consistency of your wax. If you have that issue that your ears get wax blockage periodically, q-tips ensure it happens even faster.