why do i cough when i clean my ears

Coughing when cleaning your ears happens because of the stimulation of a nerve in your ear canal called the vagus nerve, specifically its auricular branch known as Arnold’s nerve. When this nerve is touched or irritated—such as by cleaning the ear—your brain can mistakenly interpret the sensation as something in your throat, triggering a reflexive cough to try to clear the perceived irritant. This is called Arnold's ear-cough reflex and affects about 10% of people. It is harmless but can be surprising or annoying. To minimize coughing while cleaning your ears, it helps to be gentle, avoid inserting objects too deeply, clean only the outer ear as needed, and consider safer cleaning methods like ear camera cleaners or seeing a professional if sensitivity is high. Coughing during ear cleaning is essentially a nerve reflex and is not a sign of a serious problem in most cases.