Why does cleaning your ear with a q-tip sometimes cause coughing?

Question

Why does cleaning your ear with a q-tip sometimes cause coughing?

In: Biology

Answer 1

There’s a nerve in your ear canal called Arnold’s Nerve which carries touch sensation from the ear canal to the brain. This nerve is a branch of a larger nerve called the vagus nerve, which also has branches in your throat. Because those 2 nerves are connected to the vagus nerve, it’s possible (although uncommon) for the brain to mistake where the sensation is coming from, and interprets the sensation in your ear as something in your throat that needs to be coughed out.

That being said, if you’re putting anything in your ear deep enough to stimulate Arnold’s nerve, you’re putting it in *way* too deep. You could perforate your eardrum.