After twelve years of being in a high risk group with no trouble at all, I just don't take this supposed risk seriously. If I was ever going to get an ear infection, I think it would have happened by now. My 'single datapoint' is more like 30 years of data.
> You experience discomfort immediately upon stopping cleaning
In the case of qtips, I experience a sensation of satisfaction immediately after stopping. The discomfort, several days later, comes from the ear wax, and is immediately relieved with another qtip. There is no trend of it getting worse. My frequency of use has not changed in 30 years. It is comparable to cleaning my teeth, my mouth feels gross when I don't, so I do.
> You experience discomfort immediately upon stopping cleaning
In the case of qtips, I experience a sensation of satisfaction immediately after stopping. The discomfort, several days later, comes from the ear wax, and is immediately relieved with another qtip. There is no trend of it getting worse. My frequency of use has not changed in 30 years. It is comparable to cleaning my teeth, my mouth feels gross when I don't, so I do.