Don't do this. I learned the hard way because I ended up pushing earwax into the canal, eventually forming a blockage. I couldn't hear out of my ear and had to go to an ENT, where he use vacuum suction to take some of it out (the deepest he could go without risking damage to the ear drum), and then I had to do two weeks of hyrogen peroxide drops (Debrox) to help liquify the earwax. Not being able to hear out of one ear is miserable, even if temporary.

Your ears are self-cleaning. They automatically push earwax (slowly) to the outside. A Q-tip is only meant for the outer rim of your ear. There's a saying ENTs use I found while researching my problem: "nothing smaller than your elbow should enter your ear". My ENT told me to stop using the Q-tips. If you find your ears produce a lot of wax, you can just use a tissue on the outside. Or if you're willing to heed the warnings, carefully use a Q-tip, but don't insert it into your ear canal.

(Throwaway because I don't like mixing personal medical info with my regular account)

FWIW, you really shouldn’t put them in your ear…

That’s a good one!