 [ Symptoms ] i have had a bacterial infection need doctor advice [ Disease ] i am sorry to address this urgent concern so late but the answer is yes this is why you should never use q tips to clean the inside of your ears ear wax is not dirt and it does not need to be removed in most cases the damage was caused to your ear canal or you accidently ruptured your eardrum most of these should heal without any permanent hearing loss but occasional a severe injury to the middle ear structures from a q tip can cause some permanent damage if you are complete well now and have normal hearing and no blood or drainage from the ears you are probably fine the only way for you to be completely sure is to see a medical provider and have your ears properly examined now go throw away those q tips