I cleaned my ear with a q-tip and the cotton didn't come out, is this dangerous? once in a while i feel a little pain in my ear, nothing i can't handle though. should i be worried?

In : In and of itself this isn't dangerous but a retained cotton wad is still a foreign body , can elicit an inflammatory response, interfere with the self-cleaning efficiency of the ear canal, and expectedly is probably contributing to some degree of hearing loss. It should be removed.

Grandmas : Grandmas always say never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. Actually, it is not uncommon to get the cotton from a q-tip stuck in the ear. You should never put it in the canal. The body has its own mechanisms to clean the ears. A little wax in the canal is normal as it is bacteriostatic (doesn't allow bacteria to grow) and is an emollient for the thin skin of the canal. Overcleaning the canal can increase the risk of infection and ear itching. The cotton should get removed. It can cause inflammation and infection.