I should have clarified that my ENT recommended using the Q tip to apply a light coating of baby oil/mineral oil. She explained that indeed just using a Q tip to try and clean them does tend to push some wax in deeper and overenthusiastic users can even rupture their ear drums. That's the reason all the ENTs and even the Q tip company itself say don't put them inside your ears.
However, in her practice with oral cancer survivors, she has noticed that the ear(s) with direct radiation have excessively dry skin tissue that is connected with excessive ear wax production. Lightly skimming the ear with oil ameliorates this and can keep down the ear wax buildup.
I noticed that the NIH webpage on ear wax repeats the Q tip prohibition but does recommend using Baby oil, Glycerin and Mineral oil to soften wax and keep it from impacting but is silent on radiation damage and how to mitigate it.
Charm