earpick; ear pick
Common everyday term for a small tool used to clean the ear canal.
I bought an earpick at the pharmacy.
The term 消息子 is composed of 消息 (news, tidings) and 子 (small thing), but the exact derivation is uncertain. It may have originally referred to a tool for conveying information (e.g., probing), but the connection is not clear. The medical sense is a specialized extension.