Ear Candling

I heard about ear candling years ago, and we even bought a set of special candles to do it 'sometime' but just never got around to it.

The Day Has Come

We actually got around to giving it a try.  A couple of days ago Everette put some olive oil into his ear which is supposed to help loosen up waxes.  And we got all our paraphernalia assembled.  Everette was the guinea pig because he has the most issues with his ears.  He has some definite hearing loss, likely due to loud tools in logging and construction, and he also has been suffering from tinnitus (ringing in the ear) for more than a year.  Maybe 2 years now.

So, here he is, head on table with his head on fire!!  (just kidding) 

The candles are hollow in the middle, and the lit wick creates a vaccum pulling toxins/wax out of the ear and up into the hollow candle.  The bottom of the candle is tapered to go into the ear opening, and it collects debris mostly just above this spot.

You use two candles per ear, and each ear is done in four consecutive sessions.....basically, burning half of the candle, exchanging it with the 2nd burning candle, you clean debris out of the 1st candle, then replace the 2nd candle with the last half of the first candle, clean debris out of the 2nd candle, then switch the candles again for the final half of the 2nd candle.

So on the right side you can see 4 piles of yellow/orange 'stuff' from Everette's right ear.  Each pile is from each of the 4 stages.  On the left are the 4 piles from his left ear.  The right ear (with the ringing) certainly had more debris come out.

Here's what it looks like close up.  Penny for relationship in size.

Okay, so there you have it.  Maybe you've heard of ear candling, or maybe not.  None of us had any idea what really to expect because we'd never seen it done before. We'd heard both those in favor and those set against its use.

Oh yeah, we cleaned out the debris, then we burned the rest of the candle to see if there was any thing like this yellow stuff collecting inside when it wasn't against the ear.  We had no build up at all.  Nothing.  So, to us, it appears that the debris came from the ear, not the candle.  But, hey, we don't claim to be scientists.  It was just our experience.

What's Our Verdict?

Well, Everette still has the ringing in his ear.  He doesn't notice any improvement in his hearing.  So, it doesn't appear to have had any success for him.  But like I said, the candles burning alone didn't create debris.  So, where did it come from?


About.com: Holistic Healing says there's.....

Better Ways to Clean Your Ears

Recommended home treatments for removal of excessive earwax:

• Placing a few drops of oil (mineral oil, baby oil, or glycerin) inside the ear canal to soften the wax.
• Using hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide drops are helpful in the removal of wax.
• Ear syringing, using a solution of warm water and saline. (Caution: Avoid having your ears irrigated if you have diabetes, a perforated eardrum, tube in the eardrum, or a weakened immune system.)

Question for You:  Have you ever had ear candling done?  If so, what were your results?