Ear Candling: Why It's NOT a good idea!
Imagine if you were introduced to a product that claimed to do the following:
Millions of people around the world do, though none of the above statements have ever been proven to be true!
Auricular candling, or auricular coning, is more frequently known as "ear candling". Thought to originate from ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, and the pre-Columbian Americas, the origin of ear candling is rather obscure. It involves a linen or cotton cloth, soaked in wax or paraffin ('the candle') and allowed to harden. Most instructions involve the person undergoing 'treatment' to lie on his or her side. A collecting plate is placed above the ear and a candle is inserted through a hole in the plate and into the ear canal. The candle is then lit. The "vacuum action" created by the candle in the ear allegedly pulls out "impurities" such as earwax, toxins, dead skin, drug residues, or remnants of past yeast infections (none of which has been verified!) After the candle is blown out and removed, it is often unrolled or the debris on the collection plate is touted as the impurities as mentioned above.
SO....why DOESN'T it work?
Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax is sticky by nature. It's designed that way. It is made up of dirt, oil, and a sticky discharge from cerumenous glands. And did I mention it's sticky? The negative pressure that would be required for an ear candle to actually work would be so significant that it would rupture the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in the process. Ear candling produces no vacuum whatsoever.
Let's go back to the claims at the beginning of this post. Strengthen the brain? Purify the blood? If someone took a good look at a good 'ole fashion anatomy book, the notion that an ear candle somehow affects structures beyond the tympanic membrane is false. In someone with an intact tympanic membrane (no pressure-equalizing tubes, ruptures, etc.) the ear canal is not connected to the brain, the sinuses claimed to be affected by this procedure, or the Eustachian tube (what you "pop" when you pop your ears as when you go in an airplane, the mountains, etc. to equalize pressure). There have been some individuals who have said that the tympanic membrane is porous and the impurities can "pass through" and be sucked out by the candle but this is completely false. Any impurities that appear to have been sucked out by the candle are nothing more than burned wax and cloth from the cone itself.
The most commonly reported risk involves hot wax dripping down the candle and into the ear canal, burning the canal and eardrum. One story reported that a woman, attempting to candle her own ear, caught her gown and bed linens on fire, which resulted in her home being engulfed in flames. While she escaped the fire, she had an asthma attack and died on the way to the hospital. All because she tried an ear candle. So sad.
- strengthen the brain
- purify the blood
- stop ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- stabilize emotions
- assist lymphatic circulation
- aid sinusitis
- clean wax from the ear canal
- release blocked energy
- release TMJ pain and stiffness
- reduce stress and tension
- and much, much more!
Millions of people around the world do, though none of the above statements have ever been proven to be true!
Auricular candling, or auricular coning, is more frequently known as "ear candling". Thought to originate from ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, and the pre-Columbian Americas, the origin of ear candling is rather obscure. It involves a linen or cotton cloth, soaked in wax or paraffin ('the candle') and allowed to harden. Most instructions involve the person undergoing 'treatment' to lie on his or her side. A collecting plate is placed above the ear and a candle is inserted through a hole in the plate and into the ear canal. The candle is then lit. The "vacuum action" created by the candle in the ear allegedly pulls out "impurities" such as earwax, toxins, dead skin, drug residues, or remnants of past yeast infections (none of which has been verified!) After the candle is blown out and removed, it is often unrolled or the debris on the collection plate is touted as the impurities as mentioned above.
SO....why DOESN'T it work?
Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax is sticky by nature. It's designed that way. It is made up of dirt, oil, and a sticky discharge from cerumenous glands. And did I mention it's sticky? The negative pressure that would be required for an ear candle to actually work would be so significant that it would rupture the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in the process. Ear candling produces no vacuum whatsoever.
Let's go back to the claims at the beginning of this post. Strengthen the brain? Purify the blood? If someone took a good look at a good 'ole fashion anatomy book, the notion that an ear candle somehow affects structures beyond the tympanic membrane is false. In someone with an intact tympanic membrane (no pressure-equalizing tubes, ruptures, etc.) the ear canal is not connected to the brain, the sinuses claimed to be affected by this procedure, or the Eustachian tube (what you "pop" when you pop your ears as when you go in an airplane, the mountains, etc. to equalize pressure). There have been some individuals who have said that the tympanic membrane is porous and the impurities can "pass through" and be sucked out by the candle but this is completely false. Any impurities that appear to have been sucked out by the candle are nothing more than burned wax and cloth from the cone itself.
Dangers of ear candling
The most dangerous issue about ear candling is the false claims it makes. For someone truly suffering from swimmer's ear, sinus issues, TMJ syndrome, a CNS issue, or other medical problem ear candles claim to help, it can be disheartening to try something only to end up no better, or worse, with a burned eardrum! So, in addition to being a complete waste of money (a local 'spa' in my city charges $75 for this "procedure"!), what's the harm if someone has money to burn (literally)?The most commonly reported risk involves hot wax dripping down the candle and into the ear canal, burning the canal and eardrum. One story reported that a woman, attempting to candle her own ear, caught her gown and bed linens on fire, which resulted in her home being engulfed in flames. While she escaped the fire, she had an asthma attack and died on the way to the hospital. All because she tried an ear candle. So sad.
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