# Ear Candling



## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

Please investigate before using.... I had my ears recently candled and when my friend cut open the end peice and I saw all the wax and stuff that came out of my ears I was like wow I guess I need to do this more often so i went online to order some and came across and article about the scam of ear candling.... well i was really surprised because i was really impressed with the results of just having my ears candled So I seplt on it and woke up to well I'm gonna have to investigate this so I took one of the candles and lit it and put it in a clear glass let it burn to about the size we had done in my ear then I cut it open to take a look and wow the same stuff that had came supposedly out of my ear came out of the glass!!! Also while I watched it burn stuff fell into the glass so that has all fallen into my ear..... I am not happy about this and I think people should be warned and advised to really look at what is going into their ears before they do this. Don't take my word for it try it and decide for yourself. Thanks JIL


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Yup. Candling, (and Cleanses, Liver, Gallbladder and Colon are real money makers...and potentially dangerous. Cleanses are just another form of an eating disorder)
At our local Health food store a woman was asking about candling, she was told by the associate that a warm onion placed over the ear was going to do more than a cone of burning wax. The customer wanted to argue with the assoc. saying she'd heard such wonderful things about the process...some people just won't be convinced.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

From reading that, I discern that you candled your ear but the stuff that came out was in fact just candle wax?


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

We once did this at a family gathering----yes, I know----we sometimes do weird things at our family gatherings:cowboy:

I went into it having my doubts about the abilities of the procedure.

but the confusing thing was------everyone of the 15 of us had different results.

One ear of an individual would be very similar to their other ear------------------but each person had a noticable difference from every other person.

So, if indeed, ear candling has no effect, why would each person yield different results?


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

get a candle and burn it inside of a glass jar and then open and see the results . It may be how it was held in each ear (I am talking about wax candles). it may be that each candle was burned to different lengths? I don't know but I know what happened when I burned one in a glass jar I wish I could post a pic but don't have a camera. It came out the same as what came from the one I did in my ear. Are you sure they were that different? I am going to get some beeswax and try to burn /melt to look at the color. I just think we should know what is going in our ears I was highly disappointed because I want to use all natural methods of taking care of my family ( as much as possible) I thought wow this is a good thing til I read that article. So I decided I would experiment and my results left me very dissapointed to say the least.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

I had a customer that had suspected water in the inner ear region they wanted to put tubes in her ears she decided to try candling and it worked no mre sounds of sloshing and the DR was amazed that the problem cleared up.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Pure physics make it possible to work if done correctly.
The rising 'heat' from the flame makes a gentle suction. I doubt you will hock up any real wax up and out of your ear, but you will loosen and shift the stuff down in there.

Don't go by the gunk at the bottom. Your ear just doesn't have that much stuff in it and it wouldn't have enough suction to get it up that far.

Same results can be had, in theory, by having a loved one make a good seal around your ear and suck slowly. Ewwww.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

A person could simply TASTE the wax, to tell for sure.


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

There were very obvious differences when the family did it.

The one son always had extreme amounts of ear wax.
His candles had "stuff" drawn up 4 inches into the extinguished candle.

My DH had huge plugs of stuff.

Everyone was different----no two were alike.

One instruction described the process by saying you were to hold your head up straight and have the candle sticking out to the side,
That way there would be no ashes falling to the inside of the ear.

However when we did it, we laid our head sideways and held the candle upright.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

When I used to do it for some rock and roll friends, they would lay on their side adn I would poke a hole in a plate and have the candle standing upright.
I made sure it sounded like the ocean, meaning their was a good seal before I would light it.
They swore it helped their hearing. The music and the resulting vibration made their inner ears produce more wax.


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

From the research I have been doing it seems that there is one positive effect and it is that the smoke seems to sooth the inner ear but it very difinetly states that the stuff in the candle is from the candle and not the ear. That the suction it would take to pull all that out would potentionally damage the ear drum. This is what I have been reading and I burned one in a glass jar and that is how I have come to my conclusion, Oh and stuff did fall into the jar. I am going to look at the paper candles to put smoke into ears it is supposed to relieve pressure. Get a candle and do an experiment see what you come up with, JIL


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Ear candling is a scam. I am a nurse, and trust me, there is no way that much stuff (really it is just what is left after burning the candle) can come out of an ear canal. No only did I see a show on how it is a scam, but I have been cleaning my parent's ears for YEARS. It is easy to do with a flashlight, peroxide and ear syringe. I also have a wax scoop that I snitched from a doctor after she cleaned wax out of my daughters ear.


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

fetch33 said:


> Ear candling is a scam. I am a nurse, and trust me, there is no way that much stuff (really it is just what is left after burning the candle) can come out of an ear canal. No only did I see a show on how it is a scam, but I have been cleaning my parent's ears for YEARS. It is easy to do with a flashlight, peroxide and ear syringe. I also have a wax scoop that I snitched from a doctor after she cleaned wax out of my daughters ear.


Based on published evidence it would seem that it is, indeed, a scam.

However------how would one explain the big differences that I saw in my own family group.
All were done the same day, with all of us present, all using the same technique.
Why was there such a wide variety of results?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Before you waste your money on ear candling, get someone to witch your ears first. They can take a forked piece of willow, hold a branch in each hand and point the base over your ear. If you can see the twig bend towards your ear hole, then go ahead and buy the ear candles. 
You can also drop a segment of a tape worm into your ear. It will eat the ear wax and then you can squirt some tobacco juice into your ear to kill the tape worm before it lays eggs between the sturup and anvil.
Ah, the hocus pokus of medicine.


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

maybe the process of making the candles was not consistent in the amount of beeswax used. Beewax (color) in its natural state is really close to earwax. so once burned it would be the color of ear wax. and the stuff from the cotton falls into the ear. I know when some have their mind made up that is it. I just want to let everyone know what I discovered and the potential of futher ear problems. Investigate experiment and make sure you know what is going on. JIL


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

sorry no tape worms for me, LOL I wouldn't want the possibility of leaving one egg to develope and it would eat my brain out what I do have of it.


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

haypoint said:


> Before you waste your money on ear candling, get someone to witch your ears first. They can take a forked piece of willow, hold a branch in each hand and point the base over your ear. If you can see the twig bend towards your ear hole, then go ahead and buy the ear candles.
> You can also drop a segment of a tape worm into your ear. It will eat the ear wax and then you can squirt some tobacco juice into your ear to kill the tape worm before it lays eggs between the sturup and anvil.
> Ah, the hocus pokus of medicine.


:hysterical:


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

tallpines said:


> Based on published evidence it would seem that it is, indeed, a scam.
> 
> However------how would one explain the big differences that I saw in my own family group.
> All were done the same day, with all of us present, all using the same technique.
> Why was there such a wide variety of results?


Why don't you put 6 of them in 6 identical jars and light them all at once and see if they end up with identical goo when burned?


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2010)

Yup , I have known for years that you can get just as much wax out of your elbow as you can your ear with one of those things .


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

Since the government is trying to stop production of all ear candles, that is evidence enough for me to believe that it works. LOL

But seriously, I have known many people who swear by them. Perhaps it is suggestive healing, I don't know. But if people feel better, even if it is not as a result of the ear candles, what is the harm?

I have not used them personally, but I would if I felt the need to.

donsgal


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I would be afraid to mess with my ears like that.

You may want to check out this site:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

Ear candling seems to work well for me and my family. I suppose you just have to do what works for you. I'm inclinded to disbelieve much of whats posted on quackwatch since they are there to discredite any natural medicine to make the Medical doctors look better.


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## Jeff54321 (Jan 26, 2005)

There is no bigger quack than Stephen Barrett, the man who runs quackwatch:

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/opinionpieces/Met Stephen Barrett.htm

I have known many people who used ear candles quite successfully.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

How many that have done the candle thing have had someone with an Otoscope look into your ears *before* and *after* candling? They can be found for $30.

I make molded earplugs at work for the guys. A few of them have tried candling after I told them that I couldn't make a set for them because of too much ear wax. I usually have to send them away again to have drops put in or there ears flushed by a pro. I may make the ear plugs but I do not clean there ears.


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## hoggie (Feb 11, 2007)

A good friend of mine does clinics using ear candles and, believe me, he is probably the most sincere medic you will ever meet.

this is an extract from the leaflet he publishes. As you can see, there is no mention of ear wax.

I think th eproblem is, that ear candles, like many other "alternative" medicines come from a different system of beliefs. In the Western culture, medicine has to be seen to do X or Y for people to accept it's uses. Many alternative practices deal with more abstract principles so those that cannot cope with them tend to try to bring them in line with what they "know". Hence the constant referral to ear wax wheras the candles actually do a totally different job 

tallpines - I think the final paragraph of the extract may possibly answer your questions.  


""WHAT IS EAR CANDLING? Ear candling is a centuries old method of bringing an enhanced state of health to the person, healing ear, nose, throat and sinus problems.

WHAT DOES IT HELP WITH? Ear candling has a very consistent track record of success. Helping people with problems like: sinus congestion, colds, flu, sore throats, ear aches, ear infections, sinus infections, lymphatic congestion, swollen glands, snoring, vertigo, balance, tinnitus, allergy symptoms, asthma, bronchitis, most hearing difficulties, ear pressure when flying or diving. That's only the beginning of the list of benefits.

HOW DOES EAR CANDLING ACCOMPLISH ALL THIS? With the ear candle inserted into the ear, the heat from the flame creates a stimulating, soothing, warming effect. The mechanics of this process are energetic in nature. Adding heat to the system, especially in such a subtle way, results in a stimulation of lymphatic drainage (swelling goes down); in burning off excess mucus in middle and inner ear, sinuses and nose (breathing improves); in increasing mobility and effectiveness of the white blood cells (improved immune response); in stimulating the pituitary gland (controls glandular system). Ear candling strengthens the bodily systems through balancing the energetic system.



WHY HERBS? Throughout the centuries and in many cultures, traditional folklore medicine has made use of burning of herbs for medicinal, ceremonial and spiritual ascension purposes. In respect of this tradition herbs have been added.
The herbs were largely chosen for their benefit to the earn nose and throat area, their ability to stimulate the immune system and also to balance the energy systems of the body.
The presence of the herbs in the ear candles creates a significant difference in the total bodily effect of the ear candling process.

EAR CANDLE RESIDUE? The ear candle produces three residues: black smoke, wax and powder. These are manifestations of the burning process through the person's energy field. The residue reflects the person's underlying energetic state which has created the physical symptoms. You will notice this residue changing as the symptoms change and the person becomes more balanced. ""


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

JIL said:


> sorry no tape worms for me, LOL I wouldn't want the possibility of leaving one egg to develope and it would eat my brain out what I do have of it.


Don't worry, tapeworms do not lay eggs.


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## Vega (Apr 7, 2010)

I've read on other forums about how it doesn't work. I prefer to use my good old q-tips. Another option is the ear-cleaning liquids at the pharmacy. You basically put the liquid in there, it breaks up the ear wax and you turn your head side-ways so it can flush out. I then use q-tips to get any of the residue and leftover ear wax out. On a side note, be careful with q-tips as they can damage your ears if you use too much force.


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