Anyone have experience with "ear candles"

[Nurse Ratched]

OK, I already alluded to in a previous thread my pure unadulterated joy at flushing people's ears out which I do with some regularity at my new job. (Laugh if you must, but I consider it a little step above enemas and impactions, which I've also had to do a lot of in my time! ) Today, I flushed a hunk of crap as big as the first joint of my pinkie finger out of a girl's ear. (Keep getting visions of that annoying wireless phone commercial, "Can you hear me NOW?") She said she had been trying to use ear candles to draw out the wax and wondered if they helped. Whether they work for others or not, I don't know, but her wax was clearly way beyond any therapeutic benefit of a candle. Told her I had no knowledge and she's going to call back next week after I do some research and question the docs.

Gut instinct is that they're probably a crock, and there was a weird film coating the outside of her ear goober that I don't usually see and might be attributable to the ear candles.

Thoughts?

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

I did do some research; FDA isn't keen on them and there are no research studies that support their efficacy (altho there are some that indicate they have no effect on ear wax.) Even sites that endorse their use and efficacy indicate that it's nearly impossible to do correctly on your own, which this patient was.

Thanks again for all the thoughts :).

[NurseTightscrubs]

Nurse Ratched,

I'm curious if you used a peroxide / warm water flush to remove the large wax build up from the female patient? About 12 years ago a doctor flushed my ear and then used a curette to remove a hard wax build up the size of a M&M. Few times since then have I felt so much relief and clarity of sound.

I can feel the build up in my ear and have been using peroxide / warm water to remove it although I cannot use a curette on myself for fear of puncturing my ear drum; Also I'm afraid of using pressurized water for the same reason. I suffer from the impacted hard wax build up and I am searching for an alternative to the peroxide / warm water flush to remove the wax. The water occasionally becomes trapped behind the wax, excessive amounts of peroxide causes ear canal dryness, and in cases of impacted hard wax build up it really is not effective beyond the first coat of wax leaving large chucks of hard wax attached to the ear canal and drum.

I've tried the candles and quite frankly they are possibly 5% as effective as a peroxide / warm water flush and thats being generous. Is the use of a curette and p/ww the only option?

Thanks,

Tight Scrubs

[mommy2boys]

Call me crazy, but I don't want anything with a flame near, in or on my head. I tend to burn myself just looking at matches, so I think I'll pass the whole ear candle thing.

Besides, I've never heard of it until just now. You learn something new everyday.

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

Hi there,

Had to giggle at my 3 1/2 year old thread bouncing up :). I still love a good ear lavage.

You are right to be worried about causing more harm than good by poking around on yourself. I would suggest you see your HCP. Once the immediate problem is relieved, inquire about the possible reasons for your wax buildup (seasonal/envoironmental allergies are one example of a very treatable condition that, left untreated, will promote wax production.)

Here's some info:

http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/ears/earwax.cfm

I would decline to make any suggestions other than see your provider. No sense being deaf if you don't have to be :). Best wishes.

[not now, RN]

My great grandma was a curandera (mexican faith healer) and most of her "tricks" were passed down to my oldest aunt. My mom was complaining about her ear bothering her so my aunt was gonna do the ear candle thing, which she claims you can do with any paper twisted into the cone shape not just a cone shaped candle. I said they were both crazy.

As my aunt is doing it they are both sitting quietly, my mom with her head tilted to the side, my aunt holding the paper as it's burning. Suddenly a big poof of air escapes from the cone. They both look at with with an expression that says "See?" and I reply "You pay all this money for me to go to college and expect me to believe this stuff?"

[chysyl]

does it clean the ear or keep it completely shut.

[banditrn]

Cleaning out ear wax rates only slightly higher on my scale than clipping nasty toenails.

[NurseTightscrubs]

Ratched,

My ear canal is abnormally narrow, the wax does not naturally clear as it should. I never... EVER use Q-tips as they seem to only cause the wax to become impacted. Over time the wax hardens along the canal walls and as the passage narrows it becomes easier for water and debris to become trapped imparing my hearing and causing quite a bit of discomfort. For the most part I was just curious if there was another method aside from the warm water and peroxide / and the candle cure. My HCP believes in using warm water and peroxide... and quite frankly I can do a better job with that myself.

Tightscrubs

[lorster]

When I was a home health nurse, I used candles on a quadraplegic patient. They worked great on him. The wax does not go into the ear. They are a hollow cone shaped tube made of paper, covered with a light coating of wax, about a foot long. You cut a hole in a paper plate and hold it over the ear. The small point of the cone tube is then gently inserted into the ear canal and the other end of the tube is lit with a match. As the cone is burned down and the ashes of the tube are allowed to fall on the plate. I'm not sure how it works but it some how forms a vacume, allowing the wax to be sucked from the canal. It worked on this patient when the peroxide/water treatments didn't. I purchased them at our local food coop. Try them, they do work.

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

A few co-workers used candles for ear problems a few years ago and they claimed they worked.

Grandpa used to just blow some smoke from his ciggy or pipe in the grandchilds ears when they ached, plug em with cotton for the night then mom or grandmom would take the cotton out in the morning and gently flush with a baster or just soak the kid in the sink. Lots of junk would come out as I remember. So I from past experience would believe candling could work.

[studentforlife]

Grandpa used to just blow some smoke from his ciggy or pipe in the grandchilds ears when they ached, plug em with cotton for the night then mom or grandmom would take the cotton out in the morning and gently flush with a baster or just soak the kid in the sink. Lots of junk would come out as I remember. So I from past experience would believe candling could work.

I remember hearing about this treatment when I was a kid. I wonder what the science is behind it? What makes it so effective? Mind you - if one of the kids gets an ear ache I'm still going to take him to the Dr., but this does make me curious.

[buddiage]

I've heard people burn the inside of their ear. If it causes that much suction, the ear drum would be damaged and you'd probably feel it in your nose or throat.

I don't believe in them. I checked on it about a year ago, looked at all the pros and cons and different websites.

No, not good.