Ear Candling

CVmursenary · Jan 24, 2011

looking at the page about it on wikipedia, it does not look to do much of anything

Davey Do · Jan 24, 2011

Thanks for the reply and the direction to wikipedia, brandon2011.

Yeah, according to that article, Candling doesn't produce results and they generally discourage their use. But I tell you what: I've drawn so much wax out of my ear that I have made an amber-colored marble-sized ball out of the results.

Oh well. To each his/her own.

Thanks again.

Dave

Fribblet · Jan 24, 2011

It's total bunk. The dark stuff you get when you crack open the candle isn't your ear wax.

It's about as effective as homeopathic medicine, which is to say, not at all.

redessa · Jan 24, 2011

This came up in my anatomy class. One girl said she and a friend decided to burn one of the candles one time, without sticking it in anyone's ear. They got the exact same ball of yellow wax as they had when using it correctly. It's not ear wax, it's just the stuff that's in the candle.

allnurses Guide · Jan 24, 2011

I've heard of it, but I've never tried it. Working in family practice for years I became the queen of the primitive yet effective technique of removing cerumen with a big 'ol syringe full of warm water and the properly aimed stream to dislodge 10 years worth of -- well let's not go there. It did have the advantage of instant cure and a wow reaction though!

redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN · Jan 24, 2011

"Can you hear me now?!"
Most of us brush and floss our teeth before going to the Dentist. Dentists appreciate that.
I have an appointment today with an Otolaryngologist. An ENT. So I thought I may as well "Candle" my ears.
Anyone familiar with the process? Basically, you hold a lit paraffin-coated tube to your ear, light it, and as it burns, it draws the wax out of your ear. I discussed the procedure years ago with the Surgeon who removed the cholesteatoma from my ear and implanted prosthetic ossicles. He said that he could see no harm in doing it.
Works for me. I usually get a good-sized glob of wax out of my ears and can hear more clearly.
Is there any other Ear Candlers out there?
Dave

Yeah I tried it once and got the worst ear infection of my LIFE!

Not saying it won't work for some, but I'll never try it again!

roser13, ASN, RN · Jan 24, 2011

Thanks for the reply and the direction to wikipedia, brandon2011.
Yeah, according to that article, Candling doesn't produce results and they generally discourage their use. But I tell you what: I've drawn so much wax out of my ear that I have made an amber-colored marble-sized ball out of the results.
Oh well. To each his/her own.
Thanks again.
Dave

Gross!

:barf02:

Ruthfarmer · Jan 24, 2011

I did it quite a few times for my first husband, when his ears would become stuffy. It would make his ears "pop" and he said it relieved his discomfort. He found it to be very effective. :twocents:

rn/writer, RN · Jan 24, 2011

Many alternative health practices have some scientific merit that can be demonstrated and explained by objective testing. Ear candling does not appear to be one of them. Anecdotal reports range from swearing by ear candling to swearing about it, but the bottom line is that it doesn't appear to stand up to organized scrutiny and could possibly cause serious harm.

Possible Risks
There are some potential risks involved in ear candling:
Burns to the ear, skin, and hair from the hot wax
Obstruction of the ear canal due to wax dripping into the ear
Perforated ear drum

http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/govtregulation/a/EarCandle.htm

"(At Scripps) we do integrative medicine. We're always dealing with the 'alternative' world. … If it works and it's safe we want if for our patients. But pretty definitely this is one you shouldn't try," he said. "At the very best it's not going to work. At the worst it's going to be dangerous. .. It's not effective and people should stay away."

http://doesitwork.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2008/01/17/4362034-fire-in-the-hole-the-truth-about-ear-candling

Here is a really thorough article that explains much:

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

BluegrassRN · Jan 24, 2011

This came up in my anatomy class. One girl said she and a friend decided to burn one of the candles one time, without sticking it in anyone's ear. They got the exact same ball of yellow wax as they had when using it correctly. It's not ear wax, it's just the stuff that's in the candle.

I used to do the ear candling, and then I read something like this. So the next time, I burned a candle without sticking it in my ear, and one in my ear. Yup, my results were the same, a big ball of wax. The wax is from the candle.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2011

Well, I know for a fact that it worked for my hubby! My husband was having some ear pain. I looked in it with my otoscope and he had a complete wax impaction. I mean, you could see it obstructing the entire ear canal. We tried to get an appointment with his PCP, but he is in a temp office and said he was not set up to remove it. He recommended seeing a specialist. A friend swore by candling, so we decided to try it before we dropped the $ on an ENT. We did the candling then flushed it with warm water and got a TON of wax. The next morning I checked with the otoscope and the canal was completely clear and was not irritated.

This was after we tried nearly every OTC earwax remover on the market which produced NO results (verified by otoscope). It may not work for everyone, and I don't recommend doing any procedure without a doctor's advice, but in my hubby's case it worked and provided instant relief.