Inside Ear Candling: The Real Story

Posting Date: 12/15/2003

Ear candling keeps coming up again and again, as an "alternative" method of cleaning your ears. So we decided to see if it really works.

You're supposed to put a foot-long hollow fabric cone impregnated with bee's wax in your ear, and have someone light it. Supposedly the candle creates a vacuum that sucks excess earwax and impurities out of your ear.

To see if it really does remove anything from the ear, we burned another candle in a glass jar.

When both candles were cut open, both had equal amounts of "wax and impurities" inside ? even though one was burned in a jar, and not in an ear! Obviously, the only thing collected is the melted wax from the candle itself, and not anything from your ear. Ear candling is not entirely safe, either, you run the risk of burns or injuries to your eardrum while doing it. Not to mention that earwax is there for a reason ? to protect against dust and irritants ? and it seldom causes any problems.
Get Informed
For more information about ear candling, read Let's Snuff Out Ear Candling or go to HealthCentral's In-Depth Topic Center on Hearing.