What Is Ear Candling?

Ear candling is an alternative medicine practice that is said to remove large amounts of earwax from a person. A cone of wax-covered fabric is inserted into the ear and lit on the other end. Many report ear candling has other health benefits beyond ear health. Others report ear candling is a hoax, offering no benefits, only dangers.

The steps

Ear candling begins with one person lying on his side while another person puts the small end of a cone of rolled, wax-covered fabric into his ear. Sometimes a protective ring of foil is placed on the person's head. The larger end of the cone is about 12 inches away from the person's ear and is lit on fire. If the flame gets too large, it gets cut back with scissors. When the candle is about four inches from the person's head, the fire is put out. Some say two sessions are needed for proper ear candling.

The results

The idea of ear candling is that the vacuum created by the flame and the cone draws toxins and ear wax from the person's ear canal and into the inner part of the cone. Besides ear wax, some proporters of holistic medicine say particles of candidida and other fungi are removed from the body through ear candling.

The criticisms

Some in the medical community say ear candling is dangerous and does not remove anything from the body at all. These non-believers say the residue left inside the cone after an ear candling session is only the residue left from burning the ear candle itself.

In closing, many are happy with the results of ear candling and feel they hear more clearly and feel better in general after the procedure. Use caution around any open flame and always read packaging instructions fully.