I recently had a reader ask me about ear candling. Have you heard about this practice? If not, here’s a little background. Ear candling involves lighting a candle near your ear with the intention of warming up your earwax. By doing so, the thought is that it will make the wax softer and easier to remove.
Sounds interesting, but does it work? And, more importantly, is it safe? Intrigued as I was, I decided to do some research.
Ear candles (also called ear cones) are tapered, hollow rods made with either linen or paper and then dipped in wax. On one end is a point which is placed in the ear. The other end (pointed away from the ear) is lit on fire. The theory behind candling is to clear out ears and sinuses and improve overall physical wellbeing. However, it is important to note that this method should not be used to replace medical care.
Some try ear candling to get rid of vertigo or tinnitus (ringing in your ears). The candle is supposed to remove excess earwax and whatever dust or dirt has gotten in the ear. At the end of the procedure, people can look at what was collected in the base of the candle to see everything that had been in their ear. (However, some skeptics say that this mixture is just the wax from the candle mixed with some ash.)
A problem with this practice, as well as other practices that aim to rid the ear of wax, is that our earwax is important to our bodies. In fact, it helps protect our ears from dust and dirt . Losing that protective barrier may cause more harm than good. And, aside from the potential of getting burned (I’m a little nervous about having fire that close to my head!), the other danger is having hot wax possibly drip onto you or into your ear.
For those who want to clean their ears but would prefer a method that doesn’t involve a flame, Richard Carmen, AuD, audiologist, suggests to simply tilt your head towards the water when you’re in the shower and then just use a washcloth.
I used to use cotton swabs to clean out my ears, but when I actually looked at the directions on the box it said that they are for cleaning the outer folds of the ear – not the inside like I had been using them for. While trying to clean the wax out of the ear, these products can actually push the wax further inside! If you still think that your ear is plugged, talk to your doctor about other steps you can take.
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