Another way to perform ear candling involves the subject lying face up with the ear candle extending out to the side with a forty-five-degree upward slant. The candle can be stuck through a paper plate or aluminium pie tin to protect against any hot wax or ash falling onto the subject. The subject is lying on one side with the treated ear uppermost and the candle vertical. The flame is cut back occasionally with scissors and extinguished between five and ten centimeters (two to four inches) from the subject. One end of a cylinder or cone of waxed cloth is lit, and the other is placed into the subject's ear. Ī survey of ear, nose and throat surgeons found some who had treated people with complications from ear candling, and that burns were the most common. Īs of 2008, there are at least two cases in which people have set their houses on fire while ear candling, one of which resulted in death. Several studies have shown that ear candles produce the same residue when burnt without ear insertion and that the residue is simply candle wax and soot. The Spokane Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic conducted a research study in 1996 which concluded that ear candling does not produce negative pressure and was ineffective in removing wax from the ear canal. Material that appears after ear candling, sometimes alleged to be earwax and toxins, was found to be residue from the candle itself. Primary care physicians may see complications from ear candling including candle wax occlusion, local burns, and tympanic membrane perforation.
However, in one trial, ear candles neither created suction nor removed wax and actually led to occlusion with candle wax in persons who previously had clean ear canals. In theory, the combination of heat and suction is supposed to remove earwax. Ear candling is a practice in which a hollow candle is inserted into the external auditory canal and lit, with the patient lying on the opposite ear. Ī 2007 paper in American Family Physician said:Įar candling also should be avoided. On this basis, we believe it can do more harm than good and we recommend that GPs discourage its use.
No evidence suggests that ear candling is an effective treatment for any condition. However, its claimed mechanism of action has not been verified, no positive clinical effect has been reliably recorded, and it is associated with considerable risk. since the use of a lit candle in the proximity of a person's face would carry a high risk of causing potentially severe skin/hair burns and middle ear damage." Ī 2007 paper in the journal Canadian Family Physician concludes:Įar candling appears to be popular and is heavily advertised with claims that could seem scientific to lay people. In October 2007, US FDA issued an alert identifying ear candles (also known as ear cones or auricular candles) as "dangerous to health when used in the dosage or manner, or with the frequency or duration, prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling thereof. Health Canada has determined the candles have no effect on the ear, and no health benefit instead they create risk of injury, especially when used on children. Their use should be discouraged." Īccording to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ear candling is sometimes promoted with claims that the practice can "purify the blood" or "cure" cancer. The inescapable conclusion is that ear candles do more harm than good. Furthermore, ear candles have been associated with ear injuries. Safety and effectiveness Įdzard Ernst has published critically on the subject of ear candles, noting, "There is no data to suggest that it is effective for any condition. Medical research has shown that the practice is both dangerous and ineffective and does not functionally remove earwax or toxicants, despite product design contributing to that impression. Ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice claiming to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal.
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