Ear Candling

Too much ear wax? Need a pseudo-scientific therapeutic cleaning to remove your ear wax and other impurities? Well look no farther! Check out ear candling! Not only will it not drain your ear wax but it will drain your wallet! But don't take my word for it, listen to Dr. Lisa Roazen in her article Why Ear Candling is Not a Good Idea:

"'Ear candling,' also known as auricular candling or coning, refers to various procedures that involve placing a cone-shaped device in the ear canal and supposedly extracting earwax and other impurities with the help of smoke or a burning wick. The origins of candling are obscure. Ancient Tibet, China, Egypt, the pre-Columbian Americas, and even the mythical city of Atlantis are cited as possible contributors. The procedures supposedly create a low-level vacuum that draws wax and other debris out of the ear canal. Some proponents even claim that impurities are removed from the inner ear, the facial sinuses, or even the brain itself, all of which are somehow connected to the canal."

Here is a personal account by Diane Boehme who suffered permanent hearing damage. Better yet check out this study I found on PubMed called Ear Candles--Efficacy and Safety:

"Ear candles are a popular and inexpensive alternative health treatment advocated for cerumen removal. A hollow candle is burned with one end in the ear canal with the intent of creating negative pressure and drawing cerumen from the ear. If effective, significant savings could result from the use of ear candles. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of this alternative method for cerumen management. Tympanometric measurements in an ear canal model demonstrated that ear candles do not produce negative pressure. A limited clinical trial (eight ears) showed no removal of cerumen from the external auditory canal. Candle wax was actually deposited in some. A survey of 122 otolaryngologists identified 21 ear injuries resulting from ear candle use. Ear candles have no benefit in the management of cerumen and may result in serious injury."