BUST THAT MYTH

...about ear candles

To my mind the practice of using ear candles – lighting a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear – is verging on crazy and is certainly dangerous. It strikes me as little more than witchcraft...

Myth 1: Interconnections in the head allows the candles to drain the entire aural system through the ear.

Liquids and gases cannot pass through a normal healthy eardrum. For example, most people have experienced pressure in their ears when changing altitude while driving in mountains, or ascending or descending during a flight. This pressure sensation results from atmospheric pressure changes acting on the middle ear space.

If liquids and gases could readily pass through the eardrum, changes in atmospheric pressure would not create a ‘change in pressure’ sensation. And, by the way, there are no empty interconnecting passages.

Myth 2: Oxygen drawn through the candle will create a vacuum in the ear.

A basic scientific evaluation measured the amount of vacuum force created by ear candles when placed in a simulated human ear canal. Despite numerous trials the creation of a vacuum didn’t occur at any point during the trials.

Myth 3: When a vacuum is created, it will pull residue out from the ear canal.

A scientific study compared volunteer’s ear canals before and after candling. Some subjects had impacted earwax and others had completely clear ear canals prior to candling. In all instances, after candling there was no reduction in the amount of earwax found in their ear canals. In fact, after candling, some participants ended up with candle wax being deposited in their ear canals.

Myth 4: The method is safe, non-invasive, and effective.

Candling is dangerous. Survey responses from medical specialists in the UK reported ear injuries from ear candling including burns, ear canal occlusions and eardrum perforations plus secondary ear canal infections with temporary hearing loss.