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01 Jun 2011, 8:24 am
01 Jun 2011, 8:54 am
MollyTroubletail wrote:
...Ear Candling
Have you ever heard of ear-candling? These are long tapered wax cones which you set the narrow end into your ear canal, then have someone light the opposite end and it burns like a candle. Ear candles are sold in many health food stores and it is claimed that they get rid of ear wax and other "toxins". In fact, if you do this you will see what appears to be a large amount of yellowish/brown ear wax that looks like it was removed from your ear, stuck to the inside surface of the unburned part of the cone. Most people become fascinated at the large amount of gunk that appears to have been removed.
But I was skeptical, and decided to do an experiment. I lit several ear-candles without placing them into anyone's ears, and let them burn as usual. Just as I suspected, every candle had the same amount of what looked just like ear wax inside it. The candles themselves are designed to burn leaving a sticky brown/yellow residue at the opposite end. It is wax, but not EAR wax!
Have you ever heard of ear-candling? These are long tapered wax cones which you set the narrow end into your ear canal, then have someone light the opposite end and it burns like a candle. Ear candles are sold in many health food stores and it is claimed that they get rid of ear wax and other "toxins". In fact, if you do this you will see what appears to be a large amount of yellowish/brown ear wax that looks like it was removed from your ear, stuck to the inside surface of the unburned part of the cone. Most people become fascinated at the large amount of gunk that appears to have been removed.
But I was skeptical, and decided to do an experiment. I lit several ear-candles without placing them into anyone's ears, and let them burn as usual. Just as I suspected, every candle had the same amount of what looked just like ear wax inside it. The candles themselves are designed to burn leaving a sticky brown/yellow residue at the opposite end. It is wax, but not EAR wax!
YAY!! !
Welcome to the world of Skeptical Inquiry!
Here is an excerpt from an article that was first published on the Health Canada website:
Quote:
Why Candling Can't Work
Since wax is sticky, the negative pressure needed to pull wax from the canal would have to be so powerful that it would rupture the eardrum in the process. However, candling produces no vacuum. Researchers who measured the pressure during candling of ear models found that no negative pressure was created. The same investigators candled eight ears and found that no ear wax was removed and candle wax was actually deposited in some of them!
Candling poses several dangers, the most serious of which involve burning caused by the hot wax. Candle manufacturers claim that their candles will drip only down the outside of the ear, but shamefully few direct the user to hold the candle horizontally to prevent this. A 1996 survey of 144 ear, nose, and throat physicians, found that 14 had seen patients who had been harmed by ear candling, including at least 13 cases of external burns, 7 cases of ear canal obstruction with candle wax, and 1 perforated eardrum .
Alaska Fire Marshall Gary L. Powell has reported two instances of significant fires associated with ear candling., one of which led to the user's death. On January 27, 2005 a 59-year-old woman ignited her bedding when she dropped an ear candle that she was attempting to use the ear without any assistance. The candle ignited the bedding and quickly spread to curtains and other combustibles in the room. The woman did escaped but suffered an asthma attack and died in a hospital emergency room .
Compacted ear wax should be removed by a physician or other health professional using legitimate instruments. Candling is both ineffective and dangerous.
Since wax is sticky, the negative pressure needed to pull wax from the canal would have to be so powerful that it would rupture the eardrum in the process. However, candling produces no vacuum. Researchers who measured the pressure during candling of ear models found that no negative pressure was created. The same investigators candled eight ears and found that no ear wax was removed and candle wax was actually deposited in some of them!
Candling poses several dangers, the most serious of which involve burning caused by the hot wax. Candle manufacturers claim that their candles will drip only down the outside of the ear, but shamefully few direct the user to hold the candle horizontally to prevent this. A 1996 survey of 144 ear, nose, and throat physicians, found that 14 had seen patients who had been harmed by ear candling, including at least 13 cases of external burns, 7 cases of ear canal obstruction with candle wax, and 1 perforated eardrum .
Alaska Fire Marshall Gary L. Powell has reported two instances of significant fires associated with ear candling., one of which led to the user's death. On January 27, 2005 a 59-year-old woman ignited her bedding when she dropped an ear candle that she was attempting to use the ear without any assistance. The candle ignited the bedding and quickly spread to curtains and other combustibles in the room. The woman did escaped but suffered an asthma attack and died in a hospital emergency room .
Compacted ear wax should be removed by a physician or other health professional using legitimate instruments. Candling is both ineffective and dangerous.
Please continue your investigations, and post them wherever you can!
01 Jun 2011, 9:29 am
I remember having the first one done to me by the doctor when I was little. Is that normal? I wonder if my mother thought I had hearing problems. 
01 Jun 2011, 11:01 am
01 Jun 2011, 11:50 am
01 Jun 2011, 12:17 pm
01 Jun 2011, 6:06 pm
