What is Ear Candling?

In some communities, the practice called "ear candling" is persistently thought to be a good way to minimize earwax. Is ear candling effective and what is it?

Is Ear Candling Effective?

Spoiler alert: No. No, they don't.

Why then do normally logical people persistently believe in this pseudo-science. That's a hard question to answer. But even though the sensible choice is quite obvious, knowing more about the dangers of earwax candling will help us make an informed choice.

What is Earwax Candling?

So the basic setup goes like this: Perhaps you have an excessive amount of earwax and you aren't really sure how to eradicate it. You know you're not supposed to use cotton swabs (which is good, cotton swabs are not an ideal way to clean out your ears, in general). So, after doing some study, you discover a technique called earwax candling.

Here's how earwax candling theoretically works: You create a pressure differential by shoving the candle into your ear, wick side out. The wax inside of your ear, then, is pulled outward, towards the freedom of the open world. Any wax that might be clogged up in your ear can, theoretically, be pulled out by this amount of pressure. But cleaning your ears like this can be dangerous.

Why Isn't Ear Candling Effective

This practice has a few issues, like the fact that the physics simply don't work. It would require a significant amount of pressure to move earwax around and a candle just isn't capable of creating that amount of pressure. Also, a candle doesn't have the type of seal needed to maintain pressure.

Now, there are supposedly special candles used in this "procedure". All of the wax that was in your ear can be located inside the hollow part of the candle which can be broken up when you're done with your 15 minutes of ear candling. The only problem is that the same debris shows up in both burned and unburned candles. So this "proof" is really nonsense.

Earwax candling hasn't been proven scientifically to have any benefit whatsoever.

So Earwax Candling Doesn't Work, But is it Safe?

So, you may as well give it a try, right? Well, whenever you get hot candle wax near your ears, you're looking for trouble. You may be fine if you try earwax candling. People do it regularly. But there are certainly risks involved and it's definitely not safe.

Here are a few negative impacts of ear candling:

• Once the wax cools it can block up your ear canal. This can cause you to temporarily lose your hearing or, in the most extreme cases, call for surgery.
• Significant burns to your inner ear. Extreme hearing issues and burns can be the outcome of getting hot wax in your ear. This could permanently compromise your hearing in the most severe cases.
• You could cause significant damage when you play around with an open flame and potentially even put your life in danger. You wouldn't want to burn down your house, would you? It's not worth the danger to try this ineffective technique of wax removal.

You Can Keep Your Ears Clean Without Needing a Candle

In the majority of situations you will never even have to be concerned about cleaning earwax out. That's because your ears are actually pretty good at cleaning themselves! But you could be one of those individuals who have an abnormally heavy earwax production.

If you do need to clean out your ears due to too much wax, there are scientifically-proven (and effective) means to do that safely. For example, you could get a fluid wash. Another alternative would be to consult a hearing care professional for an earwax cleaning.

Cotton swabs are definitely a no-no. And you should also stay away from using an open flame to clear out earwax. Earwax candling isn't effective, and it can create risks that will put your comfort and your hearing in significant danger. So perhaps it's time to put those special candles away.