Have you heard of Ear Candling? Is it safe?

As a child I had many ear infections and wax build-up. My Italian grandmother would ALWAYS fix the problem with ear candling. She made her own candles. I am now 69 years old and have continued to use ear candles my whole life. They are safe, they are painless and I cannot imagine not doing it. During allergy season one ear in particular becomes clogged to the point of losing my hearing. Ear candles always clean that up. When you do it, always have a "spotter" help you. Take an aluminum foil pie plate, cut a hole in the bottom big enough to fit the candle through and cover your hair/head with a towel. Place the larger end of the candle at the opening of your ear but do NOT try to force it into the ear canal. Have your "spotter" light the top end of the candle and wait for it. If you hear sizzling, you KNOW it is drawing out the wax. Remove the candle when it is down far enough to feel the heat on the hand of the "spotter." Then, after you dunk the lit end in a bowl of water, cut the candle open lengthwise and just see the debris and wax that has been removed. It is amazing and after 69 years I swear by its success.

ear candling is completely safe, when done professionally and when needed. many doctors recomend ear candling to pacients with cronic ear and sinus infection.

Having your ears flushed requires puncturing a small hole in your ear drum. No thanks

I let a friend of mine talk me into doing this once, and never did it again. It was a bit too scary. I'd rather have my doctor flush my ears.

The Mayo Clinic doesn't recommend ear candling. Apparently, there have been reports of some people burning themselves as a result. If you'd like to read more of their recommendation, visit the below link:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ear-candling/AN01698

If you've had some success with this process, please share your stories.

Hi Annefleur,

I have problems with my ears and have to irrigate them every 3 months.

It's been like that my whole life.

I have tried ear candles and didn't get very good results. In fact, I actually tried them several times.

The results inside a burned ear candle look great, but what you're actually looking at is the candle and not ear wax. I know that because I've tested it by looking at the results from one candle that was in my ear and one that was not. The results were the same.

What works well for me is a product I got at Walgreens. I've tried many products over the years and there's only one I buy every time now. It's called Similasin and even though it's the homeopathic product, it works better than the other stuff.

And then I irrigate with a large water-ball (not sure what it's called), that helps me flush out the ear.

Best of luck Annefleur, I hope this helps.

-Todd