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Other Topics => Off Topic Discussion => Topic started by: claws on May 06, 2010, 07:20:01 AM



Title: Ear candling
Post by: claws on May 06, 2010, 07:20:01 AM
I tried this last weekend and I'm not sure what to make of it. I did it only to get earwax removed because I don't trust Q-tips, as they usually push the wax further down into my ear.
However, I read several articles online calling Ear candling bogus. All I know is that my hearing seems much better so I dunno.

Any of you tried this? Here's a wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: 3mnkids on May 06, 2010, 02:25:43 PM
ah, no.   :smile: Im deaf in one ear so im very careful about what I do to my good one. 


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: retrorussell on May 06, 2010, 02:34:27 PM
Just fill a bulb with warm water and squirt it in your ear.  Or if you have good health coverage just go in and let a doctor do it.  I had Kaiser Permanente as my health provider and I went in for like 5 bucks when my hearing was muffled by what I felt was wax buildup.  They used a turkey baster full of warm water on my right ear and ploop!  The crud was out and I could hear just fine again.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: claws on May 06, 2010, 02:50:22 PM
Just fill a bulb with warm water and squirt it in your ear. 

That's what I usually did until I got a nasty ear infection last year because of the squirting.
I went to an ear specialist for treatment but I don't feel like making appointments every three months because of wax buildup. I was looking for a quick 'alternative' cleaning method and came across ear candling.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Ed, Ego and Superego on May 06, 2010, 03:10:46 PM
Its a hoax. 
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm201108.htm
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1103/how-do-ear-candles-work

Of course thes eare all by the Corporate Westen Medicine Machine What is Keeping the Ancient Knowledge Down For to Sell Drugs.  But hot wax in the ear sounds REALLY not fun.

-Ed


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: BTM on May 06, 2010, 04:09:48 PM

Huh, haven't even heard of this.  I've heard of someone putting a light cigarette in their ear so that, as it burns down, the filter absorbs the excess water in their ear, but dunno if that would work for earwax (or if it's even a good idea for the above mentioned situation.) 


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Flick James on May 06, 2010, 05:57:00 PM
I make candles out of my earwax. That's not ear candling?


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Javakoala on May 06, 2010, 09:32:20 PM
When my brother came out of the military, he brought with him a HUGE amount of medical goodies.  One of those things was what they call a loop.  Metal rod with a thin wire loop on the end. Insert in ear, not very deep, rotate a few times and pull it out. All the build up comes with it.  Since then, I have used large bobby pins to do the same thing. I don't recommend it to others, but it has kept my ears clear for years.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Zapranoth on May 06, 2010, 10:30:43 PM
Use a few drops of olive oil to soften the wax, and then use lukewarm (!) water in a bulb syringe in the shower to get the wax out.   Loops, hairpins and the like work, but remember that you can't see what you are doing, and you are running the risk of perforating your tympanic membrane.  I don't advise it.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Javakoala on May 06, 2010, 10:38:44 PM
Use a few drops of olive oil to soften the wax, and then use lukewarm (!) water in a bulb syringe in the shower to get the wax out.   Loops, hairpins and the like work, but remember that you can't see what you are doing, and you are running the risk of perforating your tympanic membrane.  I don't advise it.

I don't either, but I've been doing it for so long that I know just how far I need to go. If I can't clear things up doing what I do, it's time for the doctor.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 07, 2010, 01:52:05 AM
Yeah, it's not a good idea to stick things in your ears. Don't get me wrong, I use Q-tips all the time, and I really get them in there. But if you're not careful, you can really damage your ears. And as has been said, even if you don't, you may just end up compacting the wax.

Your best bet is too just let it flow and clean up the stuff that makes it to the surface. You have ear wax for a reason, to keep foreign matter out and fight infections. It's beneficial.

If you're really fastidious, your best bet is to get somebody to carefully clean it out for you. A doctor can do this, if you like. I saw on some show, Anthony Bourdain I think, that there are cafes in Asia where people will clean your ears for you. The benefit is that the person can see what they're doing. Obviously, you can't. But you shouldn't need to do even that if you're ears are currently healthy.

So, ear candles don't work. The idea isn't a bad one. Basically, it's the capillary action behind regular candles applied to your ear wax. Unfortunately, all the evidence points to them not working at all. The wax that collects is apparently the wax that was in the ear candle itself. My advice? Best to keep flaming things away from your head.

Funny story: I walked into the back at work and the security guard asked me if I had heard of ear candles. "Ear candles? Sure. They don't work." He then points to the woman who was standing right next to us, "Dude! She makes them." Insert foot into mouth. Of course, they don't work, so I don't feel too bad.


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Trevor on May 07, 2010, 02:40:44 AM
I make candles out of my earwax. That's not ear candling?

 :buggedout: :buggedout: +  :teddyr: :teddyr: :teddyr:


Title: Re: Ear candling
Post by: Andrew on May 07, 2010, 06:31:32 AM
I would not stick a burning object into my ear.  Sounds like a good way to fall asleep and then wake up with your ear on fire (or, for old enough men, their ear hair).  Ear wax is there to catch dirt and contaminates, and then fall out.  It can build up, but that should be out of the norm. 

Oh, and: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMuOE28HjM

A huge build-up of ear wax being removed by a doctor with micro-suction.  I remembered someone sending this around two or three years ago.