Ear Candling Therapy

Ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is an alternative medicine practice claimed to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal. According to medical researchers, it is both dangerous and ineffectiveclaims that the practice removes earwax have been disproved. The claim by one manufacturer that ear candles originated with the hopi tribe has also been disproven
One end of a cylinder or cone of waxed cloth is lit, and the other placed into the subject's ear. Usually the subject is lying on one side with the treated ear uppermost and the candle vertical, and can be stuck through a paper plate or aluminum pie tin to protect against any hot wax or ash falling down the side. The flame is cut back occasionally with scissors and extinguished between two and four inches from the subject. Proponents claim[citation needed] that the flame creates negative pressure, drawing wax and debris out of the ear canal, which appears as a dark residue.
An ear candle session can last from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, during which time a series of one or two ear candles may be burned for each ear.
Linda dahlstrom, health editor for msnbc, underwent the procedure, reporting that the experience (which included a massage) was relaxing, but did not report any other positive effects from her experience. She concluded: "i wouldn’t recommend it for anyone”.
Proponents and sellers of ear candles and ear candling supplies claim that others have had positive experience, however none of them provide any source of credibility for their claims.
In europe, some ear candles bear the ce mark (93/42/eec) though they are mostly self-issued by the manufacturer. This mark indicates that the device is designed and manufactured so as to not compromise the safety of patients, but no independent testing is required as proof.
While ear candles are widely available in the u.s., selling or importing them with medical claims is illegal. This means that one cannot market ear candles as products that "diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease”.
In a report, health canada states "there is no scientific proof to support claims that ear candling provides medical benefits. ... However, there is plenty of proof that ear candling is dangerous." it says that while some people claim to be selling the candles "for entertainment purposes only", the canadian government consider that there is no reasonable non-medical use, and hence any sale of the devices is illegal in canada.


wikipedia