Ear Candling

What is ear candling?

Ear candling is not a new, alternative therapy. It dates back as far as 2500BC. The Chinese, Tibetans, Siberians, Egyptians, Mayan, Aztec and American Indian, especially the Hopi cultures have been known to use this technique. It is a non invasive treatment that promotes well being on many levels. It is a simple yet effective ancient ritual, resulting in amazing effects that has been rediscovered in our modern society.

The candles themselves are not ‘candles’ as such, but more ‘cones’. They are made with unbleached cotton cloth, linen or hemp and beeswax. Sometimes they are infused with herbs or honey. They also have no wick. These cones are designed to gently draw waxes and toxins out of the ear.

Patrick Quanten, MD, has written an insightful paper ‘Ear Candling and Cancer Therapy’. He talks about how it works, illness and the dis-ease process, speaks specifically about cancer, then goes on to talk about ear candling, the methods of studying the effects, on the body systems and emotional effects.

During an ear candling treatment, you are asked to lie on your side and relax. The candle or cone is gently placed into your ear in a vertical position and lit. The therapist holds the candle at all times. At no time will you be left unattended. You will enjoy the experience of a crackling sound in your ear, as well as the comfortable warmth from the candle. The candle is allowed to burn down to a specific marker and the process is then repeated on the other side. The therapist may choose to finish the treatment off with a facial massage to further promote lymphatic drainage, lymph and blood circulation. You may also wish to have your ear candling done with another treatment such as a facial, massage or Reiki treatment.

What are the benefits?

There are many benefits of ear candling. As Jili Hamilton says, it is ‘important to realise the fact that the candle treatment and what results is often the start of a process rather than the end.’ This is very similar to a massage treatment as well. A massage treatment does offer instant relief from muscular pain, headaches, migraines, etc, as I witness on a daily basis, but also it triggers healing inside the body and sets the wheel in motion, a little like jump starting a car battery.

There are many benefits of ear candling for a number of dis-eases such as compacted or excessive ear wax, glue ear, tinnitus, headaches, flying discomfort, insomnia, promoting lymphatic circulation, alleviating allergic conditions, enhancing hearing, stimulating energy flow or simply a pleasant way of relieving stress.

Everything is made of energy, this is now scientific fact. The body is no exception. The aura, the electromagnetic field that surrounds the body, benefits from ear candling. It re-stimulates the energy around the head and ears, acupressure points are also stimulated as is the peripheral lymph system.

Can it do me any harm?

I have read a lot of articles/opinions on the internet about how damaging ear candling can be. Some are practically hysterical about the harm ear candling can cause, everything from burns to burst ear drums. I’ve even come across an article that suggests that people have died from it. Personally, I can’t see how any of it is possible.

If you choose to do ear candling on yourself in your bed, alone, and you fall asleep and the bed catches on fire (as one woman did do and died in the process), well, yes there is the chance that you may be burnt and possibly even die. However, let’s face it, it’s not the ear candling that caused the damage.

I’ve read about fire/hot wax burning people. If the procedure is carried out properly, there is no chance of that.

I’ve read about the candle going too far into the ear. This is not possible. It is too wide for that. You can do more damage to your ears with a cotton bud.

I’ve read a few articles from medical practitioners claiming the above as well. Today’s method of cleaning ears is through syringing. This is where a high pressure jet of water is released into the ear in an attempt to dislodge and extract excess ear wax. This, to me, seems to be a procedure that is more likely to cause eardrum perforation than ear candling. I’m not knocking western medicine. I’m all for it. But I do not believe that western medicine has all the answers. Nor do I believe that western medicine is necessarily better than what is commonly known as ‘alternative medicine’. I certainly am not afraid to question the effectiveness of western medicine.

What I haven’t seen in all my reading, is any conclusive evidence that ear candling causes any harm whatsoever, just a lot of theories and opinions.

Contra indications

Despite not seeing how ear candling can do you harm, there are some contra indications. For instance, you should not have ear candling done if you have a perforated eardrum or grommets implanted in your ear drums. If you suffer from an acute or chronic dis-ease or you are not sure whether ear candling is appropriate for you please advise and discuss with your practitioner. This is similar to massage. If the massage is done properly by a professional, the benefits are great and cannot do any real harm. However, there are contraindications with massage as well. It is always best to give your practitioner as much information as possible, so that he/she can make a proper assessment.

References

Hopi Candles by Jili Hamilton

Ear Candling and Cancer Therapy by Patrick Quanten, MD (UK) and Gregg Webb, RMT (Canada)

http://www.purecalma.com/ear_candling.html

http://www.holistic-centre.com/therapy-a-to-z/42-spirit/190-hopi-ear-candles

http://www.all-about-earcandling.com/benefits-of-ear-candling.html