What Are Ear Candles?

Ear candle originates from ancient times and its origin is unknown. The raw material is generally linen or cotton. It is divided into three types: thin wax, medium wax, and thick wax. It contains kapok, wax, essential oil, and spices. Ear candle therapy is to insert a hollow candle into the ear and ignite it. It is said that it can "detoxify", but it does not produce any negative pressure suction.

Ear candle

There are three types of ear candle: thin wax, medium wax and thick wax.

There are kapok, wax, essential oil, perfume and other ingredients.

Melting candles dripping into the external auditory meatus and eardrum can make people deaf, and in severe cases will continuously pus ^[1]

Case: Ear candle wax dripping into the ear

A woman in Canada felt nasal congestion and ear pain after diving and went to a "qualified" ear candle therapist for treatment. During the treatment, she felt her ears be sorely burned and was sent to first aid. The doctor found that the wax on the tympanic membrane could not be removed and that the tympanic membrane had been burned through a large hole.

On January 27, 2005, a 59-year-old woman in Alaska, United States, treated herself with ear candles on the bed. As a result, she accidentally dropped the candle and burned the sheets and other items. The fire triggered her asthma attack and eventually died in the hospital.

On July 14, 2009, Mr. Weng, a citizen of Ningbo, went to a health massage shop to perform ear candle therapy. As a result, the therapist accidentally dropped candle oil into his ear. Afterwards, he went to the two hospitals to take out a piece of candle oil, and half of the candle oil was hidden in his ears. ^[1]

Ear candle originates from ancient times and its origin is unknown. Some say China's Tibet, some say Egypt, and some say North America. The ear candle is usually made of linen or cotton. After soaking it, it hardens into a hollow candle. According to a video of a manufacturer on the Internet, their products range in diameter from 6 mm to 12 mm. They use pure natural beeswax, which contains Chinese herbal medicine and some aroma ingredients. Some ear candles contain sage, fruit chamomile, rose, rosemary, honey and so on. Some people also use newspaper DIY, dip wax and roll it into ear candles, or funnel-shaped pottery with herbs and lighted alternatives. ^[1]

Ear candle row "poison"

Let you see?

Guests are lying sideways on the bed during an ear candle treatment. The therapist passes the candle through a disc used to receive wax and ashes before inserting it into the guest's external auditory meatus. The therapist lit the candle, and the burned wick was cut out, during which he massaged the skin around the ears with essential oils. During the treatment, it is said that the guests' ears will feel warm but not hot, and experience physical and mental relaxation, "full of spirituality".

After the candle is burned, the therapist uses a cotton swab to help the guests wipe off some visible earwax, which is often smeared with "ear oil" afterwards. Some therapists will immerse the hot candle in a bowl of water to extinguish it, and then hold the bowl to show the guests, saying that the contents are your earwax, toxins, dead skin, medication residues ... and some treatments. The teacher said something similar to the guests while holding the items received in the disc, which made people feel "non-toxic and light."

The efficacy of ear candle is blown away by some admirers. It is said that it can reduce sinus pressure, reduce inflammation and relieve pain; clean the ear canal, relieve pain and fever after tympanic membrane rupture; assist lymphatic circulation; clear energy, refresh mind, and stabilize mood ; Treat ear infections caused by water in the ears after swimming; improve the sensitivity of smell, taste, and color.

The guest was treated by an ear candle therapist as a toxin with candle residues, feeling "non-toxic and light"

Truth: Ear Candles Can't Extract Ear Wax

According to Yu Feng, the external ear canal leads to the eardrum and is responsible for transmitting sound, but the ear canal is not directly connected to the structure behind the eardrum. As long as the eardrum is intact, the external ear canal will not communicate with the brain and sinuses. Earwax is pupae secreted by the ears and clumped to the external ear canal. Most people's earwax moves with the external auditory canal, and finally comes out of the body with all kinds of dirt and impurities, and the dried earwax must be removed by a doctor. Earwax is sticky and the blower may not be pulled out. If the negative pressure suction is large enough to suck the earwax out of the external auditory meatus, it will certainly break the eardrum with a thickness of only 0.1 mm.

In fact, the ear candle does not develop suction. Some people in the United States have used ear models to find that the ear candle does not produce vacuum negative pressure. They also found that eight guests who had undergone ear candle treatment did not have earwax sucked out, but instead had molten wax dripping into individual ears.

Danger: Molten wax dripping into the eardrum can be deaf

(Source of this article: Dayang.com-Guangzhou Daily) ^[1]