Do Ear Candles Really Work?

Whether you are aware of it or not, there are specially crafted candles people use to clear their ear canals. It is superfluous to highlight the importance of personal hygiene but it is interesting enough to mention that everybody has their style of maintaining it. That is why we could divide the total world’s population into two major groups, the one that uses ear candles and the other which uses a different method to keep their ears clean. The ones who use ear candles swear on their efficiency while the others believe they are not as efficient as advertised. So, do ear candles really work? You will find out in the lines below.

What are Ear Candles?

An ear candle is called like that simply because it looks like a regular candle, but there is nothing regular about it, moreover, its function surpasses its name. In a nutshell, an ear candle should rid you of impurities accumulated inside your ears. You should never use ear candles on your own because the cleaning process is not as simple as it might seem. So, you could either entrust someone close to you with this task or you could leave it to the pros since ear candling is a standard part of the offer of spa centers and beauty salons.

When we talk about the structure, an ear candle is utterly different from a standard candle, which is reasonable since its purpose is to clean your ears, not to light your way or make the atmosphere romantic. Basically, an ear candle is a circular-shaped fabric object soaked in either wax or paraffin or the mixture of those two. Depending on the candle, they could be enhanced with different aromas but that feature does not affect its efficiency.

How Do You Use Ear Candles?

Since one part of an ear candle is pointy, what you should do in order to start the process of ear wax extraction is to put that pointy end inside your ear. It is important that you lay on your side and settle in comfortably because you should remain still until the candle burns out, which should be around 15 minutes. Then, find a trustworthy person and entrust them to lit the candle. While it slowly burns, the candle should withdraw the impurities from your ear leaving your ear canals pervious. People who use ear candles also claim that practicing this type of treatment affects not solely the wellbeing of your ears but also your overall health. Even though there is no scientific evidence that ear candling affects blood pressure and treats headaches, certain individuals use them precisely for those reasons. If you want to check out what else conditions people believe ear candles treat click here. Once you experience the benefits of ear candles you will ask yourself why you did not try them earlier.

Does It Really Help?

When you finish with your ear candle treatment what you are left with is the residue in a form of wax. While some claim that the only wax there is, is the one from the candle, others believe that the wax originates from the treated ear. Interestingly enough, the ones who try to deny the benefits of ear candle treatments often change their mind after trying it on their own. Ear candles have been helping people for centuries, and there are the ones that believe that ear candling originates from Atlantis. Others who are convinced that they are a useful tool for removing ear wax believe that the candles come from ancient China, but there are also ones who think that ear coning was a practice of ancient Egyptians. Since we do not know the exact information about the origin of ear candles, it is reasonable that different stories about their efficiency circulate, but attributing them with amazing properties would be wrong.

Ear candling is not considered a part of standard medicine, moreover, it is a pseudoscientific practice. On the other hand, you can purchase ear candles at almost any pharmacy. Even though they might seem harmless, if the process is not performed adequately, even certain infections might occur. That is why self-application is not advised and ear candling procedure should be always done under supervision. We do not state that it is hard to cleanse your ears with this technique but it is much safer to leave the thing to the pros.

What Actually Happens Once You Lit the Candle?

When the ear candle is lit, it slowly burns out supposedly extracting the ear wax from your ear. Certain people struggle with excessive amounts of ear wax and ear candles prove to be a useful tool in the fight against plugged ears. The thing is that the flame should trigger a sucking reaction from within the candle which should draw the wax out, but the suction power is not as high as it is necessary for the process to function. At least that is how advocates of ear candles look at it, but in reality, the suction power required to suck the wax out must be stronger. They also believe that the warmth from the flame softens the wax making it easier to be removed. Whether it is the placebo that helps certain people feel better or something else, we cannot claim with certainty, but it is highly unlikely that so many people experience numerous benefits solely because they are tricked into believing they will get better.

Hopefully, the aforementioned pieces of information will prove their usefulness and encourage you to use ear candles carefully if you decide to use them at all. The most important thing you should worry about is to use them safely, whether you intend on using them on your own or you would rather leave it to the pros. Even though they might help you feel better, you should not be treating severe health issues with ear candles, moreover, you should always consult your doctor before doing something on your own.