The real problem with ear candles is that there are genuine products available over the counter that actually work and are much cheaper. About twice a year I have enough buildup that it becomes difficult to hear. I simply take the squirter and flush my ear out like they used to do at the doctors office. Usually, a huge plug of wax comes out, and I didn’t even have to spend eight bucks on a stupid candle that works on dubious physical principles. Frankly, if these things work for you, I think iit is highly doubtfull you have a real problem.
Ditto on “ear flushing”. I usually have it done at the doctor’s office, but it only takes about ten minutes, and it’s not nearly as dangerous. Afterwards, I can feel the effects right away.
Why bother with all that stupid fuss?
Oh please, that is a ridiculous statement. If it didn’t work the results wouldn’t have been there to see.
I have pointed out that I have seen a burnt down ear candle not placed in my ear and a burnt down ear candle that was and described the different results. The aggressive denials are just dumb.
I have an enquiring mind and it is open enough to try something different and report the results. I also pointed out that sometimes it doesn’t work, so not a perfect solution but to deny that it can possibly ever work is ridiculous. It is funny to think of you people imagining the amazing lengths that the constructors of ear candles (and the random users) go to convince people that something is happening.
Personally, at the time it wasn’t a big deal at all and if I’d known the storm of controversy surrounding the issue I’d have taken photographic evidence and displayed my ear wax to the world. If I get it done again, I surely will.
You didn’t conduct multiple trials using a rigorous protocol and record-keeping. People who have, had found no evidence of ear candles doing anything other than melting their own wax.
People who sell ear candles, or any other bullshit fake remedy, don’t have to go to any amazing lengths, because the world is full of suckers.
We have only your word for it. Sorry if it offends you, but that’s simply not good enough. Not one–NONE–of the rigorously-conducted clinical studies of ear candling have shown any of the supposed benefits that proponents have claimed. These are studies which have been published, peer-reviewed and most importantly, replicated. I’ll take them over your anecdotal 'evidence" any day.
Fraudsters have been proven time and time again to go to amazing lengths to sucker people. I don’t have to imagine it, I’ve seen it for myself.
There simply isn’t any sound scientific principle at work behind ear candling.
Burning them doesn’t produce any significant partial vacuum inside the ear, there’s no openings inside the ear for air to flow through even if a very good vacuum were being produced and earwax is far, far too viscous to flow evn if you had both good vacuum and strong airflow. Don’t believe me? Try sticking a Hoover in your ear and see how much good it does.
NOTE: Don’t actually stick a Hoover in your ear.
Not even Herbert?
Not even J. Edgar!
There are also intelligent (or so they say) people who swear up and down that foot bath products “cleanse toxins” from their body, pointing to dirty water or gunk on pads as “proof”. Plus there are marks (sorry, clients) who are absoposolutely convinced that gallbladder “cleanses” remove stones from their gallbladders and point to greenish globs in their stools as “proof”.
Of course, discolored foot water has nothing to do with “toxins”, and the green globs from gallbladder “cleanses” are actually chunks of fat (the “cleanses” one swallows are very high in fat).
These people “know” that such products work because they’ve convinced themselves with the aid of pseudoscientific marketing.
By the way, there are dozens of new age/alternative products and therapies that have devoted followers, many of whom would likely score high in I.Q. tests. They would flunk tests that evaluate critical thinking skills.
It just goes to show what I always say… contrary to popular belief, the strongest force in the universe isn’t the strong nuclear force, it’s actually confirmation bias.
Eventually, I got sick off all the bother of having to make an appointment and cart myself off to the doctor everytime my ears were plugged. I hated having to wait, so I learned to do it myself. Now, the instant my ears plug, I just go up to the bathroom, run the warm water and in five minutes I’m fine. I strongly recommend learning to do this yourself if it is a recurring problem.
You’re absolutely right, it was not a psychosomatic response, it was confirmation bias. Unless, of course, you have an audiologist’s report that objectively validates your subjective experience?
You mean using a shower? I’ve been told by a nurse that there is a risk of perforating the ear drum doing this.
No, I don’t use the shower. I have a bulb that squirts water into the ear exactly the way they do it in the doctors office. These bulbs are sold at the store exactly for this purpose.
I also carried out the same experiments as Cecil and nd_n8 and found exactly the same results. The ear does feel different after burning the candle, and hearing could be slightly better but there is no reason to think this is caused by anything other than the smoke or heat causing to wax shift or contract enough to create a slightly wider channel for sounds to reach the ear drum. As soon as you have a shower and get water in your ear the wax will probably expand and block your hearing again.
When you burn a control candle you do get the same brown wax depositing inside it as you do when it’s burned over your ear.
Oh, I see. I don’t think they’re licensed in the UK. In fact doctors are pretty reluctant to allow people to get their ears syringed even by a nurse and say you need to put olive oil in your ear twice a day for a week before you can get it done.
They have some organic peroxide stuff that you can use to soften the earwax before you do it, but I haven’t bothered with it in a long time. Maybe I ought to use it since I’ve still got the bottle.
Again, medical advice in the UK is against using that as it could damage the inner ear. They would always advise using olive oil instead.
Doesn’t peroxide go “bad” after a while? I think I remember something about it concentrates over time and becomes dangerous but that could be a myth from childhood. I’ve always disposed of peroxide after the date on the bottle just to be on the safe side.