What is Ear Candling?       Practcioner preforming ear candling treatment   

 

          Ear Candling is an ear clearing ritual that has been practiced for thousands of years by diverse cultures such as the Tibetan Monks, Hopi Tribe, Egyptians and Native Americans. Today its use is wide spread in Western Culture as well.

Ear candling is performed by having the patient lie on the opposite side of their body to the ear to be candled. The candle is lit on the top portion. Once the top of the candle is burning, the bottom of the candle is covered with one finger till there is a rolling cloud of black smoke pouring out of the top of the candle. The practitioner then places the ear candle in the patient’s ear at a 20 degree angle. The candle is only placed on the outside of the outer ear.

The candle top is trimmed every inch and a half to insure the patient is not burned with falling ash. When the candle has burned two to four inches from the bottom the candle is extinguished. Multiple candles per ear may be necessary to clear the impacted cerumen (ear wax). This is especially true if the cerumen in the ear is impacted due to the over use of Q-Tips.

Afterwards oil is applied to the ear to protect the inner ear until the ear cerumen replaced. This usually takes 24 to 48 hours. I use garlic oil for its antiseptic properties and because it feels gentle in comparision to other oils I have tried. If the patient is going to be outside after the candling it is advised to wear cotton balls in their ears to protect from wind damage or foreign particles floating on the ear.

The said benefits of ear candling are to clear ear cerumen out of your ears, fight off cold and flu, clear ear infections, and reduce sinus pressure. Ear Candling is also an effective remedy to some who suffer from tinnitus, migraines and TMJ. People interested in Holistic Health often find ear candling to be a spiritual cleansing experience as well.

The said dangers of ear candling include the possibility of burning your ear drum by dripping wax into your ear. This can happen if the candle is not held at a 20 degree angle. Beeswax candles are by far the safest as the wax is the wax absorbs into the muslin cloth more readily than paraffin wax alternatives.

Some candle makers infuse the candles with herbs to provide a specific type of clearing, whether it be for negativity, chronic sinus troubles, insomnia etcetera, the list is endless with possibilities.

So what that is the stuff that is inside the ear candle afterwards is extinguished? As crazy as it sounds opening up the ear candles to see what is inside has become my and my children's favorite part of the ear candling process.
 

         As one may assume there is some of the melted candle wax inside of the candle, more if the candle was not held at a 20 degree angle. There may also be your cerum.

Ear Cerumen

       To distinguish between the cerumen from your ears and candle wax, cerumen is usually found in larger globs. Cerumen will also be malleable when touched. If cerumen is found and is dark brown it usually indicates it is older older cerumen than its lighter counter parts.

        There is a large debate amoungst ear candling practitioners whiether it is even possible to get cerumen out of a the inner ear with ear candles. I personally have seen ear cerumen come out of ears during candling so I am choosing to include it as a possibility.

          Some practitioners have found many strange things in patient’s ears after opening their ear candles when the candling process is compled. I have recently read a post staing a practitioner had found ear  mites in a patient’s ear candle.

If you watch videos on You Tube you will find a large amount of videos of people trying to get things like June bugs and ants out of their ears, so I guess it is possible to find just about anything in your ears.

What I have experienced during ear candling has been varies each session. Sometimes after ear candling I feel a deep relief of sinus pressure due to sinus infections, my ears have become unclogged and other times I feel that my aura has been cleansed. It is really a very individual experience.

My Daughter, Journey likes getting her ears candled to hear the crackling sound in her ears. She always says, "It's raining Mama!" She also enjoys ear candling because it helps relieve some of her cold symptoms.

So is ear candling for everyone, no. Some will find relief from colds or glue ear and many other illnesses. If you would like to try ear candling I would suggest going to a reputable spa that offers ear candling and have it performed by a professional to insure safety and lessen the chance of damage to your ear. 

I believe ear candling is a very inexpensive holistic remedy for many illnesses that provides relaxation in the process.