DIY is all the rage nowadays and everyone likes a quick easy fix. Sink Leaking? Just search YouTube for the suitable plumbing tutorial, buy the suggested tools, and go to work! A plumber would most likely be a little more efficient but then you wouldn’t get that feeling of self-satisfaction that comes with doing it by yourself.
At least, until your sink begins to leak again. That’s because in some cases the skill and experience of a professional can’t be effectively substituted for a quick fix.
It isn’t always easy to acknowledge that this is the situation. And, in part, that’s why individuals will frequently continue to seek out “easy” DIY-fixes for intricate problems, which might help explain the popularity of something called ear candling (or, in some cases, earwax candling). It sounds… sort of gross, right? Let’s dive into just what earwax candling is and its dangers.
Ear candling – what is it?
Have you ever had a stuffy-ear sort of feeling? Occasionally, it happens when you’re ill and your ear fills with mucus. An excessive amount of earwax can also trigger this feeling and that can happen for various reasons. This can sometimes be very uncomfortable. Your hearing might even temporarily go. It kind of stinks!
This means that some individuals think they have encountered what seems to be a natural and novel option: ear candling. The idea is that a special hollow candle is placed in your ear (non-burning end). Somehow, the mix of heat and the hollow style of the candle changes the air pressure within your ear canal, drawing the earwax or mucus out.
Healthcare professionals absolutely don’t recommend this technique. If you’re searching for evidence that ear candling actually works and pulls out wax, you won’t find any. Almost every single hearing healthcare professional, as a result, will emphatically recommend against utilizing this strategy ever. Ear candling also doesn’t help with sinus pressure.
The FDA also strongly advocates against this practice.
The negative aspects of ear candling
Ear candling might feel safe, initially. It’s a really small flame. And you’re utilizing “specialized” equipment. And individuals on the internet claimed it was safe! So, how could ear candling be harmful?
Ear candling can, unfortunately, be really hazardous and there’s no way of getting around that! What are the side effects of ear candling? Here are just a few of the (possibly painful) ways that ear candling can affect your health:
- Your face could be severely burned: There’s always a pretty good possibility that if you’re holding a flame up near your ear, you could burn your face. Everybody has accidents now and then. It’s all too easy for candle wax to drip into your eyes or for your hair to catch on fire or for your face to become seriously burned.
- You may accidentally puncture your eardrum: There’s a danger that comes with inserting anything in your ears! You may accidentally puncture your eardrum, causing considerable discomfort and damage to your hearing. Often, this is something that needs to be addressed by a hearing professional.
- The earwax can be crammed even further into your ear: In much the same way that pushing a Q-tip in your ear can pack the earwax into an ever-more-dense obstruction, so too can pushing a specialized candle in your ear. In other words, ear candling can make your earwax issue worse! This can lead to all sorts of other complications from hearing loss to severe infections.
- Your ear can be severely burned: The fire and the melting ear candle wax are very hot. If the tip of the candle or the wax gets where it’s not supposed to, you’re facing some substantial burning possibilities in your ear (and your ear is a sensitive location).
- Your ear can have residual candle wax left behind: Even if you don’t get burned, surplus ear candle wax can get left behind in your ears. Your hearing can become impacted from this, not to mention the discomfort.
So, is ear candling recommended by hearing healthcare professionals? Not at all! Ultimately, earwax candling isn’t only ineffective, it’s utterly dangerous.
A better way to Tackle earwax
Earwax is actually a good thing. It’s good for your ears in normal quantities. Problems start when there’s too much earwax or when it won’t properly drain. So… if you can’t use a burning candle to remove earwax, what should you do?
If you have an earwax blockage, the most beneficial thing to do might be speaking with a hearing specialist. Typically, they will suggest that you try some at-home solutions, such as a saline wash, to soften the wax allowing it to drip out by itself. But in some situations, they will perform a cleaning for you.
We can remove the wax safely with specialty tools and training.
In general, you should stay away from techniques such as using cotton swabs and earwax candling. Unless your hearing specialist says differently, it’s a good policy to never put anything smaller than your finger in your ear.
Give your ears some relief
Schedule a consultation with us if you have excess earwax that’s causing you some distress. We will be able to help you remove any stubborn earwax out of your ears and get you back to feeling normal.
References
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/health-fraud-scams/ear-candling-ineffective-and-risky
