Pseudoscience: Ear Candling

Ear candling is a bizarre folk medical practice in which an individual places a lit hollow candle in the ear canal and allows the candle to burn out of the side of their head in the belief that some sort of vacuum is created that removes body toxins through the ear wax. The goal of ear candling is to promote general over all health through the removal of these toxins, which practitioners insist can be seen as the residue on the inside of the candle after the procedure has been performed. Others claim that the process removes excess ear wax and improves a person's hearing. Ear candling is sometimes referred to as ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy. Regardless of the name, the presumed medical value of ear candling has been thoroughly debunked, and the residue that practitioners pointed to as body toxins removed from the body by the candle have invariably been shown to simply be the residue of the ear candle itself.

The manner in which ear candling is typically executed is as follows. The patient lies down on their side with one ear pointing toward the ceiling. The cone shaped ear candle is then lodged into the patient's ear, often with a special plate in place to catch the melted candle of the wax as it burns. The candles are composed of a roll of linen or cotton that has been covered in wax or paraffin. When ignited, the entire candle burns until the practitioner extinguishes the flame as it nears the patient's head.

Medical experts are unanimous in declaiming ear candling as both unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Although the wax that accumulates on the inside of the candle stub resembles the orange shade of ear wax, researchers have repeatedly found that it is simply the wax of the candle itself as it melts. Even if this residue were ear wax, doctors insist that the removal of it would be at best unnecessary. In a healthy person, the human ear produces ear wax to lubricate the ear and protect it from infection, and excess ear wax is removed by natural methods. Other than the residue that people instinctively clean out of their outer ear, there is no need for a person to bother with any further ear wax removal. Instead, ear candling opens a person up to the unnecessary risks of possibly dripping candle wax into the ear, puncturing the ear drum or burning the hair and skin.

Various countries have taken different stances against the practice of ear candling. The marketing and sale of ear candles is legal in the United States, provided that there are absolutely no indications on the candle's package or advertising that suggests that ear candling is an effective method of diagnosing, curing, treating or preventing any disease. In Canada, on the other hand, ear candling is outright illegal, and the marketing or sale of ear candles is an offense that is punishable by law due to lack of any reasonable medical or non-medical use of the potentially dangerous devices.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_candling

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html

http://www.earcandling.com/

http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/govtregulation/a/EarCandle.htm

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/lowdown-on-ear-candling