Ear candling
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Sidebar/configuration' not found. Template:Short description Ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a pseudoscientific[1] alternative medicine practice claiming to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal. Medical research has shown that the practice is both dangerous and ineffective[2] and does not functionally remove earwax or toxicants, despite product design contributing to that impression.[3]
Technique
Medical News Today describes the process of ear candling:
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Ear candles are typically about 10 inches long, hollow, and tapered. A person lights them at their widest end. They are usually made of fabric soaked in wax or a mixture of substances, often paraffin and beeswax. To perform ear candling, a person will lie on their side and insert a candle into the ear. Usually, a square or circle made of paper, tin foil, or plastic acts as a cover to prevent hot wax from dripping onto the face, neck, or hair. Once the candle and covering are secure, a person will light the candle for 10–20 minutes. Wax does not go into the ear during this process. Ear candle makers and supporters claim that the lit candle creates enough warmth to generate suction. This suction pulls impurities and wax out of the ear canal.[4]
Safety and effectiveness
Professor of Complementary Medicine Edzard Ernst wrote about ear candles: "There is no data to suggest that it is effective for any condition. Furthermore, ear candles have been associated with ear injuries. The inescapable conclusion is that ear candles do more harm than good. Their use should be discouraged."[5][6]
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ear candling is sometimes promoted with claims that the practice can "purify the blood" or "cure" cancer. Health Canada has determined the candles do not affect the ear, and provide no health benefit; instead, they create a risk of injury, especially when used on children.[7] In October 2007, US FDA issued an alert identifying ear candles (also known as ear cones or auricular candles) as "dangerous to health when used in the dosage or manner, or with the frequency or duration, prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling thereof ... since the use of a lit candle in the proximity of a person's face would carry a high risk of causing potentially severe skin/hair burns and middle ear damage."[8]
A 2007 paper in the journal Canadian Family Physician concludes:
A 2007 article in American Family Physician said ear candling should be avoided, stating:
The Spokane Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic conducted a research study in 1996, which concluded that ear candling does not produce negative pressure and is ineffective in removing wax from the ear canal.[2] Several studies have shown that ear candles produce the same residue – which is simply candle wax and soot – when burnt without ear insertion.[2][9][10]
At least two house fires (one fatal) have been caused by accidents during ear candling.[11]
A survey of ear, nose and throat surgeons found some who had treated people with complications from ear candling, and that burns were the most common.[12]
Product regulations
In Europe, some ear candles bear the CE mark (93/42/EEC), though they are mostly self-issued by the manufacturer. This mark indicates that the device is designed and manufactured so as not to compromise the safety of patients, but no independent testing is required as proof.[13]
While ear candles are widely available in the US, selling or importing them with medical claims is illegal.[8]
In a report, Health Canada states "There is no scientific proof to support claims that ear candling provides medical benefits. ... However, there is plenty of proof that ear candling is dangerous". It says that while some people claim to be selling the candles "for entertainment purposes only", the Canadian government maintains that there is no reasonable non-medical use, and hence any sale of the devices is illegal in Canada.[14][15]
Origin
Ear candle manufacturer Biosun referred to them as "Hopi" ear candles, but there is no such treatment within traditional Hopi healing practices. Vanessa Charles, public relations officer for the Hopi Tribal Council, has stated that ear candling "is not and has never been a practice conducted by the Hopi tribe or the Hopi people."[15] The Hopi tribe has repeatedly asked Biosun to stop using the Hopi name.[16] Biosun ignored the request for over a decade until sometime after 2014[17] when the product was rebranded as "traditional earcandles" in Germany, although the product is still marketed by third-party US resellers as "Hopi".
Many advocates of ear candles claim that the treatment originates from traditional Chinese, Egyptian, or North American medicine. The mythical city of Atlantis is also reported to be the origin of this practice, which has no documentation.[18] The earliest records state that it was first practiced by Americans in the 20th century from some European immigrants. It developed largely in Arizona.[19]
See also
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shenk, Heather L.; Dancer, Jess (December 12, 2005). "Ear Candling: A Fool Proof Method, or Proof of Foolish Methods?". AudiologyOnline. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Seely, D.R.; Quigley, S.M.; Langman, A.W. (1996). "Ear candles: Efficacy and safety". Laryngoscope. 106 (10): 1226–9. doi:10.1097/00005537-199610000-00010. PMID 8849790. S2CID 45885657.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beatty M.D., Charles W. "Ear Candling: Is it Safe?". MayoClinic.org. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Huizen, Jennifer (2018-11-14). "Ear candling: Safety and side effects". Medical News Today. Retrieved 2026-01-07.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ernst, Edzard (2004). "Ear candles: a triumph of ignorance over science". The Journal of Laryngology & Otology. 118 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1258/002221504322731529. PMID 14979962.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Singh, S.; Ernzt, E. (2008). Trick or Treatment: Alternative medicine on trial. Bantam Press.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Food and Drug Administration (ed.). "Don't Get Burned: Stay Away From Ear Candles". WebMD. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Detention Without Physical Examination of Ear Candles". Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How do 'ear candles' work?". The Straight Dope. 1995. Retrieved 2006-03-21.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Listen up: Beware of the 'ear candle'". CBC Marketplace. 2002-02-22. Archived from the original on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schwartz, Joe (30 August 2008). "Don't put a candle in your ear and save $25". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. p. I11. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holloway, R (1997-04-01). "Ear candles – Efficacy and safety: Seely DR, Quigley SM, Langman AW. Laryngoscope 106:1226, 1996". Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 55 (4): 431. doi:10.1016/S0278-2391(97)90150-6.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Goldacre, Ben (2004-03-04). "Waxing sceptical". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."It's your health: Ear Candling" (PDF). Health Canada. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bromstein, Elizabeth (13 January 2005). "Wax on, wax off: Does candling clear canal or burn it?". Now. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Authenticity of the Hopi Candle". Active Health. 2004-03-02. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. "The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office is not aware of Hopi people ever practicing 'Ear Candling.' Biosun and Revital Ltd. are misrepresenting the name 'Hopi' with their products. This therapy should not be called 'Hopi Ear Candeling.' [sic] The history of Ear Candeling [sic] should not refer to being used by the Hopi Tribe. Use of this false information with reference to Hopi should be stopped."
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Hopi Ear Candles". Biosun. Archived from the original on 2014-11-08. Claims have varied, including "The Hopi, the oldest Pueblo people with great medicinal knowledge and a high degree of spirituality, brought this knowledge to Europe with the professional involvement of BIOSUN" and "BIOSUN Earcandles have their origins in the century-old culture of the Hopi Indians and other cultures."
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Roazen (M.D.), Lisa (2010-05-12). "Why Ear Candling Is Not a Good Idea". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harmony, Doc (June 8, 2021). "What Is The History of Ear Candling?".
External links
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- Horowitz, Janice M. (June 19, 2000). "Ear Candling". Time.
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