Why is Ear Candling Dangerous?

Have you ever done some research into different ear cleaning methods? If so, then you’ve probably stumbled upon the idea of ear candling before. It’s spoken of as this genius method that can help remove earwax and keep your ears nice and clean. The idea is that you lie on your side and place a hollow candle into the ear canal and light it. Apparently, this creates a vacuum which sucks all the nasty stuff out of your ear.

The main problem with ear candling is that it doesn’t actually have any science-based research behind it. There’s no proof that it works, but there is a whole load of evidence that it’s very dangerous. This is not a technique that any audiologist will prescribe or recommend, and here are some of the reasons why:

Ear candling can cause burns

A pretty obvious reason to avoid ear candling is that it can cause burns. Putting a lit candle in your ear is incredibly dangerous as it will get really hot and there’s every chance some of the wax from the candle can accidentally drip onto your face and burn your skin. Even if measures are made to protect your skin, it can still cause burns in your ear itself.

Ear candling can perforate your eardrum

Another danger of ear candling is that it’s been known to cause perforated eardrums in many patients. Again, this can be caused by candle wax entering the ear and just bursting your eardrum. Also, creating a vacuum in your ear is not very safe at all and can cause this problem even if nothing hits the eardrum. A perforated eardrum is very painful and causes hearing loss, so you should not want to try a treatment that causes it!

Ear candling can result in ash/wax entering your ear

The whole idea of this method is that it sucks stuff out of your ears. So, it’s ironic that ear candling can actually put more bad stuff into your ears. It’s highly common for things like candle wax and ash to fall into your ear canal and create numerous problems. A lot of people have had to have emergency treatment to remove these things after ear candling.

Ear candling pushes wax deeper into your ear

Lastly, ear candling can actually just push earwax deeper into your ear. This can do a couple of things that are very dangerous. For one, it can cause blockages that lead to ear infections or hearing problems. Secondly, it could push the wax so deep that you get the perforated eardrum mentioned earlier.

In short; ear candling is incredibly dangerous because it can cause so many problems in your ears. There’s no reason to insert anything into your ear, let alone something that’s got a flame on top of it! If you want to receive the best ear cleaning treatment possible, then give your audiologist a call. They can use professional methods that aren’t dangerous and are truly useful. Stay away from ear candling if you want to avoid any ear or hearing issues.