Ear Candles: The Dumbest Folk Medicine Remedy Ever

What exactly is the candle supposed to be doing while it's in your ear? The theory has something to do with negative pressure: The rising column of air inside the candle is supposed to produce a vacuum that draws out the ear wax, debris, and other nastiness living inside your ear.

There are other theories too. One is that the warmth of the candle helps loosen up the gunk in your ear. The smoke that enters your ear canal is also supposed to dry out your ear canal, which in turn causes your ear to produce more wax and excrete all those impurities.

The ear candle does not produce a vacuum. It doesn't suck out your sticky earwax. If it really worked, the negative pressure needed would rupture your eardrums. And that would be a bad thing.

However, there is a very good chance that you will get more wax in your ear by using the ear candling method.

The gunky yellow ear candle drippings look nasty, which convinces many people that they must be working. Proponents claim that those drippings consists of the earwax and other impurities that the candle sucked out of your ear.

Researchers have found that the candle drippings really are just that: Candle drippings. As bad as the gunk looks, the candle isn't getting it out of your ear.

Ear wax actually isn't a bad thing... our bodies produce it for a reason. The most obvious benefit of ear wax is that it helps clean out our ears. It also provides lubrication that helps protect the skin inside the ear canal from burning, itching or drying out.

The ear wax is excreted very slowly, and our jaw movements actually help speed the process along. Chewing gum can actually be beneficial for this reason, since it keeps your jaw moving!

Sometimes there's too much wax buildup, though, which can cause hearing problems. The best way to deal with that problem is to have a doctor clean out your ears with a syringe and warm water.

Refer to Wikipedia for more info...