Anyone have any experience with ear candling/coning?

[grannylib]

I bought some for my hubby; he has hyperacousis and tinnitus, so hoping for some relief.
Curious to hear from others about good/bad experiences.

[Loonman]

1. It's a crock

Get a kit from the drugstore that uses a murine solution. If that doesn't work, you can get a great and thorough cleaning from your doctor.

[Az]

2. Relief can be had by seeing a trained Doctor

Ear candling will at best provide a placebo effect. At worst it may exasterbate the issue. It is a scam.

[Mr. McD]

3. They work great

I used them for an impacted ear. They cleared out the wax and saved me several days of pain waiting for some drops the Doctor gave me to soften the wax so he could remove it.

[Orthodox Heathen]

4. I have only used them once but the result was positive.

They did what they were supposed to do. :shrug:

[newyawker99]

10. Hi Orthodox Heathen!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[TXlib]

5. Read this... you could hurt yourself

http://www.rcsullivan.com/www/forum/harris/candle.htm

Ear candling is pure snake oil, junk science.

The idea is that the burning candle creates a gentle updraft, or vaccuum that pulls the wax from the ear.

However, a simple experiment reveals this is a bogus claim; when the base of a burning candle is put into water, the water does not get sucked up by the candle.

It's a waste of time and money, and you could burn your eardrum.

Go to a doctor.

[Rowdyboy]

6. Worked like a charm for both my partner and myself...

And we've both used them on several occasions.

[chiburb]

7. Scam, scam, scam....

First we peered into Pat's ears with an otoscope, the familiar flashlight-type examining device. The poor guy had enough wax in there to make his own candles. We put him on the table, lit the candle, and stuck it in his ear in the prescribed manner. Then we watched, struggling to suppress the thought that we should also be chanting and maybe sacrificing small animals.

When the candle had burned down to two inches we snuffed it and examined the treated ear with the otoscope. No change, except that possibly the wax was dented where the candle had been stuck in. Upon slicing open the candle stub, however, we found a considerable quantity of brown wax and whitish powder. The manual had the audacity to intimate that the powder was candida yeast extracted from the ear, conceding that possibly "1% to 10%" was from the used candle. The disappointed MDs were more inclined to say it was 100 percent, but just to be sure we burned another candle in the open air. When we sliced it open we found wax and powder identical to that in the first. Conclusion: it's a hoax. Ain't it always the way? Maybe we're not doing enemas anymore, but we're winding up with the same old stuff.

YOUR WORST FEARS CONFIRMED

As an otolaryngologist with 15 years' experience, I have had more than one occasion on which a victim of ear candling has presented to my office with excruciating symptoms caused by melted wax adhering to the eardrum. This often necessitates minor surgery and puts the patient's hearing at risk. In addition to debunking the efficacy of ear candling, you should mention the inherent danger to hearing. --C. Christopher Smith, MD, FACS, Dover, New Hampshire

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_098.html

[grannylib]

8. Thanks for sharing, everyone...I have given up on doctors, sorry...

we wasted several thousand dollars (most of it not covered by insurance, since it was considered 'diagnostic,' which it wasn't, unless you're happy with a recitation of symptoms for diagnosis, and 'it's idiopathic' for a cure) at the MAYO for pete's sake, worst experience ever.
Will give it a shot; the anecdotal evidence I have from those I know who have tried it has all been positive - just looking for balance and other experiences!
Thanks again, and wish us luck!

[DS1]

9. There is no cure for tinnitus

I would recommend a home kit with drops to loosen wax and a mini-turkey-baster-thingie to flush the ear canal with warmish water after a few minutes

[chefgirl]

11. When I was a kid

I was about 10 years old and I had a huge amount of wax impacted in one of my ears. The doctor had to pull it out with hemostats...scary experience.
Anyway, he told me if I wanted to clean my ears, the best thing to use was a few drops of peroxide, let it sit in each ear for about 10 minutes. I've been doing this ever since, and have never had another problem.
Just a safer alternative.

-chef-

[amazona]

12. I don't feel it's a DIY matter

It's sort of considered to be a superstition but I've known at least two people personally who got relief by having it done by a professional. I sure wouldn't take the matter into my own hands though. Sometimes doctors just tell you to buy an ear cleaning kit and of course you don't know what you're doing and it does no good...this is what happened with one relative. So when the ear candler worked on him, she could do more of a cleaning, and he actually saw relief. It might not have been the candling that did it but any kind of professional cleaning might have done the same -- the trouble was, the doctor just wanted him to DIY and forgets that we're not all comfortable about digging into our own ears.

I'd have it done by someone who is trained. You'll know pretty much right away if it helps.

[XNASA]

13. "Oh sure I do. Wait............

...You said 'coning'."

Nevermind.

[seaglass]

14. My daughter was prescribed a stool softener to loosen

the wax in her ears when she was little, it worked. Have you ever tried that?

[Nevernose]

15. How's his blood pressure?

My ENT said "go to Mayo" just last week for the recurring ear inner infection and maddening tinnitus -- how's that for coincidence? I suspect that my tinnitus is caused by high blood-pressure, combined with the infection, as does my ENT. How's your husband's blood pressure?

I had the tinnitus this bad a couple of years ago, too, when I had a spike in blood pressure and I was suffering from heat stroke -- at one point it was so bad I thought I was hearing voices! I quit smoking and scrweing around in the summer daytime in Las Vegas, and the ears quickly went back to normal.

I used to use ear candles, looking for an alternative, homeopathic way of curing my ills (I've got no insurance), and after much personal use as well as reading the research into them, I came to one big conclusion: They don't work. They're a rip-off. A scam. They won't help with tinnitus anyway, since it's usually caused by something in the inner ear. Unless your husband has a perforated eardrum, there's no way for an ear candle to affect his inner ear.