Health Risks And Side Effects Of Ear Candling

Ear candling, also known as ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a treatment often used in alternative medicine. Ear candles are approximately ten inches long and consist of a hollow fabric cone soaked in paraffin or wax. During an ear candling procedure, one end of the candle is lit, and the other end is placed into the patient's ear canal, remaining in place for fifteen minutes. While proponents of thermal-auricular therapy say the procedure softens earwax and pulls it out of the ear canal, no scientific studies have ever confirmed this.