Editing Ear candling

{{Short description|Alternative medicine practice for ear cleaning}}
[[File:Ear candling-self applied.jpg|thumb|Attempting the procedure]]
{{Alternative medicine sidebar}}
'''Ear candling''', also called '''ear coning''' or '''thermal-auricular therapy''', is a [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/ear-candling-fool-proof-method-1010|title=Ear Candling: A Fool Proof Method, or Proof of Foolish Methods? Heather L. Shenk Jess Dancer|last1=Shenk|first1=Heather L.|last2=Dancer|first2=Jess|date=December 12, 2005|website=AudiologyOnline|language=en|access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref> [[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<ref name="Seely">{{cite journal|author1=Seely, D.R. |author2=Quigley, S.M. |author3=Langman, A.W. | title=Ear candles: Efficacy and safety |journal=Laryngoscope |year=1996 |pages=1226–9 |volume=106 |issue=10 |pmid=8849790 |doi=10.1097/00005537-199610000-00010|s2cid=45885657 }}</ref> and does not functionally remove [[earwax]] or [[toxicant]]s, despite product design contributing to that impression.<ref name=MayoClinic.org>{{cite web|last1=Beatty M.D.|first1=Charles W.|title=Ear Candling: Is it Safe?|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/expert-answers/ear-candling/faq-20058212|website=MayoClinic.org|publisher=Mayo Clinic|access-date=7 June 2014|ref=MayoClinic.org}}</ref>

==Procedure==
One end of a cylinder or cone of waxed cloth is lit, and the other is placed into the subject's ear. The flame is cut back occasionally with scissors and extinguished between five and ten centimeters (two to four inches) from the subject.

The subject lies on one side with the treated ear uppermost and the candle vertical. The candle can be stuck through a paper plate or aluminium pie tin to protect against any hot wax or ash falling onto the subject. Another way to perform ear candling involves the subject lying face up with the ear candle extending out to the side with a forty-five-degree upward slant.  A dish of water is placed next to the subject under the ear candle.

Proponents claim that the flame creates negative pressure, drawing wax and debris out of the ear canal,<ref name=why>{{cite web |url = http://healing.about.com/cs/holistictherapies/a/earcandling.htm |title = Ear Candling: Why Would You Want to Candle Your Ears? |author = Phylameana lila Desy |publisher = About.com |access-date = 2010-04-09 |archive-date = 2011-03-01 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110301101341/http://healing.about.com/cs/holistictherapies/a/earcandling.htm |url-status = dead }}</ref> which appears as a dark residue.

An ear candling session lasts up to one hour, during which one or two ear candles may be burned for each ear.

Treatment is also performed by some [[naturopaths]] in Canada, although import and sale are prohibited by [[Health Canada]]. [[Jonathan Jarry]] from the [[Office for Science and Society]] says that the ''Association des naturopathes agréés du Québec'' (ANAQ) states in its code of ethics that "its members can only use natural health products that conform to the rule of Health Canada". Results from an inquiry performed by Jarry showed that out of 50 naturopaths in Quebec, two offered the treatment and five said the consumer should buy the candles and do it themselves. Only one said that the use of ear candles is unethical.<ref name="JarryVideo">{{cite AV media |people=Jarry, Jonathan (Director) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GfunNxHHkw  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/-GfunNxHHkw| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|date=September 3, 2019 |title=The Strange Case of the Illegal Ear Candle |access-date =February 9, 2020 |medium=Motion picture |publisher= The Body of Evidence}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Conventional removal of earwax===
The conventional removal of [[earwax]] in medicine is done through an apparatus that creates a [[vacuum]] with which a doctor can remove excess earwax through [[suction]]. If the patient has a skin problem or the earwax is too sticky, an oil can be used to solubilise it so that excess earwax can be wiped off without inserting any object into the ear canal, such as a [[cotton swab]], which can damage the ear canal.<ref name="JarryVideo"/>

==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."<ref name=Ernst>{{cite journal| author=Edzard Ernst |author-link=Edzard Ernst |title=Ear candles: a triumph of ignorance over science |journal= The Journal of Laryngology & Otology |year=2004 |volume=118 |issue=1 |pages=1–2 |pmid=14979962 |doi=10.1258/002221504322731529}}</ref><ref name=TrickOrTreatment>{{cite book |author1=Singh, S. |author2=Ernzt, E. |title=Trick or Treatment: Alternative medicine on trial |year=2008 |publisher=Bantam Press |title-link=Trick or Treatment }}</ref>

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.<ref name=webmd>{{cite web |url=http://www.webmd.com/fda/stay-away-ear-candles |publisher=[[WebMD]] |editor=Food and Drug Administration |editor-link=Food and Drug Administration |title=Don't Get Burned: Stay Away From Ear Candles |access-date=2016-08-17}}</ref> 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{{Nbsp}}... 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."<ref name="FDA">{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia7701.html|title=Detention Without Physical Examination of Ear Candles|website=[[Food and Drug Administration]]|access-date=2007-11-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071114035555/https://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia7701.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-11-14}}</ref>

A 2007 paper in the journal ''[[Canadian Family Physician]]'' concludes:

{{quote|Ear candling appears to be popular and is heavily advertised with claims that could seem scientific to lay people. However, its claimed mechanism of action has not been verified, no positive clinical effect has been reliably recorded, and it is associated with considerable risk. No evidence suggests that ear candling is an effective treatment for any condition. On this basis, we believe it can do more harm than good and we recommend that GPs discourage its use.<ref name=Rafferty>{{cite journal|author1=J. Rafferty |author2=MB CHB |author3=A. Tsikoudas |author4=FRCS DLO |author5=B.C. Davis |author6=FRCS ED | title=Ear candling: Should general practitioners recommend it?| journal=Can Fam Physician|date=1 December 2007 |issue=12 |pages=2121–2 | pmid=18077749 |volume=53 |pmc=2231549}}</ref>}}

A 2007 paper in ''[[American Family Physician]]'' said:

{{quote|Ear candling also should be avoided. Ear candling is a practice in which a hollow candle is inserted into the external auditory canal and lit, with the patient lying on the opposite ear. In theory, the combination of heat and suction is supposed to remove earwax. However, in one trial, ear candles neither created suction nor removed wax and actually led to occlusion with candle wax in persons who previously had clean ear canals. Primary care physicians may see complications from ear candling including candle wax occlusion, local burns, and tympanic membrane perforation.<ref name=McCarter>McCarter, ''et al''. [http://www.aafp.org/afp/20070515/1523.html Cerumen Impaction] ''[[American Family Physician]]'', May 15, 2007</ref>}}
[[Image:Typical ear candling contents.jpg|thumb|Material appearing after ear candling is actually residue from the candle itself.]]

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.<ref name="Seely"/> Several studies have shown that ear candles produce the same residue — which is simply candle wax and soot — when burnt without ear insertion.<ref name="Seely" /><ref name="straight dope">{{cite web|year=1995|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_098.html|title=The Straight Dope: How do "ear candles" work?|access-date=2006-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/pre-2007/files/health/earcandle/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601193035/http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/pre-2007/files/health/earcandle/index.html|archive-date=2013-06-01|title=Listen up: Beware of the <nowiki>'ear candle'</nowiki>|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|publisher=CBC Marketplace|date=2002-02-22|access-date=2016-08-17}}</ref>

At least two house fires (one fatal) have been caused by accidents during ear candling.<ref name=Schwartz>{{cite news|title=Don't put a candle in your ear and save $25 |author=Joe Schwartz |date=30 August 2008 |publisher=Montreal Gazette |page=I11 |url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=a124f47e-ba20-482e-8acf-3e772e868e4f |location=Montreal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628222621/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=a124f47e-ba20-482e-8acf-3e772e868e4f |archive-date=28 June 2011 }}</ref>

A survey of [[Otorhinolaryngology|ear, nose and throat]] surgeons found some who had treated people with complications from ear candling, and that burns were the most common.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Ear candles – Efficacy and safety: Seely DR, Quigley SM, Langman AW. Laryngoscope 106:1226, 1996|journal = Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery|date = 1997-04-01|pages = 431|volume = 55|issue = 4|doi = 10.1016/S0278-2391(97)90150-6|first = R|last = Holloway}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="Goldacre">{{cite news | last = Goldacre| first = Ben| author-link=Ben Goldacre| title = Waxing sceptical| work = [[The Guardian]]| date = 2004-03-04| url = http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,1161248,00.html| access-date = 2007-02-25 }}</ref>

While ear candles are widely available in the US, selling or importing them with medical claims is illegal.<ref name="FDA" />

In a report, [[Health Canada]] states "There is no scientific proof to support claims that ear candling provides medical benefits.{{Nbsp}}... 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]].<ref name="HealthCanada1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/alt_formats/pacrb-dgapcr/pdf/iyh-vsv/med/ear-oreille-eng.pdf |access-date=2007-11-15 |title=It's your health: Ear Candling |publisher=Health Canada}}</ref><ref name="Bromstein"/>

== 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 government|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."<ref name=Bromstein>{{cite news|last=Bromstein |first=Elizabeth |title=Wax on, wax off: Does candling clear canal or burn it? |work=[[Now (newspaper)|Now]] |date=13 January 2005 |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=145396&archive=24,20,2005 |access-date=25 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005070247/http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=145396&archive=24%2C20%2C2005 |archive-date=5 October 2010 }}</ref>  The Hopi tribe has repeatedly asked Biosun to stop using the Hopi name.<ref name=Hopi>{{cite web | title=Authenticity of the Hopi Candle | url=http://freespace.virgin.net/ahcare.qua/programme/earcandling.html#authenticity | date=2004-03-02 | publisher=Active Health|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823071341/http://freespace.virgin.net/ahcare.qua/index5.html|archive-date=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."</ref> Biosun ignored the request for over a decade until sometime after 2014<ref name=biosun_claim>{{cite web|title=Hopi Ear Candles |url=http://en.biosun.com/ohrkerze/ |publisher=Biosun |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108040018/http://en.biosun.com/ohrkerze/ |archive-date=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."</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roazen (M.D.)|first=Lisa|title=Why Ear Candling Is Not a Good Idea|url=http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candling.html|publisher=[[Quackwatch]] |date=2010-05-12|access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref> The earliest records state that it was first practiced by Americans in the 20th century from some European immigrants. It developed largely in Arizona.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harmony|first=Doc|title=What Is The History of Ear Candling?
|url=https://healthyenergyamazinglife.com/blogs/live-in-harmony/what-is-the-history-of-ear-candling?srsltid=AfmBOoq0a6G7s5sbbeo7NIMhceQeWwXK-KnZYCViXD7ILXHVthFxgzSn|date=June 8, 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ear pick]]
* [[List of ineffective cancer treatments]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* Horowitz, Janice M. (June 19, 2000). [https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,997230,00.html "Ear Candling"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.

{{Pseudoscience|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ear Candling}}
[[Category:Alternative detoxification]]
[[Category:Candles]]
[[Category:Ear procedures]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]