Just got back from a trip and we met someone who suggested Ear Candling.
Has anyone had this treatment? And was it effective?
I am a lover of acupuncture buthe would like to try this first.
Poor Mr Smackerjack caught an horrific cold a few months back and has been left with tinnitus which is driving him crazy especially when he tries to sleep at night.
Hi smackerjack,
I wouldn't do ear candling, as it seems too risky and getting burned with a candle if anything goes wrong with the ear candling doesn't seem a painless idea at all.
What I'd suggest (if he doesn't want to see a ENT, which would be the best thing to do in my opinion) is having a constant source of noise around, be it soft music, a vacuum cleaner, a fan etc., so that the noise sort of "cancels" the tinnitus noises. It was very effective with me on multiple occasions and there is less risk of his ear being damaged permanently (except if headphones are used at high volume)...
Good luck
So what does Mrs Smackerjack do to get to sleep when Mr Smackerjack has the vacuum cleaner on to help him sleep?
Get the neighbor's vacuum cleaner, switch it on and go to sleep (VC 1 and VC 2 cancel each other).
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Just joking
(but the above post was for real, maybe listening to classical music on very low volume would work instead of vacuuming in the middle of the night?)
I tried it once, though not for tinnitus. It did me no good.
Research on the web seemed to be mainly negative. The science doesn't stack up at all. Claims are made that the heat draws out blockages and clears other issues, but tests have shown this to be physically imposssible. Maybe it's a mind-over-matter thing for those who claim success.
Did nothing for me, and I wouldn't recommend it. Not physically harmful, just a waste of money.
ear candles = load of old toss.
if ears are blocked with wax, use a wax remover such as otex or another well know wax remover
My Sicilian grandmother used to swear by this. I've had it done to me lots of times. It's not dangerous at all if done carefully. When the candling is finished there's all sorts of icky gunk in the candle that's been drawn out of the ear canal. Will it helpt for tinnitus? I seriously doubt it
We were advised to try it in Italy years ago when our son got an ear infection. They do relieve the pain and pressure - possibly just as a result of the warmth. I doubt they really manage to suck much out of the ear - the gunk left in the cones is likely to be down to unburnt candle wax. From time to time I've also used them. The last time my doctor confirmed that the candles had worked by relieving pressure - but also leaving a deposit of melted earwax behind - he gave me drops to clean the remainder of the gunk out.
A colleague of mine did it after having a sort of "blocked ear" feeling after a plane trip. Her symptoms were like her head was in a glass bubble and she couldn't hear much anymore. She said it was totally painless, very easy (did it at home with help of her husband), cheap (buy it in an asian shop) and very effective. It totally unblocked her ears and she could hear well again after that. So she's recommending it strongly.
I have tinnitus, and have done since being a kripper, due to multiple ear surgeries. It's permanent, as most tinnitus is.
Most "cures" are bogus, and it comes down to mental approach. I've had 40 years of practise, so I actually need to tune in to hear mine. The brain does try its best to block that frequency. But it blocks *everything* at that frequency, so expect some affects.
If you're lucky it's only temporary.
It's the opposite, actually - tinnitus is the result of the brain cranking up the volume knob for certain frequencies, because it isn't getting the expected input signals in that range for some reason, normally due to physical damage or age-related degeneration in the hair cells in the inner ear; i.e. in most cases, entirely neurological and not something fiddling with the ear canal is going to anything about.
That the solution comes down to mental approach is bang on (ear candling has been widely debunked, and should be avoided). It's worth googling Robert Sweetow for more info, he's an audiologist who specialises in dealing with the horrible hiss.
I tried it twice, it removes wax but am not sure about inflammation. My ears were really itchy for like a week after cause it dried them out and removed all the wax...i did it for my son when he had ear infections as well...
I did it once and how would you possibly burn yourself if you follow the instruction and there is somebody with you? After the procedure I had the wonderful sensation of having a great renewed sense of hearing. But for tinitus I don't know what good that would do. I would say tinitus is something for a specialist/doctor. All the best and I hope it goes away.
I used to do it on a regular basis & stopped a couple of years ago. I had very blocked ears this year & ended geting them pressure 'jet washed' at a hospital in France. Large lumps & wax flew out! I asked the Dr about ear candles & he thought they were fine, he was an ear specialest.
Please get a specialist to check out the tinnitus, sudden onset, monaural (one sided) tinnitus can be caused by many things, some of which are rather nasty so please see an ENT or audiologist.
They will also explain some tactics to cope with the tinnitus, ear candling not being one of them.
This may be opening Pandora's box but here goes.
You might want to have him checked by a Chiropractor. There may be some nerve impingement (the ears) happening in the cervical spine (brought on by the cold etc.) that is causing the buzzing.
ive done it before but with someone else's help. it did help with the wax build up!!!
I have never done this but can someone clear the situation for me. I heard that ear candling was mainly used to release dormant bacterias and viruses. For instance, I get Strep a lot and a doctor once told me that Strep will lie dormant in the ears if wax and debris clog them. I kinda believed him as with my Strep it would go up into my ear canals from my throat. Or maybe it was actually the other day around if they were dormant in my ears. I would be willing to try it if it helped.
ear candling is complete BS. the ear is sealed by the eardrum. if a vacuum was applied you would burst your eardrum. it would be like trying to remove the last sip in a bottle by sucking on the opening while it's upright. the physics are impossible. anything residue you thought was being removed by ear candling was from the candle itself.
if you have problems with tinnitus, see a ENT doctor. tinnitus has NOTHING to do with ear wax. search for my tinnitus thread for more help.