I've got a blocked ear - anyone tried ear candling?

[Figgyroll]

It started with a sore throat and losing my voice and now my right ear's blocked. I can't hear properly and it seems 'full'. I've tried gently massaging the outside. When I lean to my right it seems that the pressure is relieved.

A friend of mine was talking about ear candling the other day but, looking online, there is divided opinion if it works or not. I was wondering if any MNs have tried it?

Nah, all smoke'n'mirrors. Go to your GP.

Speak to pharmacist first, decongestant type stuff might be helpful. Candling = woo.

Ear candling: try magic fairy dust first.

As Doctor Ben Goldacre says:

A paper published in the medical journal Laryngoscope used rather expensive tympanometry and found that ear candles exert no suction. The researchers also found no reduction in the amount of wax after a programme of ear candling. Although, if you?re getting bored of all these negative findings, they did ask 122 colleagues, and collected 21 cases of serious injury from burning wax falling on to the ear drum. If you find, while having your ear candled, that you experience a sudden loss of hearing, and agony followed by bleeding: that?ll be the deafening sound of your own painful credulity.

I usually lay with the blocked ear upwards, then fill the ear canal with olive oil, using an eye dropper, leave it for 5 mins, then turn over and drain it out onto a tissue. It looks gross but oddly fascinating how much goo comes out!

Just use olive oil.

Agree with Olive oil.. helps if you warm it very slightly first.

Thank you everyone. I think I'll definitely give candling a miss then. Off to find the olive oil............

I had labyrinthitis & vertigo & couldn't see a doc for days (not bad enough for a&e - well it sort of was but the GP's receptionist told me they wouldn't be able to do anything as they don't sort out blocked ears in a&e anymore).

I was desperate and had hopi ear candling at home - not sure if there are different types? - put it this way:
it was a stressful time of my life and i got to lie down in peace for half an hour :)

That's all I can really say for it!

ps once i saw a doc & got some drugs, it cleared up. I also saw an ear specialist a while later who cleared out the blocked wax (euw) and i was fine afterwards.

There are all manner of drops out there but really, olive oil is better than most (ie same best case scenario, but none of the side effects).

BUT it only works for outer ear problems (ie wax)

If it's a middle ear problem, which sounds more likely given your sore throat history, then decongestant may well be a better place to start. If it doesn't settle down you need someone to look down your ear - you might need antibiotics if a load of fluid behind your eardrum, or to rule out a perforation.