Hopi ear candles. Do they work?

[jasper]

Anyone got a view on this?

Absolute nonsense! My dp, who is an audiologist, says that they are completely ineffective. They are actually quite unsafe - you should not be poking around your ear canals under any circumstance.

Ear candles will not improve hearing or well-being. Problems with ear wax, or anything hearing/ear related, should be dealt with by a trained professional.

Utter bollocks and have been roundly debunked, including by Ben Goldacre.

Absolute nonsense and actually potentially dangerous.

Strictly for the feeble minded.

Ear catherine wheels don't work either.

I saw it demonstrated once at a health spa, and the 'therapist' DID say that all the gunk in the candle was ear wax!
She also said it was excellent for relieving migraines, catarrh, hay fever, PMT, hot flushes, warts, athletes's foot, dandruff and just about anything else you could think of.

What has also been brilliant for me as a therapist is that she has been under the paediatric consultant who has whole heartedly supported her having this treatment and recommends it to other patients under her care.

No paediatric consultant would recommend this dangerous and ineffective practice.

You are lying and I have reported your post as spam.

They don't work. The inside of the candles are coated in wax. You can stick it in a cup, in your ear or up your arse - they'll still have exactly the same amount of wax inside afterwards. There is no possible way they CAN work.

Oh and SheWhoHeals - if what you are claiming is true, that consultant needs to be struck off.

Rubbish.

"I am overjoyed to say that her hearing has been restored due to the compacted wax being removed by the candles. "

And the presence of this ear wax came as a surprise to a consultant audiologist?

Please share the "testimonial" with us.

Please go to an ENT who can use a little hoover, which are fab!

I notice Shewhoheals hasn't come back with her testimonial.......

There's a YouTube video demonstrating that they don't work (stuck in a glass of water, and if they created the vaccuum claimed, the water level would change, and it doesn't. Also, after burning in the water, they are full of the "ear wax").

I've had it done and found it a relaxing treatment, but that's because the therapist did a facial massage at the same time.

"it has helped a beautiful little girl not have surgery or hearing aids and her hearing has improved without any other intervention"

Still waiting, Shewhoheals........!

I wouldn't be too quick to share your experiences SheWhoHeals, these consultants you've been involved with obviously aren't the sharpest tools in the box. Literally the first thing that gets checked out when loss of hearing is reported is the general health of the ear canal. My dp regularly sends people to their GP because they need their ears syringing (or he does it for them) before any hearing tests can be performed.

There is no way anyone would be considered for surgical or instrumental intervention over something as simple as ear wax. You may well be a "professional Therapist" (although you haven't said what field you are in or given any evidence of your qualifications) but your anecdotal evidence is nothing more than hyperbole.

Now, what really would have helped in this situation is some homeopathy

Bit of a tangent, but does anyone know how to get "hoovering" - ie vacuum suctioning - on the NHS? It's soooooooooooooooo much better than fecking oil in your ears for ages, then beastly syringing.

See your GP, ask to get your ears syringed. You may find you have to wait some time before you can get it done (it is 6+ weeks where I am). If you can afford it and don't want to wait try a local private audiologist.

Sorry Molly just double checked with DP (private audiologist) - most private audiologist wouldn't do the "hoovering", they might do the syringing if they are qualified. For the hoovering you would need to ask your GP for a referral.

www.hearingaidknow.com/hopi-ear-candles

Mollyair. You’d neec to ask your GP for a referral for micro-suction. Some GPs might ask you to use oil/OTC treatment for 5 days to see if it cleara first.