Do earwax candles really work? What is happening when you use one?
In: 10
No they don’t.
The theory: you put the candle in your ear and it forms a seal where air can’t get into your ear canal, except for up the top of the candle. You light the top on fire. Fire burns oxygen, meaning that the oxygen inside your ear canal should be getting consumed by the fire of the candle. This is supposed to then create a small vacuum in your ear canal, which should then pull stuck earwax off from the skin inside your ear and suck it out through the candle.
In practice: this doesn’t work. There’s not enough pull in the vacuum to make it work – don’t know why, but I’m guessing that the seal isn’t airtight enough, or that the fire is just surviving on external oxygen, not the stuff inside the ear canal.
If you’re talking about ear candling? Where you put a lit candle on your ear to draw out ear wax?
No, they don’t work and it’s dangerous. If you have blockage of wax in your ear that cannot be removed by the natural means of your body, see a doctor. Like someone with an actual MD.
No, it doesn’t work. It’s supposed to create suction in your ear, which is a *bad* thing. If it actually worked as advertised, it could seriously injure you.
Since it doesn’t work, the biggest dangers are probably just having a flaming thing near your head. That and the risks of sticking anything in your ear canal.
If you have a problem with wax in your ear, there are home remedies that can help. First, you use a few drops something to soften the wax, like baby oil, glycerin, or hydrogen peroxide. A few drops in your ear over a couple of days will soften it enough that you should be able to rinse it out with a small amount of warm water.
If that doesn’t work, you should talk to a doctor.
I was not expecting the other answers, so maybe this wasn’t the question.. but I think this is the answer to the question as I read it-
Candles made of earwax do work, but are not as efficient as other common candle waxes (typically paraffin). What happens when you use them as you create an unpleasant odor and copious amounts of smoke, and a little bit of light, while consuming the was as a fuel source.
(Not sure if this might be removed, but it does answer the question as it was asked, so..?)
Thanks for the responses. I could have been more clear, but most people got exactly what I was asking. My in-laws had a few of these and everyone was doing it. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was BS. And of course Googling it came up with a mix bag since people swear by it too.
Do earwax candles really work? What is happening when you use one?
In: 10
No they don’t.
The theory: you put the candle in your ear and it forms a seal where air can’t get into your ear canal, except for up the top of the candle. You light the top on fire. Fire burns oxygen, meaning that the oxygen inside your ear canal should be getting consumed by the fire of the candle. This is supposed to then create a small vacuum in your ear canal, which should then pull stuck earwax off from the skin inside your ear and suck it out through the candle.
In practice: this doesn’t work. There’s not enough pull in the vacuum to make it work – don’t know why, but I’m guessing that the seal isn’t airtight enough, or that the fire is just surviving on external oxygen, not the stuff inside the ear canal.
If you’re talking about ear candling? Where you put a lit candle on your ear to draw out ear wax?
No, they don’t work and it’s dangerous. If you have blockage of wax in your ear that cannot be removed by the natural means of your body, see a doctor. Like someone with an actual MD.
No, it doesn’t work. It’s supposed to create suction in your ear, which is a *bad* thing. If it actually worked as advertised, it could seriously injure you.
Since it doesn’t work, the biggest dangers are probably just having a flaming thing near your head. That and the risks of sticking anything in your ear canal.
If you have a problem with wax in your ear, there are home remedies that can help. First, you use a few drops something to soften the wax, like baby oil, glycerin, or hydrogen peroxide. A few drops in your ear over a couple of days will soften it enough that you should be able to rinse it out with a small amount of warm water.
If that doesn’t work, you should talk to a doctor.
I was not expecting the other answers, so maybe this wasn’t the question.. but I think this is the answer to the question as I read it-
Candles made of earwax do work, but are not as efficient as other common candle waxes (typically paraffin). What happens when you use them as you create an unpleasant odor and copious amounts of smoke, and a little bit of light, while consuming the was as a fuel source.
(Not sure if this might be removed, but it does answer the question as it was asked, so..?)
Thanks for the responses. I could have been more clear, but most people got exactly what I was asking. My in-laws had a few of these and everyone was doing it. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was BS. And of course Googling it came up with a mix bag since people swear by it too.
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