I've noticed this part couple of years that my hearing has been dying out maybe... tough to say, I know I dont always hear what people have to say, perhaps I listen to my music too loud or too many bars. Then something hit me, I don't really do much to clean my ears. I mean a couple times a week I'll use a qtip but I also heard that pushes more dirt in than helps. So then I heard about ear wax candles, is this something anyone and everyone should do like every five years? Would it help anything? Can anyone share anything on this? I know this all sounds stupid but its just something I think about at work and I know I can always count on you guys for the truth.
Thanks

I've enquired about it a few times with diffferent Doctors & they told not to bother. They explained that for the most part, unless you have a problem, your ear naturally cleans itself. I am guilty of using Q Tips like crazy though. ;)

My Father In-Law (67) gets his Doctor to do it for him at the Doctor's Office around once a year though.

Hope this helps... Good luck,

G

from what I have seen, ear candles do not work at all. If you do a bit of googling you'll probably find a lot of documentation proving this.

Could be. A few months ago, I went almost totally deaf in my left ear. It seemed odd because it would fade in and out...sometimes I could hear, and other times I couldn't. It felt like something was obstructing my hearing -- So, I went to the drug store, picked up one of those earwax removal products. Tried it out and OMG! I couldn't believe how much wax came out. Ready to puke? Here goes: Almost enough to fill a shot glass. Needless to say, my hearing improved drastically. In fact, the difference was stunning....I felt like I had the hearing of an owl. So, you might try one of those earwax removal products....It may improve your hearing alot.

I recently went through this with my 7yo son. We were worried about his hearing because he has a speech delay, and he has a LOT of ear wax. I guess there is a medication out there that you put in your ears ever couple of days that cleans it out. As far as I know it is an over the counter med (at least here in Italy)
We also took him to an Audioauligist (sp) and he said he wasn't worried about the wax because it helps his ears get the dirt and stuff out.
If you interested in it email me, I have the name of the medicaiton at work.

Good Luck

I have done ear candling several times. In my personal experience I did feel like my ears were cleaner and my sinuses also felt better. I have a few extras from last time I bought them and was going to do it again the other day. I decided to google it just for the heck of it. I found a lot of info saying that it was totally bogus and found a few horror stories about hot wax dripping inside the ear and burning the ear drum. It kind of scared me.

Anyway, I still think it helped me and made my entire head feel clearer. If you want to try it, I say go ahead, its cheap enough. Just be VERY CAREFUL. You don't want to end up doing more harm then good. Definitely follow the safety instructions and if anything begins to feel too hot pull it out of your ear asap!

:gl:

Leave it to JSFers to show me something else my mind could not possibly fathom.

Ear Wax Candles . . . . I"m.. well.. speechless.

:d_eek: :d_eek: :d_eek:

I have done ear candling several times. In my personal experience I did feel like my ears were cleaner and my sinuses also felt better. I have a few extras from last time I bought them and was going to do it again the other day. I decided to google it just for the heck of it. I found a lot of info saying that it was totally bogus and found a few horror stories about hot wax dripping inside the ear and burning the ear drum. It kind of scared me.

Anyways, I've done it 3-4 times and was real stoaked about it. Stick it in your ear, light in on fire, open it up "Wow! Look at all the ear wax!"

It even makes a noise in your ear, a sucking sensation.

I even brought some all for my mom and dad to try.

So, we went out on the deck to do it. After watching mom and I do it and and seeing all the wax we had recovered, Dad took his candle, lit it on fire, stuck it in a crack between the boards on our deck. A few minutes later, he took the candle and opened it.

What do you know!? That deck had more earwax than me and mom combined!

OK...

Forgive me for the rant but my wife is an audiologist. You should NEVER candle your ears. It's dangerous and removes much more wax than is healthy. That wax is there for a reason.

Of course, if you do get severe blockage, go to your ENT and get it cleared professionally. There is no magic to candling, no wondrous health benefits, just the real risk of danger. I won't tell you the number of people who have come into her office having done real damage to their ears, both from candling and from shoving a q-tip in so far they hurt themselves.

Yeah, I wouldn't put anything in my ear that had to be lit on fire....this ear wax "candle" thing seems a little scary. I used an eardrop solution that softened up the wax, and then used the rubber squirter thingy (forget what it is called) to rinse my ear out. Seems safe, and you don't have to worry about dripping flaming wax in your ears.

OK...

Forgive me for the rant but my wife is an audiologist. You should NEVER candle your ears. It's dangerous and removes much more wax than is healthy. That wax is there for a reason.

Of course, if you do get severe blockage, go to your ENT and get it cleared professionally. There is no magic to candling, no wondrous health benefits, just the real risk of danger. I won't tell you the number of people who have come into her office having done real damage to their ears, both from candling and from shoving a q-tip in so far they hurt themselves.

This is a dangerous practice that can damage your eardrums if done wrong. It has no healing or cleansing properties whatsoever beyond that of a placebo.

-R

I went to an ear doctor last month to have my ears blasted out from, wax buildup.

He told me to never ever use qtips because that pushes the wax onto the ear drum.

He just used this large hand pump thing to squirt alot of water into my ear and got them pretty clean.

But the drops and rubber thing that Joe described work just as well so I'd reccommend that .

Does this drops and pump thing take away more ear wax than it should like the candle?

Does this drops and pump thing take away more ear wax than it should like the candle?

wow, and i thought i was a freak!

about 1/2 a year ago, i went pretty much deaf in my left ear and my right ear was suffering. i thought i was going crazy. but when i ran, i could hear something bouncing up and down. so my fiance went out and bought me some ear wax candles.

we used 3 for each ear. according to the 'buildup,' a bunch of stuff came out! however, it didn't do anything for my hearing, and the next day, i made an appointment to see my doctor.

when i got to see my doctor, he basically used that funny looking thingy to view inside my ear. he then told me to wait, and brought back a cup/tray device, a large syringe, and some Murine ear wax remover drops. I was instructed to lay on one side for 2-3 minutes, while the Murine worked it's magic. i could instantly hear 'bubbling' noises from the wax loosening up!

then came the fun part. he drained the murine, cleaned me up, placed the tray under my ear (to catch the water), inserted the syringe, and proceeded to squirt warm water in my ear. after about 3 times, it was like the most amazing thing -- I COULD HEAR! He then did it another 2 times to clear the excess wax out. man, when he showed me the ball of goo he shot out, i almost puked. it was probably the size of a huge black grape (and even darker). he repeated it for the next ear, and the same effect. it was like magic! Murine + doctor + syringe with warm water = ownage.

all i could do the entire week was walk around in amazment. i had my radio in my car too loud, i could hear the clanking of my car keys as i inserted them into my ignition, and i could basically hear things that i previously ignored. i became almost 'ninja' in my hearing, and i appreciated it ever since.

ever month, i'll stick in some Murine and flush out whatever is in there to prevent the build up. it's been 6 months later with no ill effects and no decrease in hearing.

my advice? stay away from the wax candles and get some ear wax remover. you'll be amazed and maybe disgusted by what comes out.

I have had the same thing happen as jtchen22 and BusyChild. I got the squishy, bouncy noise in my ear when I ran, too. The doctor did the same thing for me, but used water and a small amount of peroxide. It's not something that I'd try doing on my own, either. It's not a comfortable prucedure, but to be able to hear again is miraculous. And after having no hearing in one ear for a few days, then to get it cleaned out, you feel like you can hear everything, it was like sensory overload. I wouldn't do the candle thing either, just get your ear flushed by a doctor if it's a problem.

I did the candle thing...it worked for me...could definitely hear better.

My whole family is big fans of them...I am going to do some research and pass it on to them so they understand the danger involved...the murine and syringe solution sounds much safer and more effective to me~!

So, maybe that is why I am at the weight loss plateau I am at :confused: ...just gotta get that 1/2 pound of earwax out of there... I am sure that is it!!! :tucool:

My brother-in-law is an ENT surgeon. Simple bit of advice from him:-
Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.

Andrew

My ears grow wax so quickly that I'd need one used all the time. I have my wife look at mine with one of those ear things and within a week my ears can fill up a lot. Ear wax comes and goes, so a once-yearly cleaning is a total waste of time. I did have her shoot a 1/2 water 1/2 hydrogen peroxide mix in there and supposedly that helps clean out ear wax. It's interesting because it being shot into the ear sounds exactly like when you crash into a body of water from a high height, except you're totally dry. Weird :)

You know, when I saw the title of this thread I thought someone was asking for advice about making candles out of earwax...

You know, when I saw the title of this thread I thought someone was asking for advice about making candles out of earwax...

so did i

i guess you have to be american to understand.