Ear Candles??

I have them and have used them on people. I've never noticed a difference after using them but the people I used them on have sworn by it. I prefer a little oil of oregano warmed up , then a heating pad

Bottom line: They don't work.

I work in the medical community and have heard all sorts of stuff about ear candling. I did some research and found that in a study, researchers candled human ears...and erlenmeyer flasks (test beakers). The amount of wax residue that resembled cerumen (ear wax) was the same. Since erlenmeyer flasks do not produce ear wax, it was determined that the waxy substance came from the candle itself. In the same study, the researchers also found that the ear candle did NOT cause suction within the ear canal as most ear candle manufacturers and sellers state, nor do they even slightly dislodge wax. As a matter of fact, they usually leave soot inside the ear and even sometimes deposit MORE wax.

They don't work.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candlin...

I researched this when my husband had an ear infection. Even when he was otherwise fine, his hearing was reduced due to swelling inside the ear and he needs to hear to work. He was ready to try anything and came up with this idea. I did it for him (scary). Did absolutely nothing, btw.

Then I did a LOT more reading on it and found general consensus that they do nothing and are just a big nasty fire hazard. From my personal experience, YEAH. I can EASILY see how we could have had a HUGE fire in our bedroom!! We were lucky and nothing happened. Also lucky that we didn't do something to DAMAGE my husband's EAR.
Please don't waste your time, your health and/or possibly risk a house fire to try this.

I don't know what website it was, but it was shown that the wax in the ear candle comes from the candle itself, not an ear. It was demonstrated by burning an ear candle in an empty jar, and one in someone's ear. The ear candle in the jar had the same amount of "earwax" in it as the one that was done in the person's ear. The "earwax" had to come from the candle since it was burning in a jar.

I would have a doctor help with the ear wax (they can use a special instrument to squirt water in the ear and suck it out) and then check and see if your kids have any allergies. Sometimes those can lead to ear infections.

Call me a quack, but my husband was getting ear infections CONSTANTLY due to hearing protection requirements at work. To the point that I'd get out the yellowpages (yeah it was a WHILE ago!) and start calling every ENT from A thru Z to see who could see him THAT morning.
We did the ear candles....a few times and then as a maintenance thing once per month or so and he has never had another ear infection.
Might be coincidence or something.
I wouldn't try them on a child and you have to be VERY careful when using them. Seriously, keep a bucket of water nearby.
I doubt they could do any harm to anyone's ears otherwise. It's a very benign procedure.

I've heard of them.
They are extremely dangerous and they do not work.
You could burn your eardrum with melted candle wax and then when the wax hardens - much harder than ear wax gets - it is very difficult and painful to have it removed.

Use this with warm water with a little peroxide in it (it's basically how a doctor would irrigate your ears in his office to clean them out):

http://www.earclear.com

They did this on myth busters about a week or two ago. it was busted. they tested the ear wax along with two or three different other types of candles. hopes this helps. if u want to check the episode out u can go to the site. good luck.

My husband had me do this for him a few years ago after having some issues with his ears. He had a lot of coworkers raving about them so we figured it was worth a shot. It was an interesting experience but there was no real results. I would not recommend wasting the time unless you wanted to try it for the fun of it. I can only imagine how entertaining kids would be while holding smoking tubes of paper in their ears!

I use them about once every 6months. Some people they don't work with due to they don't have a lot of ear wax build up. For people that have a mass production of it, they do work. My doc at one point even told me to use a paper clip to pull the crud out. I still do every other day even after using the candles. It doesn't drain out or dry out like most peoples wax. I would say depending on their ages and if they could lay completely still for 5 mins on each side and to hold it straight or you could that you would be fine. You can look the videos of demonstrations on you tube.
Another idea is to have them wear ear plugs while in the shower. Even though they might not be getting a lot of water in their ear the moisture doesn't help with the build up. It actually gets it sticker and harder for it to come out.
Good luck!
An ENT I used to know suggested these to me.

Yes, we use them. But, if you decide to try them, make sure you get the kind that have a small opening on the part you put in your ear. If the opening is large, the wax can drip back down into your ear and cause problems. We use Wally's Naturals (in Lavender). You can get them at GNC. They have a little plastic thing inside the opening to keep it the right dimension for an ear. I put a hole in the middle of a paper plate and put the candle through the hole, about 3 inches from the bottom of the candle (towards the ear), put the candle tip in the ear, and light the end. This keeps the kids from freaking out about the fire above their heads, and also protects them in case any of the burning candle falls (it has never happened to us). I have a cup of water nearby with some scissors (I cut off the ashy end when it gets too tall). Of course, my kids love it when I open up the used candle to see all the wax that came out of their ears. One time I couldn't hear very well and got a huge chunk of wax out into the candle. We were all incredibly impressed. LOL

One other think you might try is seeing a chiropractor. If their neck is out, their ears won't drain properly, causing a pooling of fluid in their ears, which often leads to infection. My kids never have ear infections, and I think this is why.

Go to CVS and get the kit with the blue plastic sqeeze bulb and some diluted peroxide or sometimes some kind of oil for softening the ear wax. You put in the drops overnight with a little cotton ball to keep it from leaking out. Then you fill up the squeeze bulb with luke warm water (easy to do in the tub or shower) and then squirt it rapidly into the ear canal. You would be surprised what kind of gunk can come out. My mom has very waxy ears and does this montly to keep from being deaf due to the ear wax. I wear ear plugs every night and when I take them out I can feel my ears "weeping" more liquid wax, and since I immediately shower afterwards and dry my ears with a tissue over my pinkie and holding my head down on that side, my doctor said I had the cleanest ears he had ever seen. But get the bulb thing and try it, it works. If all else fails, make an appointment at the doctor and they use what looks like a huge metal syringe and put one of those little kidney shaped bowl on your shoulder and squirt the warm water (perhaps with peroxide?) into your ear for you.