Candles in the Ears, or the Fine Art of Ear Candling.
A while back, I started having trouble with my ears. They felt the way they used to when I swam, like I had water in them. In the past, I had used ear drops, either prescription or over the counter, and that had cleared it up. But this time, they did not help.
Since we are living in the age of lots of information at our fingertips, I decided to see what solutions I could find in cyber space. I tried a lot of what I found, but unfortunately, they did not get better.
There was one thing, however, I ran across though that was a little “out there.” It was a technique called ear candling. Basically, there are special candles that are over a foot long, called ear candles. They are hollow in the middle and do not have a wick. One end is tapered. You lie on your side, put the tapered end in the ear facing up, and light it. Yes, there is a real flame on an object protruding from your ear.
At the point I heard about the ear candling, I was ready to try anything. I was tired of the constant feeling of pressure and liquid in my ear, and my ear was hurting. Twenty plus years of living with a chronic illness has left me with increasing mobility problems, so getting out, at that particular time, for a doctor visit was beyond my capability. Having lived through the 1970’s “back to nature” craze, I have tried my fair share of natural supplements and alternative treatments over the years as traditional medicine has failed me.
Despite all that, my dear husband looked at me like I had sprouted a third eye when I approached him about procuring some ear candles, and then helping me use them. Having given him many reasons to think that over the years, it is amazing I don’t have one, a third eye that is. However, he loves me, and as time passed and I didn’t improve, the sweet man got the candles and helped me “candle.” Amazingly, it worked. After using the candles, I was rubbing the ear that bothered me the most. Suddenly, there was a release of the pressure, and my ear felt normal again.
Due caution and reasonable care, of course, should be taken if attempting this–have water nearby, hold on to the candle so it doesn’t fall out of the ear, have a helper to watch for sparks, and so on. Research it very well before doing anything like this. Be very careful. Most of all, I am not a doctor, nor am I prescribing medical treatment, this is just my experience, I am not suggesting anyone else try this.
As a final thought, I don’t know which was more priceless, getting rid of my ear problem, or witnessing the look my son’s face when he walked in to see his dad holding a large lighted candle in his mother’s ear….
