Identification

• An ear candle is made with a thick layer of paraffin wax or beeswax that is formed around a stiff material like paper or cotton fabric. The centers of ear candles are hollow.
  
  

Function

• One end of an ear candle is placed into the ear canal and fire is applied to the other end to make the ear candle burn. The ear candle is removed before the burning area gets too close to the ear.
  
  

Significance

• The burning ear candle is supposed to create a vacuum that draws the excess ear wax into the center of the ear candle. Once the ear candle is removed from the ear, the ear candle is cut open to reveal the debris inside that is said to come from the ear.
  
  However, it has been noted by some users of ear candles that cutting open the candle before burning it reveals an ear wax-like substance already there -- so the claim that ear wax is removed may be a hoax.
  
  

Misconceptions

• An ear candle is not capable of actually producing a vacuum. Doing so would actually damage the ear instead of removing ear wax. The heat of the candle may help loosen ear wax, but it does not remove the wax.
  
  

Warning

• Ear candling can damage the ears and the surrounding skin if the hot wax drips down from the ear candle. There have been injuries to the ear drum that were caused by hot wax.