Beeswax ear candle, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a folk medicine practice said to assist the natural clearing of earwax (cerumen) and remove toxins from a person's ear by means of a hollow candle placed in the ear. It involves lighting one end of the hollow candle, and placing the other end in the ear canal.
One end of a cylinder or cone of waxed cloth is lit, and the other placed into the subject's ear. Usually the subject is lying on one side with the treated ear uppermost and the candle vertical, perhaps stuck through a paper plate or aluminum pie tin to protect against any hot wax or ash falling down the side. However some have the subject sit up, keep the candle nearly horizontal, and watch for dripping wax. Most injuries result from hot wax dripping back in which is eliminated with this method. The flame is extinguished approximately two inches from the body, sometimes using a dish of water. Some of those who have undergone ear candling report improved hearing and clearer sinuses. Its proponents claim that the flame creates negative pressure, drawing wax and debris out of the ear canal, which appears as a dark residue. A 1996 study concluded that ear candling does not produce negative pressure and fails to remove ear wax. Ear candles produce the same residue when burnt without ear insertion, and the residue is simply candle wax and soot.