Light up my ... Ears?

Ear Candling (or Thermal-Auricular Therapy, because everything has to have a proper, seemingly scientific name) seems to be a new 'trend' in Indonesia these past few months.  It is an alternative treatment whose origin is in dispute, but seems to go back thousands of years in several different societies.

I tried it at home once years ago in an attempt to decrease my deafness... hey, who know, right!?  I tend to believe that for the most part our bodies take care of themselves, and we generally don't need to (nor should) interfere.  A little ear wax is probably a good thing for the proper functioning of our ears (otherwise, somehow I doubt it would exist)... but I also don't think the amount of pollution in the air is natural, and my hearing, let's face it, is not getting any better.

Anyway, I have tried ear candling a few times now in Indonesia, with similar results to Canada... you can't believe how much wax comes out of your ears (even as a 'diciplined ear cleaner' - which I am, again in an attempt to prevent wax build-up and minimize its impact on my already-sketchy hearing!).  Whether it has any effect on hearing is debatable.  I do feel like it clears the sinuses in general, and 'unplugs' me (but I've never had any real issues).  Some people claim that it cures infections, and does all kinds of other wonders, and Martin told me the divers in Galapagos use a similar method to remove 'air' and marine critter from their ears (he once had a miniature crab living in his ear for a day, and this is how they removed it)!  Basically, if you want to know what it'll do for you, just try it for yourself!

Check out the process and its result (for those of you weak-in-the-knees about this sort of stuff, you might just want to scroll down and read the next section without looking at the pics):

The beeswax (or paraffin) candle burns in each ear for about 5 minutes, and usually there's a slight warm tingling sensation, accompanied by some hisses and crackles and pops as the candle does what it does (if it does anything!?)... then... ta-da!

Supposedly the dark yellow/orange is ear wax (although I think some of it must be from the candle itself!?), and the whitish residue is sinus debris.  Obviously, there are some dangers to this 'remedy' as well (see this CBC story), but as long as it is done by a professional, and in moderation it should be fine.