Ear Candles

[KUANG]

Hi Tim, Dave, and list,

This is what I think, correct me if I'm wrong.

On Mon, 5 May 1997 Tcoates@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 5/5/97 5:53:44 AM, you wrote:
>
> <<Dear Tim (and the list),
>
> Someone once did an experiment to see how much of the wax came from the
> ears and how much was burned wax from the ear candles.  He took an ear
> candle and used it on a clean glass bottle with a small neck (like the
> small glass bottles that flavoring extracts come in).  He got just about as
> much "earwax" out of the empty bottle as he had gotten from his ears.
>
> Anyone care to try it and report back?  :-)
>
> Sincerely,
> David and Kathleen Vanderhoofven
>
> David A. Vanderhoofven       Associate Member, PTG
> Joplin, Missouri, USA        e-mail:  dkvander@clandjop.com
>
> web page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/
> #pianotech page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/ircpiano.html>>
>
> I'd be interested to know who this "someone" is.  I hear his name mentioned a
> lot.
>
> Seriously, I just tried your experiment.  Yes, there is some wax from the
> candle after you've burned it on a clean bottle (as you suggest).  But the
> amount I got was about a third of what I consistently get when I put the
> candle in my ear and burn it.  The bottle candle was burned down to the same
> length as when used in the ear.
I don't think it has anything to do with ears.  It has to do with the
surrounding temperature of the candle.  When you put the candle in your
ear, the surrounding temperature (of the candle) is much higher.  As a
result, the wax OF THE CANDLE melt at much higher rate.  At the same
time, excessive candle wax (in liquid form) flow down towards the center
of the earth (gravity).
>
> Yesterday when my wife did my ears with ear candles, we first tried it
> outdoors.  It was a little windy.  The candle burned really fast.  There was

It burned faster because of higher Oxygen supply from the wind.

> almost no wax in the bottom of the candle.  I suspect that wax came from the
> candle.  I felt the candle burned so fast it didn't  create the warmth and
> suction necessary to pull the ear wax out.  We moved inside and then the
> candle burned at it's proper rate.  I pulled a very large amount of wax from
> the same ear.

There was almost no wax in the bottom because the surrounding temperature
is lower due to wind.  Even if the wax melt, it will become in solid form
again immediately (thus prevent it from creeping down).

>
> I suppose one could suspect different amounts of wax in each candle,  but
> they are all very uniform.  One doesn't weigh three times as much as another.
>
>
> At any rate, ear candles are the only device I've found (including
> prescription) that clear my ears enough to allow them to equalize pressure
> when using a CPAP machine.   Something is being done by the ear candles when
> there is a definite before and after performance.  Inner ear pressure versus

what does ear candles do? Well, all it does is heat up the temperature in
your ears so the your "ear wax" can evaporate.  You can use an oven to do
the same thing if you want, but it would look silly.

This might sound silly, but if you burn a candle in a freezer, then
you'll probably get almost no wax at the bottom.  But the candle will
burn much slower and it will die in couple minutes due to lack of Oxygen.
Care to do this experiment?  :)  I better shut up now, this is not the
right place to discuss this...

regards,
Kuang