Ear candling is a traditional therapy that gently removes wax from your ears and shifts sinus pressure. It employs two basic laws of physics:(1) Heat rises and (2) Nature abhors a vacuum.

• Excess wax build-up in the ears
• Chronic itching inside your ears
• Prolonged sinus pressure
• Tinnitus (ringing of the ears)

I follow my instincts about performing ear candling and will defer you if the situation doesn't feel right. Definite contraindications include:

• History of ear drum injury (either ear contradindicates both ears, even if the injury healed)
• Children or anyone who can't lie still

While you lie on your side, I place the tapered end of a "candle" (a hollow tube made of muslin and paraffin) at the opening of your ear, positioning it so that no air can escape outside the candle. Once I light the other end of the candle, it burns very slowly, heating the air inside the candle, which in turn draws air, wax, and yeast out of your ear. I use two candles on each ear during one session, which takes 45-60 minutes.

Never perform ear candling on yourself. This is how injuries occur.