Ear Candling - My Journey to Wellness

I often get asked about ear candling, what it does and how it can help people. I wanted to share my own story with you today, which will help explain why I'm such an enthusiastic advocate for this incredible complimentary therapy!

How I discovered ear candling & cured myself of an incurable virus...

I've always suffered with ear trouble since I was very small. Throughout my childhood I was plagued with glue ear, heavy colds and frequent ear infections. Although doctors assured my mother these were "childhood ailments" that I would eventually grow out of, I never did. Long into adulthood, I still continued to suffer with excessive catarrh whenever I was ill, and I was frequently dogged by the acute pain that accompanies ear infections.

In my early twenties, I took up Kung Fu. I loved martial arts and the technical and physical challenge of the system. One day at practice, I went to do a spinning kick but to my surprise, instead of landing the move, I fell into the wall behind me. A wave of disorientation and dizziness had taken over and the room was spinning.

I sat out the rest of the class and took the bus home, still feeling not quite right.

As the days went on I found myself feeling constantly disoriented. Not quite dizzy, because the room wasn't spinning, but not quite right either - as if I were on a ship at sea.

I started to suffer headaches where my brain was clearly trying its hardest to compensate for the disorientation I felt, and I decided it was time to see my GP.

The doctor asked questions and examined me, but didn't tell me what they suspected was wrong. I was given a course of antibiotics, and told to return if they had no effect.

A week later I was back in the doctor's surgery, feeling no better and actually worse. I'd had to take time off work because the headaches were getting so bad. I was spending the majority of my time lying in darkness until they subsided.

The doctor told me "you have a virus" but nothing more, and I was sent home with the recommendation to take vitamin C to help my body fight it off.

At that time, there was a holistic therapy centre called Bay Tree in the local vicinity where I'd done my Reiki training. I was a regular visitor who liked to hang out and feel the vibes, buy crystals and chat to the holistic therapists.

I booked in for a session with my own Reiki Master, Claudia and she picked up that the issue was coming from around my head, specifically the ears where she could see my aura was wrapped very tightly around me. The session was wonderful and helped to ease my headache that day, but the symptoms returned the day after.

I tried a few other alternative therapies, but without a name for what I was suffering from, it was a bit of a guessing game. They all helped a bit and made me feel better for a while, but nothing made the disorientation and headaches go away for good.

Weeks off work turned into months and still with no firm diagnosis or end in sight, I tried to return to work part time to see if I could "power through" the disorientation and headaches.

I couldn't - going to the office and doing my normal job made the headaches intolerable and even trying to work from home was a no-go. 

I mentioned my symptoms to a colleague who suggested it might be labrynthitis, a viral condition he had been suffering with on and off for many years. He told me it had put paid to his rugby career, and that it would come and go over the years. Sadly he'd never found a cure for it and he advised me against trying to power through because it would make the symptoms worse.

Having a name for my illness opened up the possibility of doing my own research, and as somebody who never takes a diagnosis lying down, and has a passion for holistic therapy & alternative wellness, I trawled the internet for clues.

The information I found at first really didn't bode well, with forums of people speaking about how they had been incapacitated for years by the intolerable symptoms and all they could recommend was vitamin C and as much zinc as your intestines could handle. I started to panic that I'd never get well.

The Holistic Solution

On the off chance, I went back to Bay Tree and mentioned to the lovely Darci who was manning the front desk that I had labrynthitis and did she know if any therapy that could help? Her eyes lit up and she said "yes, I can definitely help you with that!" She told me about a holistic therapy called 'Hopi Ear Candling' and advised that she would speak to her tutor and ask how many sessions would be required to help with labrynthitis - he advised to try two sessions, one week apart.

I immediately booked in to see her as swiftly as possible. I'd never heard of the therapy, and I was a bit nervous at essentially having something on fire in my ear (!) but I was desperate, so I put my fears to one side and had my first session. 

The candling itself was painless, and once I got over my initial fear and got used to the sizzling sound, I soon relaxed on the therapy couch. 

I went home afterwards not really expecting anything to happen, and sure enough I didn't feel any different. I was however intent on having both sessions as advised, and I went back for my second session the next week.

I returned home after the second sessions, still feeling disoriented and rather disappointed that it didn't seem to have made any difference.

The next day was a different story however. I woke up, got out of bed and immediately noticed to my surprise that I didn't feel disoriented. I wasn't having to hang on to items of furniture to walk around the room, I could stand up and I felt normal for the first time in months.

I walked around cautiously, half expecting the disorientation to hit me at any moment, but it didn't. The symptoms were gone, and they stayed gone!

Epilogue

For a few years afterwards, I would still get some disorientation or dizziness whenever I got a cold, but one or two sessions of ear candling would sort that out, and I haven't had the symptoms now for many years so I'm hoping that my body has got rid of the virus for good now. 

With regards to my other ear troubles, I continued to use ear candles to keep my ears clear of wax and the fluid that builds up with glue ear, and I no longer relied on the decongestants that I'd had to take each time I got a hint of a cold, to prevent an ear infection.

In 2012, I gave up dairy and my glue ear problem all but resolved itself. (If only I'd known about that sooner!)

I still have the occasional candling when my ears feel a little blocked, but for the most part I don't need them very often anymore, although I do still keep a supply for emergencies and to treat other half who has problems with excess ear wax!

I went on to complete Hopi Ear Candling professional training as part of my Holistic Therapy studies, and I've been a huge fan and a big advocate for this gentle but powerful therapy ever since. 

Ear candling is best done by a professional, especially if it's your first time, but you can learn to do it for yourself too. 

If you would like to buy ear candles, you can find them listed on the website here:

https://angelwingsholistics.com/shop/ear-candles/