Wax On, Wax Off

So there's been some discussion about earwax here -- wow, that's a weird sentence to type -- and my buddy Greta mentioned also having earwax problems but wanting to try the "ear cone" (or "ear candling") method, because she doesn't like having water in her ears. Which, man, is an attitude I can sympathize with. But, having gotten into this discussion, I feel the need to provide a little public service announcement. The truth is that ear candling really does appear to be, in the aforementioned words of Penn & Teller, bullshit. Not only does it not work, but it's actually rather unsafe. Here's a pretty good little article explaining this procedure, what the claims are for it, and what the actual scientific facts about it are.

Seriously, people, if you've got problems with earwax and over-the-counter eardrops aren't working, just go see your doctor. The procedure takes about two minutes and involves nothing scarier than a jet of water.