A wonderful side effect is deep relaxation…
it stimulates the anti stress acupuncture point in the auditory canal. You
may see its’ effect on hyper active kids as well as adults.
The benefit may be the renewed clarity, sensitivity and focus you get
after a coning. The deep nerve relaxation is pretty amazing. The sense
of release is unlike anything else. Body workers and chiropractors have
noted that their work holds better after the client has been coned.
We can do a lot to help ourselves. Digestion and
respiratory troubles are directly connected.
The link is the mucous membranes. Mucous membrane inflammation in the
stomach can cause catarrh, which is acute or chronic inflammation of the
mucous membranes with hyper secretion. Lots of mucous. Chronic inflammation
of the Eustachian tube, blocked with mucous, can lead to progressive deafness.
Also, fluid in the Eustachian tube creates lower pressure in the tube.
Outside pressure will push the eardrum inwards causing moderate deafness,
buzzing noises, pain, discomfort and the sensation of the ear being full.
Do whatever you can to detoxify your body.
Whatever you do to release stress is priceless.
Questions and answers:
Q: What’s in the cone?
Is that all from my ears?
A: The short answer is no. It's from the cone,
the cone is a wax instrument and will have residue.
Q: What do I do about tickling, clicking or
itching deep in the ear?
A: After a coning, your body is doing what you asked it
to do. It is cleaning out your respiratory tract. The waste is moving
out … slowly. Warm Mullein oil soaked cotton ball tamped in the
ear before bed works to soothe irritations and calm those nerve endings
down. You may also need another coning to help the process along.
Muscle test (kinesiology) or use a pendulum to check. If you’re
unfamiliar with muscle testing, try “Your Body Dosen’t Lie”
by John Diamond M.D. (1979), or any other book on the subject. It’s
very simple.
Q: Can I cone a child and should I just use
part of the cone?
A: Very young children do not secrete earwax but their Eustachian
tubes are more horizontal so fluid can get trapped. You can cone children
from a preemie on up. Use a whole cone as usual. You may crimp the small
end a bit to fit into a small ear, just make sure you have plenty of smoke
coming out before you place it in. Do both ears for energetic balance.
If a child has continual problems with earaches have a physician check
for allergies and food sensitivities. Many kids have a dairy, egg or
wheat intolerance, which cause excess mucous secretions.
Q: Can it help my Grandma?
A: It’s worth a try. As we age, secretions and epidermal
debris may build up and dull the area. Use warm mullein or olive oil to
loosen and lubricate the ear canal before coning. This is an ancient folk
practice - no guarantees.
Q: How many conings should I do initially?
A: Three. The first coning starts the process. You wait
3 to 7 days, to give your body a chance to do the job. The third coning
completes what was kicked up over the last two. Every 3 days would be best.
This is the general consensus among our group of practitioners when we
started coning many years ago. I’ve found the same advice from
Canadian practitioners. After the first three, you can muscle test to
see if and when more is required.
Q: How much is too much coning?
A: The most accurate course of action is to muscle test or use
a pendulum. But, if you want a general idea, here it is.
General guidelines:
Maintenance- one to two a month
Prevention- two to three in fall and winter
Acute cases- one to three a day for a week
Chronic cases- one to three a week for several months
Q: Are there any reasons why a person cannot
be coned?
A: If a person has a broken or missing eardrum it would be useless.
Q: What about coning a child with tubes?
A: A more effective strategy would be dietary changes.
Here are some stats:
The studies done on tubes show that ear infections are not slowed down or
prevented by them. From the research I’ve read, chronic otitis media or
middle ear infection is the reason for a myringotomy or tubes to be recommended
as a fix. In the olden days a tonsillectomy was the routine unnecessary
surgery of the day. It was replaced with the myringotomy during the 80’s.
It takes 15 minutes to slice the eardrum and place a tiny plastic tube
or grommet through the eardrum to assist drainage of fluid into the throat
via the Eustachian tube. It is not a cure. Children with tubes in their
ears are more likely to have continuing problems with ear infections.
The tubes eventually fall out and degrade and the operation has to be
repeated in 30% of them.
Numbers of studies have shown no differences between non-antibiotic treatment,
ear tubes, ear tubes with antibiotics, and antibiotics alone. Children
not receiving antibiotics did have fewer recurrences than those receiving
antibiotics. Standard antibiotic and surgical procedures are not
statistically effective.
Eustachian tube dysfunction is the cause of media otitis (middle ear infection).
The Eustachian tube regulates gas pressure in the middle ear, protects
it from nose & throat secretions, bacteria and clears fluid from the
middle ear. Swallowing causes active opening of the Eustachian tube due
to the action of the surrounding muscles. Small children have smaller
Eustachian tubes and closer to horizontal. Obstruction of the Eustachian
tube leads to serous (fluid from the blood) buildup and bacterial infection
and can be caused by allergic blockage with mucous. No bacteria are present
in more than half of chronic Eustachian tube blockage and about a third
of acute ear problems which makes antibiotics inappropriate as treatment.
Allergy as the major cause of chronic otitis media has been firmly established
in the medical literature. Most studies show 85-93% of these children
have allergies to both inhalants & food (70% to both). The allergic
reaction causes inflammation of the tube and nose. The swelling causes
swallowing when both mouth & nose are closed forcing air & secretions
into the middle ear. During an ear infection it is not possible to determine
the allergen. The most common allergic foods to be eliminated from
the diet i.e. milk and dairy products, eggs, wheat, corn, oranges, and
peanut butter. Sugar, honey, dried fruit, concentrated fruit juice etc.
should also be eliminated since concentrated simple carbohydrates inhibit
the immune system. A good doctor can do a RAST allergy test or whatever
works best and pinpoint the problems and help you.
In several clinical trials, over the counter decongestants have shown
to be as effective as antibiotics in treating ear infections by keeping
the Eustachian tube open.
To conclude, any help you can get from alternative sources can only
temporarily arrest the problem surgery won’t solve, namely
proper diet.
Q: Can I cone myself?
A: Not recommended. It is physically possible but not easily done.
You need to relax to get the best results. Pick a person or practitioner
who has a calm demeanor to do a coning for you. You need to feel safe
so you can let go and let the practitioner be in charge of holding that
safe space for you. You can’t be in charge of a flame and let go
at the same time. That having been said…. I was giving a coning
workshop when a woman spoke up, “I know you said not to cone ourselves
but I had to. I had no one else I could trust. My kids would have me locked
up if they saw me doing this. I locked my door and bolted it with a chair,
put a mirror sideways and lay down with a bowl of water next to me, covered
my head, and did three separate conings this way. I got rid of my allergies.”
Was I to tell her she did the wrong thing? I just shut up. Sometimes you
gotta do what you gotta do but very very carefully.
Q: Can a cough be caused by earwax?
A: “It may sound strange, but it’s true- earwax can
be the cause of chronic coughing that persists for months or even years,”
said Dr. Fernando Martinez, assistant professor of internal medicine at
the University of Michigan. “We’ve found that impacted earwax
can push against a coughing nerve in the ear canal, which stimulates the
coughing reflex. Many Americans are needlessly coughing because of impacted
earwax. They may cough as often as 25 or more times a minute. They mistakenly
believe the cough is being caused by an allergy, cold or postnasal drip-
the most common causes of chronic cough- and they often just let it go
on and on. Anyone who suffers from a chronic cough- one that lasts for
more than three weeks - should seek medical care. It’s a simple
matter for a doctor to check visually if a patient has excessive earwax,
then clean out the wax using a tiny scoop plus medicines to dissolve the
wax and wash it away. Patients are often amazed to find that their chronic
cough ends instantly after their ears are cleaned!” - Article by
Edmond Choueke
Other Ways to Help Your Ears:
Mullein flower oil is an astringent and helps shrink
and soothe inflamed tissue.
In some cases garlic oil will aggravate ear pain, so try for mullein oil
minus the garlic if you’re trying the warm oil treatment and pain
persists. Recommended use of mullein flower is two drops a few times daily
for a week straight.
Olive oil lubricates mucous membranes. If ears are stopped up try a few
drops of lukewarm olive oil in the affected ear for 5 minutes, while lying
down on the opposite side. Then turn over and let it drain out. For earache
try soaking a cotton ball in olive oil with five drops of lavender oil.
Keep it in your ear until you feel relief.
Hot compresses and alternating hot & cold
compresses stimulate circulation to the area.
Two minutes cold, five minutes hot. Repeat 7 times. If you have the gumption,
you can do this in the shower. Hot and cold therapy is reported to do
wonders for any physical complaint.
Clay pack – Bentonite clay, water and olive
oil or mullein oil. Apply directly or put clay mixture in gauze. Place
clay pack behind ear lobe area. Put a hot water bottle on top of that.
Clay has incredible drawing power.
Drink Water! As much water as you can stand. It keeps
mucus secretions thin. A vaporizer helps as well.
Gargle- Lemon and salt (also astringents) in warm
water will shrink swollen mucus membranes. Kids must be at least 4 years
old to gargle.
Nose Drops- Snort 3 drops lemon juice in each nostril
with your head back
Reflexology: Press Away!
Sinus relief - squeeze the toes or the soft padding on the toes. The same
goes for hands.
The ear reflexes on hands - are located on the palms just below the ring
and pinky fingers.
The Eustachian tube reflex - runs along the padding of the palm at the
base of the fingers.
Ear reflexes on feet - are located on the padding under small toe and
next one to it.
Squeeze joints of the ring fingers or toes corresponding to ring fingers
Random Method:
- Place a wad of absorbent lint or a rubber
eraser in the space between the tooth and the angle of the jaw, so that
one is able to bite down hard. Prolong biting for several minutes several
times a day.