Have You Tried Ear Acupuncture?

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a medical system that dates back nearly 4,000 years. Ear acupuncture, also known as auricular acupuncture, was first mentioned around 500 B.C. in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, which is the equivalent of the Bible for TCM practitioners. However, the method in which ear acupuncture is practiced today is actually based upon discoveries that occurred in France in the 1950s.  Modern ear acupuncture is based upon the work done by Dr. Paul Nogier of France.

Ear acupuncture is the stimulation of the external ear for the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions. These health conditions may be taking place anywhere throughout the body. The stimulation of these acupuncture points can be done manually, with an acupuncture needle, a laser, magnets or ear seeds. Regardless of the means of stimulation, ear acupuncture can be a very powerful addition to regular acupuncture treatments.

The current form of ear acupuncture came about after Dr. Nogier noticed a scar on the upper ear of some of his patients. When he inquired about the scar, he found out a local practitioner had been treating his patients for sciatica pain and she was cauterizing this specific area on the external ear to relieve their low back pain. Dr. Nogier conducted similar tests on his own patients and found their low back pain was also relieved. He tried using other means of stimulation as well, such as acupuncture needles and found it to be just as effective as cauterizing the area. So Dr. Nogier theorized if an area of the upper external ear is effective on treating low back pain, then perhaps other areas of the ear could treat other parts of the body. This led to the model now used when teaching ear acupuncture. The ear is thought to represent the whole anatomical body. However, it is upside down in orientation, so the head is represented by the lower ear lobe, the feet are at the top of the ear and the rest of the body is in between. According to history, the Chinese actually adopted this model of ear acupuncture in 1958.

Ear style acupuncture is considered a micro-system, in that the ear is like a microcosm of the whole body, meaning one part of the body, the ear in this instance, represents the whole body.  Micro-systems also appear on foot and hand reflexology, facial acupuncture and scalp acupuncture.

This system has been practiced in Asia, albeit in a different form, for over 2,000 years.  Ear acupuncture has been used in Europe for the past 40 to 50 years. And it is finally starting to take root in the United States. The U.S. military, over the past 5 to 10 years, has started utilizing ear acupuncture for its battlefield personnel. This form of battlefield acupuncture is used to help soldiers deal with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) brought on by being in combat.

Since ear style acupuncture allows for every part of the external ear to connect through the micro-system to every part of the body, many conditions can be treated using only a few very tiny needles.  Not only can PTSD be treated using ear acupuncture, but also things like chronic pain, drug addiction, high blood pressure and nausea. And for those who are a little needle-shy, ear acupuncture is a great way to treat them because they will never see the needles and they will still get the help they need to achieving health and wellness.

Ear acupuncture or auricular acupuncture is a style of acupuncture I typically use at the Miriam Hospital cancer center and at my Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine clinic in Coventry, RI. Check out the Mini Stress Reduction Treatment. It’s a convenient style of treatment because in some situations treatment has to be done sitting. There’s no need to remove your shoes or undress. Stimulating points around the ear is an easy body region to access and still very effective for symptoms such as nausea, unsettling feelings (OCD, addiction), pain, insomnia and general stress to name a few. Stimulating the ear promotes a deep sense of relaxation because of it’s close physical relationship to the brain and all 5 senses.