Ear Acupuncture: Overview, Effects, and How It Work

What is Ear Acupuncture? 

You may have heard of traditional acupuncture, which uses small needles to stimulate points throughout your body, including your ears. Besides this, there is another special type that focuses on the ears called auricular acupuncture or ear acupuncture. This is a type of auricular therapy, which includes any acupressure or acupuncture treatment that is limited to your ears. 

Note: Auricular acupuncture is a diagnostic and treatment system based on normalizing the body's dysfunction through stimulation of points in the ear. 

How does ear acupuncture work?

Ear acupuncture works much the same way as traditional acupuncture, which is based on the concept that your qi(chee, or energy) impacts the health of your body. Blocked or disrupted qi has a negative effect on your physical and mental health. While tiny needles are inserted into specific points in each ear, each point corresponds to organs. So target certain points in the ear to restore the flow of qi.

5 points of auricular therapy are: 

● Autonomic point: calms the nervous system and increases relaxation.

● Shen Men: reduces nerves and anxiety.

● Kidney Point: heals internal organs and calms fears.

● Liver Point: detoxifies and purifies the blood.

● Lung Point: promotes aeration.

Ear Acupuncture Benefits:

The most important impact that auricular acupuncture provides is the relief of body pain within 48 hours of pain onset. It helps with many health concerns. Some of the main problems people have with ear acupuncture include ear tinnitus, ear pain, chronic pain, migraines, back pain, weight loss, anxiety, sciatica, insomnia, depression, substance use disorder, and chemotherapy side effects, etc. 

If you want to learn how ear acupuncture works for these health concerns, it is necessary to learn the specific ear acupuncture points corresponding to it first. 

There are more than 200 acupuncture points in the ear. The World Health Organization (WHO) has created a standardized list of 39 auricular points. Among the 39 standard acupoints, 10 mastered acupoints are commonly used in ear acupuncture.

The following commonly-used ear model for auricular division and points learning is popular among acupuncturists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, doctors, nurse practitioners, and Chinese medicine students. 

Side Effects:

As with any treatment, ear acupuncture can cause side effects in some people. Side effects may include:

• Pain and bleeding from needle insertion
• Nausea
• Infect
• Rash
• Allergic reaction
• Bruising around the area where the needle was placed
• Dizziness

Why is the ear so important in acupuncture?

Chinese medicine proves that the ear is a very powerful energy link through which the entire body can be healed, as all organs and body parts are contained within its concentric folds. And auricular therapy is not only popular in China, but worldwide. A realistic acupuncture ear is necessary for auricular training.