All About Auricular Acupuncture

When was the last time you really paused to think about your ears? It’s one of those things we take for granted only if we are lucky enough to be able to hear at birth. The more I learn about the body the more I am in awe about the subtle shifts it does to do to keep us in homeostasis. The ear, and all other parts of our bodies are connected (duh!). Let me explain a bit more so we can be at the same wave length.

In utero the kidneys and inner ear develop at the same time. The tissues in the kidney and inner ear are very similar and they visibly look similar to one and another. It is common to have kidney issues along side ear issues, in Chinese medicine tinnitus can be due to kidney deficiency.  From the external the ear folds contain many nerve endings that connect to different regions in the body. For example, the vagus nerve which is the 10th cranial nerve is most superficial in the ear, however it is known to be the “wanderer” as it is the longest nerve in the body. It wanders from the brain all the way to the gastrointestinal system. There is definitely a correlation to stress and digestion. The vagus nerve is responsible for parasympathetic functions such as our rest and digest state. 

Back in the 1950’s a French physician, Dr. Paul Nogier noticed his patients would have a folk treatment that would treat their sciatic pain. The treatment was cauterizing a specific part of the ear that relieved sciatic pain. He then went on discovering that when different parts of the ear were stimulated it would relieve pain in other parts of the body. Similar to Dr. Nogier, the Chinese discovered body maps on the ear that correlated to different areas on the body.  

Today auricular acupuncture can be used for all sorts of complaints. Most commonly auricular acupuncture can be used for pain (chronic + acute), emotional disorders, headache and even used for addiction. 

Next time you’re in, request some ear points or ear seeds and see how you feel!