What is auriculotherapy?

Auriculotherapy — or ear acupuncture — is an alternative medicine practice that involves placing tiny needles in very specific places in the outer ear (auricle). The placement of the needles is intended to stimulate different parts of the body and help relieve a variety of health conditions.

Acupuncture — including auriculotherapy — is based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which holds that “qi” (life force or energy) flows throughout the body, connecting certain points along “meridians”. When an acupuncture needle is placed in a certain spot, it is intended to stimulate another point along the meridian that is experiencing a problem, helping to treat the issue. 

In the 1950s, French physician Paul Nogier conducted groundbreaking research on the practice and gave it the name “auriculotherapy”. His work was based on knowledge of TCM but also integrated examples of historic European treatments that were focused on the ears and expanded with new discoveries. Today, auriculotherapy incorporates the work of Nogier and his colleagues, TCM principles and practices, and ongoing research into the ways the ears are connected (via nerves or other pathways) to other parts of the body.

Ear acupuncture points

Despite being concentrated in a small part of the body, there are as many as 200 ear acupuncture points. Needles (or ear seeds — learn more in the next section) may be placed in a single point or in combinations to treat various aspects of a person’s condition. The acupuncture points of the ear relate to the rest of the body in an interesting way — many practitioners point to the example of an upside-down person to illustrate the connections. For example, the lobe of the ear is related to the head, the central part is related to various internal organs, and the upper part of the ear is related to the legs and feet.

Ear acupuncture potential risks and side effects

Ear acupuncture side effects are generally recognized as mild and not long-lasting.¹ The most commonly reported side effects of ear acupuncture among patients include: soreness at the needle site, dizziness, bleeding at the needle site, nausea, headache and irritation at the needle site.

Risks are also relatively low, but could include infection. Studies show that this is more likely with the type of ear seeds that use a needle that stays in the ear for a longer period of time.²

Is auriculotherapy scientifically proven?

Both auriculotherapy³ and acupuncture⁴ have been and continue to be scientifically studied to explain their effects — but it is not fully accepted as scientifically proven at present. The results of studies vary, but some findings do point to acupuncture’s effectiveness as a therapy for certain conditions, including back or neck pain, osteoarthritis, sciatica, migraines and more.⁵ 

Talk to a doctor who has a full understanding of your health conditions before starting acupuncture or auriculotherapy treatments.  

Auriculotherapy’s potential benefits

A number of conditions show benefits, either scientifically or anecdotally, from auriculotherapy, including: 

• Anxiety⁶ 
• Back pain⁷ 
• Cancer treatment side effects⁸ 
• Chronic pain⁵
• Migraine⁹
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)¹⁰
• Smoking cessation¹¹
• Tinnitus¹²

More studies are ongoing, exploring the potential that auriculotherapy might hold for treating other health issues. Let’s explore a few conditions for which research has shown promise.