Auricular Therapy | Ear Seeds

Auricular Therapy (Ear needling) is the stimulation of acupuncture points on the ear with needles or pressure to treat or prevent diseases.  It’s long history dates back 500 BC.  The ear is a microcosm of the whole body and modern clinical research provides strong evidence regarding its effect on neural pathways.  Some practitioners of Chinese Medicine use only auricular acupuncture as their primary method of treatment.   

During acupuncture sessions, small needles may be inserted on both ears to facilitate the healing process.  After acupuncture, small black seeds from the Vaccaria plant are secured on the ear with a tiny adhesive tape over specific acupressure points.  Patients are encouraged to massage the seeds to induce a continuous stimulation with intermittent manual fingertip massage on the acupressure points.  The purpose of ear seeds is to continue building up natural healing momentum before the next treatment.  Seeds are typically retained for 3-5 days and can easily be removed by the patient before the next office visit. 

Auricular Therapy can be used to:

• treat addiction

• regulate hormones

• lower hypertension

• manage internal disease

• decrease anxiety and depression

• treat pain