The What and Why of Auricular Medicine

The What:

Auricular medicine is a form of medical intervention that uses the external ear as a reflex mechanism to trigger the brain to engage its capacity to reorganize itself to direct the healing and repair of the body and express a healthier you. There is a one to one connection between points on the ear and the locations and functions of the body. By stimulating the external pinnae (external part) of the ear, a message is sent from the skin of the ear back to the brain. The stimulation can take the form of mechanical pressure, acupuncture needles, very low level electrical stimulation, or by light stimulation using colours or low level laser light of different frequencies.

The Why:

Auricular medicine offers a quick and simple treatment therapy for a wide variety of problems that uses the body's reflex connections and energetic resonances to engage therapeutic effect. Although there are other reflex therapies one might consider such as reflexology, Korean hand acupuncture, scalp acupuncture and others, auricular medicine offers the best evidence based and scientifically validated interventions with the additional benefit of having no known harmful side effects.

The How: Neuromodulation

Knowing of the verified existence of the one-to-one reflex connection of points on the ear to points and specific functions of the body, we can use various stmulation modalities on the ear as forms of noninvasive neuromodulation of the brain. That is to say, in auricular medicine we have a tool that we can use to modulate deep regions in the brain both safely and precisely. Since the brain in effect runs the body, there is in theory, no limit to the kinds of problems that could potentially be addressed through auricular medicine including those problems that have a significant psychological component.