ear health

Auriculotherapy

Generality

Auriculotherapy is a therapeutic practice of alternative medicine, which involves stimulation of the auricle, with the final aim of bringing benefits to other parts of the body.

Any concept expressed by the practice in question and its promoters is based on the idea that the ear auricle is a microsystem that reflects all the organs, bony structures, etc. present in the human body.

According to its practitioners, auriculotherapy would benefit in the event of: overweight / obesity, anxiety, minor depression, insomnia, addiction to cigarette smoking, alcohol dependence and the presence of chronic pain.

Currently, no clinical or scientific study has demonstrated the effective therapeutic efficacy of auriculotherapy.

Brief anatomical revision of the external ear and auricle

The outer ear is, together with the middle ear and inner ear, one of the three portions in which the ear can be subdivided, that is the organ of hearing and balance .

Visible to the naked eye on the sides of the head, the external ear comprises: the auricle, the external auditory canal ( external acoustic meatus ) and the external surface of the eardrum .

EARPHONE PAVILION

Covered with skin, the auricle is a predominantly cartilaginous structure, on which the anatomists identify various characteristic areas, including:

  • two curved rhymes, one more external than the other, called elice and antielice ;
  • two protrusions, called a tragus and antitragus, which tend to cover the external auditory canal;
  • the basin, which is the concave region in which the opening of the external acoustic meatus takes place;
  • the lobe, made up of fatty tissue and located on the lower margin.

What is auriculotherapy?

Auriculotherapy is a therapeutic practice of alternative medicine, which involves the stimulation of the external surface of the auricle, by means of appropriate instruments; these maneuvers are carried out with the final intent to bring benefits to other parts of the body, be it organs, bony structures, glands etc.

The therapeutic power of auriculotherapy is based on the idea that the auricle of the external ear is a microsystem, which reflects the entire human body.

In other words, auriculotherapists - or lovers of auricular therapy - base all their claims on the assumption that, in the auricles, areas (or zones) reside connected to a very precise anatomical structure of the human body.

The figure below shows the mapping of the auricle, according to the theories of modern auriculotherapists.

Figure: in the auricles of the human being, auriculotherapists have marked more than 200 points (or zones) of stimulation. In this image, only a few are represented. Image from the site: mednat.org

SYNONYMS

Various synonyms of auriculotherapy exist, including: auricular therapy, auricular acupuncture and auricular reflexology .

SIMILAR TECHNIQUES

There are other alternative medicine techniques that, like auriculotherapy, believe a connection between a very specific anatomical element (eg: auricle) and the rest of the human body (the various organs, bones, glands etc.) is possible.

Among the techniques similar to auriculotherapy, reflexology and iridology deserve a mention.

Briefly, plantar reflexology is a therapeutic practice that considers the pressure and the massage of the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands beneficial for the human body. At the base of plantar reflexology there is the idea that, to certain areas of the foot and hands, precise organs, nervous structures, joints, etc., correspond.

Iridology, on the other hand, is a diagnostic practice that considers it possible to assess a person's state of health by observing the characteristics of the iris .

At the base of iridology is the idea that irises represent an anatomical mapping of the human body, a mapping that includes organs, joints, bone structures and glands.

HISTORY

According to some historical sources, the origins of auriculotherapy would be very ancient; in fact, there would be written testimonies of practices similar to auriculotherapy dating back as far as 500 before Christ.

Nevertheless, modern auriculotherapy - where "modern" is understood in vogue today - is a fairly recent practice, born for accuracy in 1957 . Its founder was the French-born neurologist Paul Nogier (1908-1996), who in the aforementioned year published a paper entitled " Treatise on auriculotherapy ".

In his "Treatise on auriculotherapy", Nogier states that the auricle is a map of the organs of the human body and that the stimulation of a part of it, through acupuncture needles and other similar objects, has beneficial effects at the level of the organ corresponding to the stimulated part.

In his writings, Nogier also reports a mapping of the auricle very similar to the current ones.

Surely, on the conclusions of Nogier, the knowledge of Chinese acupuncture has influenced.

Moving on to more recent times, it is reported that, between the 80s and the 90s, the auriculotherapy received the first acknowledgments from the WHO (ie the World Health Organization), which accepted for the first time the mapping of the auricular pavilion, proposed by the auriculotherapists.

In Italy, an important date, as far as the history of auriculotherapy is concerned, is 1995 : in that year, the National Federation of the Order of Physicians inserted the "Auriculotherapy" item in the FNOOM tariff, making it for all purposes medical therapy official practicable only by graduates in medicine.

How does it work

From the biological point of view, auriculotherapy works by stimulating the central nervous system to release neurotransmitters and hormones with beneficial action, towards the cells of the human body. The neurotransmitters involved are molecules that are used to modulate pain or to initiate cellular healing processes; the hormones involved, on the other hand, are molecules with an anti-pain function (endorphins are the most important example).

Indications

According to its creators and promoters, auriculotherapy would be beneficial in the event of:

  • Overweight, obesity and eating disorders in general. Stimulation of certain parts of the auricle would increase the metabolic activity of the human body, reduce appetite and improve the activity of two hormones - insulin and serotonin - having an important role in the mechanisms that regulate the sense of satiety and intake of food in general.
  • Anxiety, anxiety disorders, insomnia and minor depression. Some auricular therapists believe that stimulation of the auricle helps relaxation, reduce stress and infuse positive energy into anxious and low-spirited people.

    Because of its anti-stress and anti-anxiety effects, auricular therapy is recommended for people who, due to health reasons, are about to undergo a delicate surgical procedure.

  • Chronic pains . Stimulation of some areas of the auricle would reduce the transmission of nerve impulses, which in human beings cause pain, and would favor the release of endorphins, which are chemical substances produced by the brain and endowed with a powerful analgesic and exciting activity.

Furthermore, it would be able to relieve / cure addictions to smoking and alcohol, thus meeting those who want to quit smoking and those who are addicted to alcohol.

IS A COMBINATION WITH TRADITIONAL MEDICINE POSSIBLE?

The practitioners of auricular therapy claim that the latter can be combined, without problems, with traditional medical practices.

Instrumentation

In auriculotherapy, stimulation of the external surface of the auricle can occur in at least three ways:

  • Through the insertion of acupuncture needles ;
  • Through micro-electric discharges ;
  • By laser .

Currently, the use of electric micro-discharges is very much in vogue and has supplanted the stimulation by acupuncture needles, which represents the stimulatory method practiced at the dawn of auriculotherapy.

The use of lasers for stimulation is a method that is being improved, which currently only a few auriculotherapists practice.

The stimulation method which involves the use of acupuncture needles is the reason why auricular therapy is also called auricular acupuncture.

AURICOLOTHERAPY BY MEANS OF ELECTRIC DISCHARGE

The instrument that stimulates the auricle, through micro-electric discharges, is an electrode, whose operation may depend on the electricity network or on a rechargeable battery.

Often, this electrode has the appearance of a pen with a metal tip.

Characteristics of a typical sitting

Before the stimulation of the auricle begins, it is essential that the auricular therapist asks the patient why the latter opted for auricular therapy. In essence, he wants to know the health problems that prompted the patient to ask for his help. This serves to perform a correct stimulation of the auricle.

At the conclusion of this preliminary phase, similar to a medical history, the practical part of the treatment begins.

The duration of a generic session and the total number of sessions depend on the extent and number of problems reported by the patient.

Risks and complications

Auriculotherapy is a substantially very safe and low-risk therapeutic practice. In fact, only in very rare circumstances can it give rise to side effects.

The possible side effects of auriculotherapy include:

  • Pain or discomfort in the auricle, at the level of the stimulated areas;
  • Sense of soreness at the level of the auricle;
  • Inflammation of the auricle;
  • Episodes of infection. The possibility of infection is exclusive to auriculotherapy which uses acupuncture needles to stimulate the auricle.

Contraindications

The contraindications of auricular therapy depend on the type of instrument used to stimulate the auricle.

Here, the contraindications of the two most common stimulation methods, ie the use of acupuncture needles and the use of electric micro-discharges, will be discussed.

AURICOLOTHERAPY THROUGH NEEDLES

Needle-based auricular therapy is contraindicated for people with lesions or abrasions in the auricles, as it could be painful and cause an infection to appear.

AURICOLOTHERAPY THROUGH ELECTRIC DISCHARGE

The auriculotherapy performs through micro-electric discharges is contraindicated to three categories of individuals: the carriers of a pacemaker or a portable cardioverter defibrillator, pregnant women and, once again, those who have lesions or abrasions at the level of the auricle.

  • Carriers of a pacemaker or portable cardioverter defibrillator: in these circumstances, the contraindication is explained by the fact that the electrical discharges, delivered for therapeutic purposes, could interfere with the proper functioning of the electronic device, in charge of controlling the rhythm of the heart.
  • Pregnant women: in these situations, the contraindication is based on the suspicion that the "usual" electric discharges could cause fetal damage, thus compromising the normal development of the fetus.
  • People with lesions or abrasions in the ear pads. In these cases, the contraindication is linked to the fact that auriculotherapy can be painful or annoying.

Criticisms

Currently, no scientific and clinical studies have demonstrated the effective efficacy of auriculotherapy. In other words, modern auricular therapy lacks any foundation of a scientific nature.

It is because of this its unproven therapeutic efficacy that auricular therapy receives little support in the medical community.