The miracle of ear acupuncture

Author: Michael Noack

Trusting audiences are not the only things to be encountered at presentations. A (still) relatively young dentist was amusing himself by analysing everything critically and was confident enough of his chosen field to condescend to answer my counterquestions. Yes, he does have a more or less permanent pain in his cervical vertebral column. An occupational disease! You know, the permanently unnatural posture assumed while working. It's harmful. But his orthopaedist somehow always fixes it. Re-setting, regular injections. Yes, he has been suffering from these pains for years now.

Would he then, under these circumstances, undergo treatment by me?

Sure, he has 'nothing to lose.'

A young and incredulous hero steps out onto the stage.

Applause.

So I start inserting my needles. About five minutes later (it does not always work that fast), everyone is watching (full of expectations) the treatment is over and the needles have been removed. He gets up - with a smile on his face, though still seemingly unimpressed. But then his behaviour changes. He stretches his shoulders, rolls his head more and more, and admits with astonishment, that for the first time in years he feels no pain whatsoever.

I assume that this will not last. He will have to be receive regular treatment.

Nevertheless, his latent pain has suddenly disappeared. And not simply because something has been suppressed or substituted, but because "pain" as a signal is no longer required by the body after the treatment (at least for the time being). There is no reason for it anymore. So there we are, our bodies are capable of a lot more than we believe.

For a long time I have been looking for a therapy that is simple and uncomplicated to apply, and which can be used anywhere and at any time with the greatest possible success. As an alternative practitioner I have experienced that in emergencies we need to have access to an additional treatment whose very form of administration is itself enough to reassure the patient (even if one is a gifted phytotherapeut, homeopath or chiropractor). This is also the case even where it is not sure whether the homeopathic medical product has been correctly chosen or will work. The patient is sat or laid down, examined (visual diagnosis, palpation of the ears, point-searching) until finally the needles are inserted. Nothing could then be better than if the therapy really were a highly effective one. And acupuncture of the ear actually does fulfil these requirements.

I know many young alternative practitioners who will need several years to learn one of the basic therapies and who are meanwhile looking for an alternative. "There is this one therapy," I cry "and it is easy to learn. It is plausible and it offers treatment opportunities for all kinds of illness." It's called "ear acupuncture".

What is it?

Ear acupuncture is a new form of therapy

Around 1950 a form way of diagnoses and treatment (also known as "Auriculo-Therapy") was found by Dr. NOGIER, a French doctor from Lyon. It was first introduced at a congress in 1956.

Ear acupuncture is an autonomous therapy

Everything that is needed in case of illness can be achieved through ear acupuncture.

Ear acupuncture is simple but incredibly effective

Ear acupuncture is a new and effective method of pain-treatment.

It has also proved to be an extraordinarily effective therapy for addiction. Its main emphasis has been on helping people give up smoking, as well as in the fight against drug and alcohol abuse, and obesity.

The complexity of this treatment and the immediate effect of the stimulation is the significance about using the ear as the area for treatment

When a point is stimulated with a needle or in a different way, the signal that has been produced is transmitted to the formatio reticularis within an extremely short period of time, and from there to the brain and to the corresponding organ. This provides quick and direct access to the symptoms and by using the method of NOGIER (and its evolution, by G. LANGE f. i.) it brings out quite a long-time success which can usually be felt immediately.

Ear acupuncture is non-toxic and has no adverse effects. The number of people with allergies against medication is rising and many people have reservations about orthodox medicine. The ear acupuncture can be a very impressive alternative.

Ear acupuncture can especially be used in emergencies because of its quick and precise access to the body. At acute situations when the patient needs help at once it is an optimal method of pain release, to get over a trauma or to relax in critical situations like colic.

Through the ear all kind of pain can be influenced, relieved and very often even eliminated. The different kind of pain can include for example traumatic pain after accident or neuralgic pain like every kind of headache, like sciatica, phantom limb pain, rheumatic pain or claudicatio intermittens, but also herpes zoster pain and so on.

Already NOGIER has recommended the use of Auriculo-Therapy as treatment for all complaints of the central nervous system. Anxiety, agoraphobia, possession, lack of concentration, dizziness, stuttering, are just a few of the indications with which ear acupuncture can be used successfully. Its settling and relaxing effects are particularly useful when treating old people.

When it comes to addiction treatment, ear acupuncture is assuming a very significant role. A variety of therapies for curing alcohol, drug, medicine abuse, smoking or overeating now exist that can be adapted to the patient's individual requirements. Of course, the success of the treatment always depends on the experiences of the practitioner. Nevertheless, these therapies have been very successful and there are now drug-clinics in Germany and the United States where the addiction program forms a regular component of the overall treatment concept.

In addition, ear acupuncture is very effective when treating allergies, asthma, inflammation and diseases of the organs such as pancreas affection or colitis.

Of course, ear acupuncture is not the right therapy in every case - the practitioner should appraise the general situation of the patient first.

Experience shows that it makes no sense to treat patients after they have had a large meal, for example. Caution is also called for if there is a level high sensitivity to pressure and an over-sensitive ear (or other part of the body). The healing effect can be endangered by a patient's hyper-reaction. In such cases, ear acupuncture should be not used as a therapy.

Ear acupuncture should also be refrained from when the patient is under the effect of analgetica or neuroleptica, since ear acupuncture may either reinforce or at least change the reaction of the medicine by influencing the rate of absorption or affecting the metabolism. In these cases one should be aware of uncontrollable reactions and ear acupuncture should be avoided as treatment.

Caution is vital if a patient is seriously ill. Whilst in some cases the pain can be treated, acupuncture should not be used at all in connection with such indications as sever hypertonus, acute coronary cardiac insufficiency or carcinogenic development. The contra-indication (i.e. the degree of inadvisability) will depend on the severity of the illness.

As well as this, treating pregnant women with ear acupuncture can be a very risky business for an inexperienced practitioner. When treating a pregnant woman for pain, for instance, certain areas of the ear should be avoided at all costs, since they can directly or indirectly influence the pregnancy.

Should the result of treatment not be as desired, or the patient's situation deteriorate (even though the correct diagnosis has been made and the therapy was the correct choice) then there is usually some obstacle to therapy present that first needs eliminating.

The tenets of the HUNEKE Brothers (neural-therapy) are very helpful for understanding the spirit of these obstacles.

Every chronic illness can be a disruptive factor

Every part of the body can become disruptive area

Put another way, every scar, every former fracture, every chronic inflammation (of the teeth, frontal sinus, or tonsils, and so on) can become a disruptive area leading to irritation of the organism and finally making therapy ineffective - so it must first be dealt with.

Vertebral blockage is one of the leading causes of therapeutic problems, especially the blockage of the first rib, and lateral instability.

Let me say one thing: "A therapy can be really good if the practitioner knows how to master it!"

The therapy may be easy, but not as simple as people may think. "Easy" does not mean second rate. Ear acupuncture has to be learnt properly. No one-day crash-course will ever allow the subject to be understood seriously. The Arbeitskreis ear acupuncture maintains that at least 6 days are needed just to learn the very basics. In fact, a great deal of time and in particular instruction is needed in order to attain the required level of experience.