I have always been interested in having one of these treatments, mainly due to the multiple health benefits that I have heard of online. I also liked the idea of trying something different and the reduction in stress was a plus. The five needles that are inserted into your ear don’t hurt much, they feel like a little tingle if anything. Most places will also give you a nice herbal tea containing chamomile, mint, hops, and more.
They will play soothing music and have a fan to keep the room nice and cool. I have had many experiences with mindfulness due to having a history suffering from anxiety. Mindfulness helped make the experience even more relaxing. I felt myself feeling extremely sleepy in a trance state of deep relaxation.
As most sessions usually last around 45 minutes it can get somewhat boring so I would recommend bringing along a book to read whilst having it done. After the session was over and the needles were removed, it actually made me feel not so relaxed. In fact, when they were taken out, it actually started to hurt my ear with a subtle pain lasting around 1-2 hours.
Would I do it again?
I don’t think I would do it again, whilst there is many heard of reason as to why acupuncture is good for you. I didn’t really feel any different, in fact, I think the thing that was the nicest was more the environment of everyone else being relaxed, the herbal tea, and the soothing music. I personally think that the ear acupuncture is somewhat of a placebo effect. Meaning that as I had in my head that It would be good for me, it made me feel good. However, if you enjoy it, definitely continue, it may not work for everyone.
What other health benefits?
Whilst there are simply many supposedly health benefits of acupuncture, the main ones include:
- Reduced Stress
- Reduction of pain such as back, neck, and headaches
- Reduced eye strain
- Improved Immune System
- Enhanced Mental health and Increased Energy
- Relief from Digestive Conditions
- Allergy Relief.
Studies suggest that it can also be helpful for anxiety, depression, nausea, insomnia, infertility and a wide range of illnesses, however, there has not been enough research to determine whether it is any better than a placebo effect.
Where can you go for ear acupuncture?
There are well over 3,000 clinics within the UK that offer acupuncture, you could find your local ones by having a search online. However, some can be more expensive than others. For this reason, I would recommend going to a charitable company as usually this is based upon a donation of £5 depending on your income status, but, for the health benefits, and experience it is well worth the money. If you wanted to try it, I would recommend ‘Mind. They are a charitable clinic organization.
Other types of acupuncture
This type of Chinese medicine is most commonly performed as ear acupuncture however, you can get the needles inserted almost anywhere on the body such as full body, hand and even tongue.
