Body art is an amazing way to express your individuality, but body piercings don’t just have to be for show. Research is beginning to show that daith piercings (piercings on that fold inner fold in the ear) can potentially be linked to migraine relief, pain management, and improved mental health. The term “daith” comes from the Hebrew word da’at (knowledge), in reference to the advanced techniques needed to create the piercing. While the daith was created with aesthetics in mind, numerous people have claimed that the piercing has alleviated or eliminated their pain.
About half of all respondents to a MigrainePal survey reported that their migraines were less frequent or severe after they received a daith piercing. Given that there are approximately three million chronic migraine sufferers nationwide, the potential for the half to receive some migraine realief from their daith piercing is promising.
Behind the innermost fold of the ear is the vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the neck, chest, and abdomen. For patients with difficult to treat epilepsy (and, in some instances, depression), physicians may surgically implant a device that stimulates the vagus nerve by sending it electrical currents. While researchers are still not sure what relationship the vagus nerve has with epilepsy and depression, vagus nerve stimulation has been implemented safely for over 20 years.
Daith piercings can potentially imitate the effects of vagus nerve stimulation by putting a small but consistent pressure on the inner ear. Studies show that vagus nerve pressure achieved through piercings or acupuncture, and that these can alleviate some of the symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, such as headache, nausea, and chest pain.
Early practitioners of acupuncture focused heavily on the ear, believing that it was linked to other systems in the body. Today, some claim that daith piercings can treat chronic pain, fibromyalgia, Meniere’s disease, and back pain.
Even if you don’t need a migraine headache relief piercing, daith piercings are also just insanely cool body art. Because a daith piercing is an advanced technique requiring specialized tools, you’ll need to choose your body piercer with care. Whether you want migraine relief or a unique new adornment, you can be proud to show off your daith.
