HEALTH BENEFITS OF EAR PIERCING

 

 Taye Diggs

I had always thought ear piercing was just for fashion. Aesthetics, and nothing more. In my native Igbo culture, a baby girl's ears are pierced before her 6th month birthday as religiously as a baby boy is circumcised on the 8th day of his birth. I do not know how this tradition started, but we just do it. In my culture, men do not really wear jewelry except for coral beads for certain traditional ceremonies.

So, you can imagine my surprise to find out, that in some cultures in Asia—  India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Laos, it is part of the culture for babies both male and female to have their ears pierced at a certain time of their milestone. And I was really intrigued and actually love it. Historically, it has been associated with Egyptians and Persians.

In Acupuncture, ear piercing can be used to find relief in what is known as auriculotherapy. A 5,000-year-old healing tradition. And have advanced to specific fields of medicine. With the help of Dr. Paul Nogier who is known as the father of modern Auriculotherapy. He noticed that there was a connection between a part of the ear that was stimulated and another part of the body, and he measured it with modern equipment.

Piercing a specific point to stimulate the reflex points improved the flow of energy in the body. This can alleviate a certain pain and regulate the body's function and internal organs. Most of the pressure points known to allay pain can be found in the ear. Acupuncturists call the ear a "microsystem" because there is a point for every part of the body.

It also gets one thinking of the practice of stretching the earlobes which was prominent in many historical figures and is practiced in many parts of Africa today. If you look at pictures of the Egyptian pharaoh King Tut (1323 BC), Gautama Buddha (563 BC), and Otizi The Iceman (3300 BC), they all had stretched earlobes. 

Modern African tribes like Mursi, Maasai, and Fulani still practice earlobe stretching. The Mayans and Aztecs also wore earrings both males and females.

Having lived and traveled around the world, I found that I loved seeing men in jewelry, nothing loud like male rappers in the hip-hop community, but I find a man wearing a necklace, preferably with a simple medallion so sexy, especially when he wears a button-down shirt and leaves a few buttons open to show off the jewelry. Better still if he has earrings on or at least an earring. Something which is taboo in my native culture.

 In ancient Indian practice, it is one of the 16 sacraments, and rituals to mark various stages of human life. However, in Ayurveda, there is a science behind piercing the ears. The ear lobe has an important point in the center. And this point is one of the most important points for reproductive health. So, piercing the ear helps maintain healthy menstrual cycles in females. And sperm production in males helps to maintain their reproductive health.

Brain Health. The ear lobes have the meridian point that connects the right hemisphere to the left hemisphere of the brain. These parts of the brain are activated by piercing the ear. In acupuncture, when these meridian points are stimulated, it helps in the quick and healthy development of the brain. So, it is healthy to piecer the ears of children at an early age.

Wearing earrings maintains the energy in your body. According to Ayudeva, the point where the ear is pierced is where two essential acupuncture points are present— master sensorial and master cerebral points. And these key points help in maintaining the hearing of a child.

In some cultures, when girls' ears are pierced, the left is pierced first, while for boys, the right is first pierced. This is because these specific points coincide with the feminine and masculine halves of a person.

Piercing of certain parts of the body is associated with health benefits, the piercing of the left nostril is believed to help with the ease of childbirth for women.

It is really interesting to know that cultures have a reason for piercing. Actually, when we study history, we find that some practices are rooted in health benefits for the body as practiced in ancient times.