How Can Ear Seeds Help With Anxiety and Pain?

Ear seeding has made the rounds on social media, with people making lots of claims about its benefits in treating anxiety, pain and more. But what exactly are ear seeds? And are there real benefits, or are ear seeds just another influencer hoax?  

The term ear seed is fairly self-explanatory: Tiny seeds, or metal versions of them, are taped onto specific acupressure points on your ears. You wear the seeds for a few days to a week, depending on what they’re being used to treat. And far from just a trendy topic, ear seeding is an ancient practice rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  

But how might applying seeds to your ears help with medical conditions?  

How ear seeds work

Ear seeds are tiny, just a couple of millimeters each, and traditionally made from actual seeds — from the Vaccaria or Wang Bu Liu Xing plant, says Stephanie Wang, ND, a naturopathic physician and a licensed acupuncturist at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at UW Medicine.  

“Ear seeds are thought to work by stimulating the vagus nerve and promoting the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the calming part of your nervous system,” she says.

Your vagus nerve connects your brain to your heart and gut; stimulating it can help trigger feelings of relaxation. Unlike your sympathetic nervous system or “fight or flight” response, your parasympathetic nervous system or “rest and digest” response helps relax your body, including by lowering your heart rate.  

In theory, ear seeds stimulate these calming responses by applying a light amount of pressure to specific parts of your ears, similar to the way acupuncture works.

“However, ear seeds are different from acupuncture because no acupuncture needles are used when applying ear seeds to the ear,” Wang says. “Ear seeds stimulate the acupuncture points without puncturing the skin.”

So if you have a fear of needles, ear seeds could be a way to try acupuncture without the poking.  

What ear seeds are used to treat

When you go in to get ear seeds applied, it’s a quick and pain-free process. Waterproof tape is used to adhere the seeds to your skin.

“The acupuncturist will examine, diagnose, and select appropriate auricular acupuncture points before applying ear seeds to the ear,” Wang says.  

Ear seeds are typically worn anywhere between three days and a week. You will probably be instructed to gently massage the seeds a few times each day. You can remove them yourself once you’ve worn them for the length of time you’re supposed to.

Practitioners use ear seeds to help treat the following:

• Stress and anxiety
• Side effects from cancer treatment
• Insomnia
• Chronic pain
• Smoking cessation

In particular, ear seeds have been shown in preliminary research to be potentially helpful for people with cancer dealing with unpleasant side effects from chemotherapy or radiation.

“The side effects that ear seeds can help with include chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cancer treatment-induced fatigue, sleep disorders, cancer-related pain, and stress and anxiety,” says Wang.  

How to use ear seeds safely

While at-home ear seed kits are available and popular online, Wang cautions against applying ear seeds on your own without at least consulting a licensed professional.  

For one, you don’t want to accidentally drop the seeds (which are pretty tiny) into your ear. (That would be an embarrassing trip to the emergency department.) Additionally, some people can experience side effects like dizziness, nausea, or skin irritation, and getting the seeds placed correctly will help minimize the risk of side effects.  

There are a few situations where you might not want to try ear seeds, like if you have an ear infection, a skin condition like eczema or are pregnant.  

But overall, ear seeds are an easy and safe way to potentially relieve anxiety or pain.