You may have heard about the legendary daith piercing; the unusual inner ear piercing that supposedly has the power to relieve headaches and migraines. While there is very little medical evidence to support this, many migraine sufferers went to get the piercing for themselves – and some of them found relief.

Before we delve deeper into the effectiveness of this piercing, it’s important that everyone understands that there is absolutely no “cure” for migraines. Currently, there are far too many people claiming the daith piercing has the ability to cure people of their horrific headaches; at the end of the day, migraines are neurological diseases that can’t be cured at this moment in time.

So how can the daith help?

Currently, migraines are so complex and intense that health professionals can’t identify why they happen and why the body attacks itself like this. There are numerous management techniques to help prevent and treat them such as stress-relief, therapy, and diet changes – but the daith is something totally unique…

The daith piercing could be a form of acupuncture relief; the daith is a sensitive piece of cartilage in the inner ear and is said to correspond as an acupressure point with the digestive system. With this in mind, if your migraines and headaches are the result of digestive issues, then the daith piercing could help. However, daith piercings can take months to heal and are prone to infection, so they must be well cared for.

In a recent anonymous survey, migraine sufferers decided to get the piercing, and were asked to report back on the frequency of their migraines. The results were 50/50 with half of the participants reporting fewer episodes while the others saw no or very little change.

It’s clear that more research needs to be carried out into the effectiveness of the daith. But if you’re curious to see whether your daith could influence your headaches and migraines, try acupuncture first to see if a stud on your daith (which can be worn for a few weeks) has any effect before visiting your local body modification studio…