Ear Piercing for Migraines
After trying this ear piercing for migraines and announcing it here, I was shocked to hear from so many of you that you also suffer from horrendous migraine symptoms.
As promised, I kept a daily journal of my experience after getting my daith piercing.
Below you will find my unedited journal.
Ear Piercing for Migraines Results
You can read more about my specific migraine symptoms in detail here, but it is extremely important to note that migraines are NOT headaches. The headache is just one symptom of a migraine.
After over 20 years suffering from severe migraine symptoms–of which the headache is by far the worst for me–I decided to try this ear piercing for migraines.
There have been no clinical studies that I’m aware of to support this as a method for treating migraine symptoms, but I deemed it worth the risks.
I have heard that about half of the migraine sufferers that have tried it reported some sort of relief.
So, I kept a detailed journal of my experience to collect my own data to share. I am not recommending this for anyone, I am simply sharing my experience.
You can make your own decision on what is best for you and definitely speak with your doctor.
Results – 31 Days Post Piercing
- Day 1, Feb. 18, 2016 – Migraine. Got daith pierced. Instant partial relief that lasted the rest of the night.
- Day 2 – 2/19 Very light sensitive, ended up taking 400mg of Ibuprofen because piercing area was sore.
But that wasn’t enough Ibuprofen to even touch a true migraine if it were going to come back… I kind of felt like I was going to get one, but it never came. - Day 3 – 2/20 Felt fine. Piercing still sore. But took no meds.
- Day 4 – 2/21 All good.
- Day 5 – 2/22 Terribly light sensitive. Thought for sure an aura was going to follow.
Had some nasty tension in my shoulder so Evan gave me a 5 minute massage. No migraine and no meds taken. - Day 6 – 2/23 Had a slight aura in the afternoon and almost decided to take 800 mg of Ibuprofen thinking a full blown headache was to follow but decided to wait.
No migraine. In the evening I did take 400 mg of Ibuprofen only because the piercing area was really sore. (I irritated the heck out of it trying to clean too hard.) - Day 7 – 2/24 Taking a ridiculous amount of naproxen sodium (Aleve) for cramps. Not a fair test today. Stupid periods.
- Day 8 – 2/25 Still light sensitive but no headache or aura. Took one naproxen sodium for cramping.
- Day 9 – 2/26 Thought for sure a full blown aura was about to hit–super light sensitive and just ‘off’ but it never did. No meds taken.
- Day 10 – 2/27 Pretty good day but lost bottom bead to earring in the evening.
Slept sort of nervous because it felt like I was going to lose the bar. - Day 11 – 2/28 Still light sensitive. Crazy busy day but was able to run over and have Hershey put in a new earring…
Slight headache afterward but nothing close to a migraine… maybe from the mimosas at the baby shower. lol - Day 12 – 2/29 LEAP DAY! Feeling fantastic. Not even light sensitive.
- Day 13 – 3/1 Felt great all day.
- Day 14 – 3/2 Awesome. Even forgot my sunglasses and didn’t mind.
- Day 15 – 3/3 Had an issue with low blood sugar. I got busy and forgot to eat lunch, then hopped on the treadmill (duh, so dumb) and ended up a shaky mess with my blood sugar at 46.
I thought I was getting a full blown aura but it turned out it was just my blood sugar.
I ate a few sweets and recovered for the most part but still felt pretty lousy. No meds taken. - Day 16 – 3/4 Feeling very fragile today. Very much like I’m on the verge of a full blown migraine attack.
Light sensitive, sound sensitive, sore neck muscles… but still no headache. - Day 17 – 3/5 All good. No symptoms at all.
- Day 18 – 3/6 All good.
- Day 19 – 3/7 Smidgen of light sensitivity, otherwise nothing else.
- Day 20 – 3/8 All good.
- Day 21 – 3/9 Definitely ovulating and still all good. (Sharp pain on right side of lower abdomen–typical for this time of month.) No meds taken.
- Day 22 – 3/10 Moderate pain due to ovulation and slight visual aura. No meds taken.
- Day 23 – 3/11 All good. No meds.
- Day 24- 3/12 All good. No meds.
- Day 25 – 3/13 All good. No meds.
- Day 26 – 3/14 All good. No meds.
- Day 27 – 3/15 Super strong visual aura. No meds taken. No headache.
- Day 28 – 3/16 All good. No meds.
- Day 29 – 3/17 Light sensitive. No meds. No headache.
- Day 30 – 3/18 Light sensitive. No meds. No headache.
- Day 31 – 3/19 Light sensitive. No meds. No headache.
OMG! I cannot believe I have gone 31 days headache free! I’ve definitely had other migraine symptoms but the headaches are by far the worst and most debilitating.
I can totally function with all the other stuff. So far, if this is at all due to this ear piercing for migraines, I’d say it’s been absolutely worth it.
Honestly, even if it is some strange placebo effect, I’ll take it! It’s only been 31 days, but I went from 4+ migraine headaches a month, to zero.
UPDATE!
One of my blogger buddies/fellow migraine sufferer decided to try the daith piercing for migraines too! You can see her results here.
CHECK OUT MY DAITH PIERCING RESULTS AFTER 6 MONTHS!
ONE YEAR UPDATE ON THE MIGRAINE PIERCING!
TWO YEAR DAITH PIERCING UPDATE AND INFO ABOUT A SUPPLEMENT I’M NOW TAKING DAILY.
Ear Piercing for Migraines FAQ
Does it hurt to get the daith piercing?
The piercing itself doesn’t “hurt” that bad. It’s a lot of pressure and then tender when the jewelry is put in.
I did have a good bit of soreness in the 3-4 days immediately following but a couple Ibuprofen worked wonders.
How do you clean the daith piercing?
In the first week to two weeks, I was instructed by my piercer, Hershey, to make a salt water solution (1 tsp sea salt *not iodized* + 8 oz distilled water) and clean the area 2-3 times a day.
I would pour about 2 tablespoons of the solution into a microwavable cup and heat for 9 seconds. It gets super hot, super fast! I would then soak a cotton ball with the hot salt water and put it on the piercing.
It feels AMAZING. If any little crusties (sorry, I know that’s gross) were present, I’d use a sterile Q-Tip to wipe them away.
Moving the jewelry is not necessary for cleaning. While in the shower, I just let the water run over and into my ear like it normally would.
When I had to have a new earring put in after 10 days because I lost the bottom bead, Hershey said my ear looked outstanding.
She said I was doing an excellent job with whatever I was doing and to keep it up. 🙂
You can also just purchase Wound Wash instead of mixing your own solution.
I can’t have visible piercings at work, but want to try this for my migraine symptoms. How easy is it to hide?
With the initial barbell I had, no one could see it when looking at me head-on.
It’s only visible from the side if you’re looking into my ear.
You’d have to talk to your piercer, but you may be able to use a clear or flesh-tone piece of jewelry available on amazon at an affordable price.
You can definitely switch to something like this after the initial healing process but I think you may need to have surgical steel daith earrings in the beginning.
Did I miss any questions? If so, ask in a comment below and I’ll answer to the best of my abilities. 🙂
There’s a full daith piercing for migraines FAQ post to read, too.
Products I use for my Daith Piercing and to Help Relieve Migraine Pain
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IMPORTANT UPDATE:
FINALLY! A doctor in London, Dr Chris Blatchley MB BChir, has put together a team of experts to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the daith piercing for migraine headaches.
If you’ve had the piercing done, please take his survey. It takes about 10 minutes. 🙂 Thank you so much! I can’t wait to see his results and finally have some real data behind this.
As soon as possible, I will share what I can.
Read more posts about my daith piercing journey here.
Would you consider this ear piercing for migraines?
how interesting,,i have a close friends who has a daughter that gets migraines,im going to pass this along to her
Did you have to go to a doctor or specialist? Can any piercing shop do this?? Is it just the general area that counts? I’m so excited about this!!
Hi Connie!
I went to my local piercer. As far as I know, any piercer should be able to do this. As long as you specify that you want the daith pierced. Again, since there are really no ‘official’ studies, I’m not sure if it’s a super specific spot… the daith isn’t that big after all, so chances are it will be okay if it’s going to work at all for you.
I wish I could be of more help. I can really only share my personal experience and hope it works for others as well! 😀
Good luck and please share your experience with us if you decide to do it!
This helps a lot! Thank you!!
I get migraines but I don’t think I have enough courage to get that part of my ear pierced
I was scared to. Honestly, if you suffer from migraines then peircing the daith will be a piece of cake.
I have a Darth piercing for migraine.
The migraine a mostly gone.. UT I still get the nausea and light head ed..will that go away in time
Please reply
Hi Joyce,
I can’t tell you anything for sure, but my auras and visual symptoms did go away (almost completely) after a few months.
I hope you continue to have relief!
Shelley
Hi Joyce, I am going to get mine pierced on Saturday. I am suffering with Aura migraines and I am on a strict diet from my neurologist and I’m still having some migraines and I am prepared to try most things, they last 4 to 5 days so I hope it will help. Saturday, bring it on !!
31 days without a migraine is wonderful for you. Luckily I don’t get them.
I got mine done on 1/4 for my birthday and I have maybe 2 migraines since that time. I used to have 3-4 serious migraines a week. It is really a miracle.
Wow Dena! That’s fantastic! Thank you for sharing!!!
I used to get migraines more when I was a teen and in my early 20s. It does happen once a month or so, but I still get auras and sensitivity fairly frequently and always have to make sure I don’t skip a meal at all. I do have a question. Do you do it on a particular ear? Right or left, or both?
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Diana
Hi Diana!
I spoke with a friend of mine that studied acupuncture in China and she recommended getting the piercing on the same side you experience the pain. So I got mine on the right since that’s always where the migraine headache pain is.
While I don’t have true migraines often, I do get some pretty nasty headaches with migraine symptoms. Maybe they are migraines and I just am not aware or maybe just really bad headaches but either way I want to get this done for myself soon! I’ve also heard this is a particular pressure point to help with chronic pain as well so I definitely want to give it a try. This is absolutely fantastic; I love the way you recorded everything for a month and wrote down your experiences 🙂 Now I know what to do when I get mine done!
Hey Kayla!
I really hope this provides some sort of relief for you! I can’t wait to hear about your experience!
<3
Shelley! I had no idea that you suffered with migraines too. I have for about 15 years and they’re no fun. The doctors just have me on a triptan and I’ve tried everything (well kind of) medicine wise. They cannot find a cause for them. Someone told me about this piercing and I was a little leary of it. However, I am going to look into it more!! Thanks for sharing.
This is the first I’ve heard of this. I used to get horrible migraines, but not much anymore. I would definitely consider this if they ever come back.
Did you get one or both done? If one side, which one and why?
Hi Jenni!
I just got the right side done. You can see the whole story behind that in another one of the daith piercing posts.
🙂
I loved reading this. I got my daith pierced and I’ve gotten nothing but hate about it saying that it’s all in my head and multiple rude comments. Headaches have decreased by a lot! Better than having migraines 24/7. I’d love to hear how you’re still doing!
Hi McKenna!
Oh, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been treated with such negativity! I don’t understand why people aren’t more opened minded! If it works for you then why is it a problem?! So happy to hear about your results though! I plan on posting again in a few months about my progress. 🙂
I used to have about 16 migraines a month and through some medication changes, I am down to about 10 per month. I have tried botox, Dysport, and many different daily meds to prevent them, with no luck. I just read this post yesterday, and I had an appointment at my headache clinic today so I brought it up!
My doctor said that although it isn’t FDA approved and she can’t recommend it to me, she has had about 6 patients have it done. 3 of them don’t have migraines anymore. 2 have them less frequently, and 1 had no change. Needless to say, I am looking for a place to get it done now!
I’m so glad you wrote this. I’ll let you know once I’ve gotten it done and how it works for me!
Hi Stacey!
WOW thank you for sharing that info! That’s so excited to hear that you’ve also been told similar info to what I was told.
I can’t wait to hear about your results!
Best of luck!!!!
I get migraines alot and it’s to the point where it will make me very sick to my stomach. I have had a friend and one of my sisters tell me about this piercing. I wanna try it but not sure how much it will cost to get it done. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even going to get rid of it.
Hi Patricia!
It only cost me $40 so I deemed it worth the risk. 🙂
Hey! Since it’s been another month since your journal ended I was wondering if you were still having the same results? It seems like my body takes every opportunity to get a migraine. Today is day 4 of a fairly mild but ever so persistent migraine. My vision is blurry and I have the headache, a bit of nausea comes and goes. I’ve taken 2 motrin every 6 hours to keep it tolerable but still missed a day of work. Just this week 3 people suggested this piercing so I thought I would Google it. While reading I pinched the area with my fingertips and there was some brief sinus pressure, now it’s been two hours and the headache pain and nausea seem gone. Crossing my fingers, but if I get the same result next time I’m sure going to think about the piercing 🙂
Hi Lainie!
Still going strong! In fact, I saw two different doctors and when I told them my story, I half expected them to roll their eyes, but they weren’t surprised at all that I am having good results. They both said “acupuncture has been in practice for a thousand years, there are lots of points in the ear for headaches.”
Hi Shelly , iv just been reading your experience with your Daith piercing , iv been doing a little research + came across it , thank you , i think youv helped me make up my mind, iv been a migraine sufferer since way before puberty, it wasn’t a known or talked about thing im afraid , when i had my children they seemed to of eased off a bit + for a while , when i was about 30 they started to be more severe + crippling lasting 4,5,6 days sometimes + i truly believe they where based around + leading upto my monthly cycle + god help me if it was a full moon , anyway many years later + still a migraine sufferer , although not as bad i am going to go + have a Daith piercing , thankyou my lovely Xx
Oh Dede, I feel your pain. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope this works for you as it has for me! Please let me know how it goes!
All the best,
Shelley <3
Hello,
I am a fellow suffer of chronic migraines due to a tumor attached to my pituitary gland. (Its located directly between my eyes and reaches as far as the middle of my forehead. I see a specialist at the moment and I am not a candate for the Botox injections they have recently been promoting for chronic pain and migraine symptoms. Sorry for so much back details but i was very curious and kind of excited in a way to see such positive results from something so simple. It seems like the one time amount of pain is nothing from the daily pain many of us suffer from due to these extreme headaches. Is this a piercing you had done in one ear or both ears? And did your doctor have any feedback negative or positive about it? At this point I am desperate for any sort of relief and eager to live a normal life as most people do and not constantly have to take medication for something that you seem to have such positive and effective results with from such a simple concept! Would love to hear your thoughts, details. Thank you!
Should this be done on both ears for effectiveness?
I have had migraines since I was approximately 8 years old, I am now 53 … so back then they had no idea what exactly these headaches were. At least the doctors my mother was taking me to! I was 1st diagnosed when I was pregnant with my third child, when I was 29…. since then I have been on every kind of med you could think of… currently I am taking Topamax to suppress them and eletriptan and Ibuprofen when one occurs….. that usually works if I catch it in time. If not I end up in th ER!!! This was a regular occurrence Of about 3-9 a month! I even used to take fioricet but would get terrible rebound headaches … well I decided to try the DAITH PIERCING Ihave had it for 2 months and I have had 1 very light migraine, and I’m not absolutely positive it was a migraine I took my medication so quickly I didn’t give it a chance to rear its ugly head !!! I pierce the left side only because they said to pierce to cite that most of your migraines are generated from …. I get them on both, but a lot on left so I thought I would start there and if needed the other side I will next time!! BEST PIERCING I HAVE EVER DONE!!! BEST MIGRAINE PREVENTION!!! And for me, not even painfull!! I hope this was helpful
Kim
Hi Kim,
My goodness, I am so sorry you suffered for so many years. I’m so thrilled the daith piercing worked for you! You deserve all the pain free years to come!
HUGS!
Hi my name is Christy and I’ve gotten the Daith piercing about a month & half ago and I struggled with migraines pretty regularly to where I had to get a demoral and Phenergan shot just to cope, I’ve had imatrex and other types of migraine medicine but since the piercing I had 1 kinda strong migraine but wasn’t as bad as before , and another one about 3 weeks after and it was almost like a normal simple headache NOT A MIGRAINE ….I paid $30 for the piercing at the local tattoo parlor here in my town and got a barbell that way if swelling would occur it would have had enough area to do so. My opinion is definitely get the piercing if you get migraines ! Sore ear ….yes
Discomfort….yes
Worth it…. YES ~YES~ YES ~YES
So I used to have migraines when. I. Was younger, but they came back after having my daughter. The headache and nausea are the worst symptoms for me by far. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this treatment before! I’m off to read the rest of your posts and feeling very hopeful!
I am manjula…tired with migrane ..shelly i will get peircing done..and i will get back to u
If you get migraines only on the left side..do you pierce the left ear or the right ear?
Hi Kim,
You should pierce the same side as the pain. 🙂
Where do most of your migraines happen? Is it the same side that you got there piercing or the opposite? I have had terrible migraines since 6th grade and am now 25. I have gone to way too many drs at this point and its either i try alternative solutions or i stay on permeant control medicines for the rest of my life. Most of my migraines happen on the right side sometimes on the left but its very rare. I talked to a body piercer that is near by and knows and has done faith piercings before but not for migraines, so don’t know which side i should get it on. Any suggestions on which side or just do both sides?
I did the same side as the pain. 🙂
Very interesting, I never heard of this before. I take topamax daily to try and prevent my migraines from occurring as well as get Botox injections every 3. months. One of my migraine triggers is berametric changes in the weather. Do you know if daith piercings would still help?
I’ve had migraines for 38 years. Many years before the “proper” medication even hit the market. I had an average of 3 a week, sometimes more. Although finally controlled very well with 100mg of imatrex, I was so over it all. After some research I took a leap. I did both sides, because as I stated, I was over it all & wanted it to work so badly. The piercer that I went to also advise both sides, stating that most people come back anyway. Greatful to state, after 6 months, migraines are EASILY down to 4 a month & 50mg of imatrex. Not as successful as others but I’ll take it any day. You do have to stay on top of the cleaning but again I’ll take a little salt water over chemicals in my body any day. Just thought I’d share my story. I’d recommend daith piercing to anyone with migraines, plus piercing is super cute.
Hi Paula!
Thank you for sharing! So happy to hear you’ve had some relief!
I found your site today after getting my left side daith pierced! I’ve had the exact same type of migraines as you described and had the exact same experience of instant relief! I am hopeful this will be a game changer for me. It has already been worth it just to experience relief without ending up in the ER for a shot! Thanks for sharing your story
Hi Tamika!
Oh, I am so glad you felt that! I hope it lasts forever! <3
Thank you for sharing. Please come back and let us know how you're doing!
I’m looking into getting a daith piercing because I have suffered from migraines for 20 years. I’m curious if you know if there is a specific side. I always get my migraines on my left side behind my left eye. Thanks for any help!
Hi Danelle, it’s commonly suggested to do the same side of your pain. So, you’d pierce your left ear if your pain is on the left. Hope it helps you!! Please keep us posted!
I got a daith piercing for my migraines and I felt like it helped a little bit..but I wonder if the side you get it on matters? Was going to get the other side pierced soon to test that theory.
Many have said to get the same side pierced as the pain. Please keep us posted! I hope you get more relief soon.