What is auricular acupuncture

Throughout his life, Dr Paul NOGIER has been interested in medical research. His appreciation of the techniques of acupuncture, psychotherapy, homeopathy and manual medicine, led him, in 1951, to draw up the basis of auriculotherapy, then, about ten years later, to develop auriculomedicine. The results of Paul NOGIER's work are now well known, and are taught and used in Europe, the United States and even in China, the birth place of acupuncture.

These two techniques were recently combined under the term ear acupuncture.

DR. Paul NOGIER'S Discoveries

The discovery of auriculotherapy:

In the beginning, Dr Paul NOGIER sometimes saw patients presenting with cauterization points on the ear, who claimed to have been relieved of their sciatica as a result of this treatment.

Intrigued, Dr Paul NOGIER decided to investigate this phenomenon and found that points on the external ear corresponded to certain organs or systems. After more than fifteen years of experimentation, he established a map of the ear. The shape of all of these points fairly closely resembles the image of an inverted foetus.

The principle of auriculotherapy is based on the fact that a point or a zone on the ear corresponds to an organ or a system. The mechanism of action is a reflex mechanism. In auriculotherapy, a pathological point is detected by the pain reaction to local pressure or by using an electrical detector. Treatment can be performed by massage of the point, by application of a needle or by electrical or laser stimulation.

The precision of this representation of reflex points on the external ear offers many possibilities for both diagnosis and treatment.

The discovery of auriculomedicine:

L’auriculomédecine est le prolongement de l’auriculothérapie. Au fur et à mesure de sa pratique, le Dr Paul NOGIER s’est rendu compte que l’auriculothérapie avait peu d’action sur certaines pathologies. Passionné d’acupuncture, il commença à prendre le pouls de ses patients tout en examinant leurs oreilles. Il mit en évidence que des variations du pouls lorsqu’il touchait différentes zones de l’oreille.

Auriculomedicine is the logical extension of auriculotherapy. As he developed his practice, Dr Paul NOGIER noticed that auriculotherapy had little effect on certain diseases. Based on his experience with acupuncture, he began to take his patients' pulse while examining their ears. He demonstrated variations of pulse when he touched different zones of the ear.

Extending his research on the pulse even further, he tested many forms of stimulation (magnets, colours, various substances, etc.), and showed that the body is sensitive to 7 frequencies. These frequencies, used for both diagnosis and treatment, represent the information received or emitted by our body. They are called NOGIER frequencies.

Auriculomedicine is a reflex method based on modifications of the NOGIER pulse in response to stimulation.

The NOGIER's pulse, called RAC in French for Réflexe Auriculo-Cardiaque or Autonomic Circulatory Reaction), corresponds to the English term VAS (Vascular Autonomic Signal).

In practice, the physician tests the sensitivity of the sensors of the skin of the patient's body or external ear. With one hand, he holds an appropriate detector, and the other, it takes the patient's pulse.

The patient's radial pulse is taken very carefully and requires a great deal of practice in order to be performed rigorously. The pulse is conventionally taken with the thumb placed perpendicularly to the radial artery against the styloid process.

The VAS phenomenon is usually felt by the practitioner as a qualitative variation of perception of the pulse. It starts 1 to 3 cycles after application of a stimulus. This signal occurs without any alteration of heart rate and can last for 8 to 15 cardiac cycles.

Mechanical recording of the vascular signal perceived clinically by taking the pulse manually has not yet been objectively demonstrated. This demonstration is difficult, as it consists of trying to reproduce a fine sensory perception instrumentally.

However, it is clear that the NOGIER pulse involves the autonomic system (sympathetic and parasympathetic). Modification of the VAS is mediated by the unconscious autonomic nervous system and corresponds to a neurological reflex.

Until a device has been developed that is able to measure the VAS signal, physicians continue to learn the manual pulse taking technique. Several schools now teach this technique. In particular, in Lyon, the cradle of auriculotherapy, there is an association, the Groupement Lyonnais d'Etude Médicale (GLEM), which provides such courses.
(GLEM website: www.upml.fr/glem)

NOGIER frequencies

Seven frequencies were developed experimentally by Dr Paul NOGIER in the 1970s. These frequencies are constantly used in routine medical practice, as they are preferentially recognized by the body. They enter into resonance with the body and specific exert effects on the body. These frequencies are used both for detection and for treatment.

The U frequency is the so-called "universal" frequency and the resulting 7 fundamental frequencies are multiples of 2.

The same frequencies are used for laser devices, but at a higher harmonic. They have an identical action.

Variations with respect to reference frequencies are also used. They range from -30% to +30%.

Definition of frequencies by Drs Paul and Raphaël NOGIER:
Extract from "The man in the ear", Maisonneuve, 1979, 255 p.

The "A" frequency is associated, in the animal kingdom, with non-organized, embryonic structures. It is the frequency of the primitive living being; it is in sympathy with the cell in the crude, undifferentiated state. This frequency, the most archaic, can also be considered to be the most anarchic.

The more elaborate "B" frequency is specific to the nutritional visceral system and is related to the primitive gastrointestinal apparatus.

The "C" frequency indicates motor elements of the body. It reflects movement, the limbs, the renal system, the genital tract.

The "D" frequency leads us to a higher level of organization, as it introduces the concept of symmetry, by selectively affecting certain unpaired organs, presenting the characteristic of being solitary, but anatomically symmetrical; for example the corpus callosum or the white commissure, two symmetrical cerebral structures, situated between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere [...]

The "E" frequency is that of the spinal cord and central nervous system, which perceives and communicates between functional units situated at different levels.

The "F" frequency represents subcortical cerebral regions. These structures are found in the brain of higher animals, dogs, for example.

The "G" frequency resonates with the most elaborate structures of the body, those of the cerebral cortex, the typically human part of the brain, which gives man the capacity to think, create and imagine.

The following table summarizes the main therapeutic applications of NOGIER frequencies:

The effects can be potentiated by associating various frequencies. These combinations of frequencies are especially used in local therapy:

SEDATELEC proposes a whole range of instruments and apparatuses especially designed for auricular acupuncture techniques.

To assist in diagnosis, there are pressure feelers, colour filters and auriculotherapy point detectors.

For treatment, you can use electrical or laser stimulators.

All these devices, detectors and stimulators use NOGIER frequencies or variations of these frequencies. Each frequency can be individually selected or these combinations of frequencies can be used for local treatments.

You can therefore choose the apparatus that best suits your needs.