Community Magazine January 2017

One of the most fascinating medical techniques developed in recent years is auriculotherapy. Auriculotherapy is based on the concept that the human ear is a microsystem of the entire body, as represented on the auricle, the outer portion of the ear. Ailments across the entire body are assumed to be treatable, solely by stimulating the surface of the ear. D uring a session, the practitioner of auricular healing diagnoses the source of disease by examining the patient’s ear, and treats the disease by inserting needles into the appropriate parts of the ear. This impressive technique is used for treating various conditions – from muscle and skeletal pain to asthma, allergies, and cigarette addiction. Historically, the person who most convincingly proved a connection between the parts of the ear and the parts of the human body was Dr. Paul Nogier (1908-1996) of Lyons, France. In 1951, Dr. Nogier began to take interest in the connection between the ear and the rest of the body after he learned about a woman named Madame Bronne, who was able to rid her patients of lower back pain by creating small, repeated burns on specific points of their outer ears. (Today, auriculotherapists use electrical stimulation, needles, laser, or massage). Dr. Nogier investigated this matter extensively, testing every portion of the outer ear, and ultimately coming to the conclusion that each part of the body is linked to a specific point on the ear. This connection is so sensitive that when a certain part of the body falls sick, treatment of the ear at the corresponding point can restore a person to health. Though he is given credit for it, Dr. Nogier was not the first person to make this remarkable discovery. Amazingly, our Torah sages were well aware of these truths thousands of years before Dr. Nogier! The Ear as the Gateway to the Body The Midrash Rabbah speaks of the centrality of the ear to the rest of the body and, at the same time, reveals the spiritual basis of this relationship. First, the Midrash discusses the spiritual importance of the ear: Our Rabbis said: Do you wish not to have pains in your ear nor in any of your limbs? Then bend your ear to Torah, and you will inherit life, as it is said: “Incline your ear and go to Me; listen, and give life to your soul.”(Midrash Rabbah Devarim, Parshah 10) Further on, the Midrash is more explicit in describing the centrality of the ear to the other organs. Here are the words of our Sages fromMidrash Rabbah: “The ear is to the body like a clothesline is to clothes: Just as all of the clothes hanging on a line receive a nice smell from incense burning beneath them, so a person’s two hundred and forty-eight limbs depend upon the ear, which gives them all life.” Just as a clothesline scents all the clothing hanging upon it, so too, the ear provides a means for treating and healing all of the parts of the human body. As we’ve learned, this spiritual relationship has a physical parallel as well, a connection utilized by auricular healing. Word Analysis Interestingly, the Hebrewword for ear, “ozen” (spelled alef, zayin, nun sopheet ), has the same three-letter root as the word “izun”, meaning balance. Physiologically, too, man’s ability to maintain physical balance depends upon the health of the malleus, incus, and stapes – the three miniscule bones located in the inner ear. If you think that this is just a coincidence – think again: Science has only discovered in the last few centuries that the human ear serves two functions – hearing and balance. Hearing occurs in the outer and middle ear, whereas our balance is a function of the inner ear. The ear’s first role was always known, but not so for the second role, balance. How was it established so early on that the ear should be called an ozen , a name that indicates its role in balance, izun ? Why wasn’t it called something that hints to the capacity to hear, rather than balance? AURICULOTHERAPY The Discovery of Dr. Paul Nogier (1908-1996) Dr. Paul Nogier, recognized worldwide as the “father of Auriculotherapy,” was a medical research scientist. He practiced acupuncture, psychotherapy, homeopathy, and manipulative medicine. In 1951, his expertise in these techniques led to his discovery of Auricular therapy. 70 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE