More than 37 million people suffer from migraines in the U.S. alone and impact roughly 13 percent of adults.

Some claim that the rates can be attributed to chemicals in today’s foods as well as every day products such as cleaning solutions and storage containers. Others believe the reason is the abundance of electronic use and ions emitted by devices that affect human bodies negatively. Perhaps the reason that so many suffer from migraines is a combination of different factors that comes with living a modern lifestyle which has taken humans further away from nature and put them out of balance. Whatever the reason, migraines are suffered by far too many people who seek answers for a condition that holds a dark cloud over their quality of life.

I know firsthand just how painful and frightening migraine symptoms can be. I was one of the suffering, bed-ridden many. My migraines were accompanied by vertigo that left me not knowing left from right. I had sudden attacks leaving me crawling around the house, hoping that the episode would pass soon. It often wouldn’t. I’d wake up some mornings with my head in a vortex of nausea. Doctor after doctor, diet change after diet change, and medication after medication, I thought I would just have to get used to my world spinning forever.

In an attempt to seek my own answers, I started reading online comments from people all over the world about daith piercings. The daith is the innermost cartilage fold on the middle of the ear, the crus of the helix. My quest for answers on countless social media posts and blogs discovered other migraine and vertigo sufferers firing away at their keyboards also searching for anything and everything that may bring their life some sense of normalcy. I read hundreds of comments from people in shock that these quick piercings had actually cured their chronic conditions.

“Yeah, right,” I thought. How could a piercing possibly help me? It couldn't be that simple. I thought about it some more and read more affirmations from people that claimed that piercing their daiths changed their lives and I concluded that there couldn’t be anything to lose in trying it. The woman in the tattoo and piercing shop looked at me excitedly and asked, “Which side do you get your migraines on, dear?” I looked at her as if she was joking. “Huh? Um… yes, everywhere, all over,” I said. So, we pierced both ears. It was not a piercing for the weak but I would soon find that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

It’s not clear why it works but for many it certainly does. Some think it’s because there are pressure points in the ear and the piercings constantly push on a pressure point that relieves migraines. Others claim the metal in the daith throws off the ions that are constantly being produced in the technology-filled atmosphere we live in that disturb the body’s natural ionic balance. All I know is that it’s been worth the pain and the tricky healing process. After tweaking my sleeping habits a bit to not put pressure on the piercings and using saltwater to clean them every day, they are healing nicely and I’m a few months migraine and vertigo free.

I’ve mentioned my experience to others and have heard from friends whose lives have also been changed drastically after only piercing their ears. I've also heard from many that the trick is to pierce both sides. Amanda Stockwell raves, “I just got mine done about a month ago and same for me. I love it!” If I had known that piercing my ears would’ve taken away the emergency room visits, the times away from my family, the stress, worry, and the fear of having this disorder for the rest of my life, I would’ve done it years ago. There’s so much about the human body that modern science still can’t explain. I’m going to keep this experience in mind the next time that I think something seems too simple or too “unscientific” to be true.