A US Air Force study, reported in the Daily Mail (8 December 2015), has found that ear acupuncture eased acute sore throat pain and reduced the need for pain medication.
The report says:
… Results showed that after 15 minutes, those who received acupuncture scored their pain much lower than the other group, with the benefits maintained even 24 hours later.
‘Auricular acupuncture’ is thought to inhibit the release of brain chemicals responsible for inflammation and pain.
Click to read the full report in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine