A daith piercing is an

ear piercing Earrings are jewelry that can be worn on one's ears. Earrings are commonly worn in a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or by some other means, such as stickers or clip-ons. Earrings have been worn across multiple ci ...

that passes through the ear's innermost cartilage fold, the crus of the helix. The piercing is usually performed with a straight hollow needle.

Captive bead ring A captive bead ring (CBR), ball closure ring (BCR), captive hoop, or captive ball ring is a common example of body piercing jewelry. The captive bead or ball fits into a small opening in the circle of the ring. The bead is slightly larger than thi ...

s are the most common

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

type used. It can take from six to nine months for a daith piercing to heal.

History

A client of Erik Dakota, who is said to have been studying Hebrew in college, first named this piercing "da'at", meaning "

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

" ( ). Her reasoning was that the piercer must have been very "smart" to figure out how to do the piercing. This piercing was first brought into the public eye in the early 1990s in

Fakir Musafar Roland Loomis (August 10, 1930 – August 1, 2018), known professionally as Fakir Musafar, was an American performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movement. Life Born Roland Loomis, he claimed at age 4 ...

's ''

Body Play ''Body Play and Modern Primitives Quarterly'' was a magazine founded in 1992 and published by Fakir Musafar. It contained information, commentary and interviews pertaining to advanced topics in body modification such as human branding, suspension ( ...

'', in the same issue that also showcased the Industrial Piercing, the Apadydoe, and a large gauge conch piercing.

noted: "The Daith piercing was co-created in 1992 by Erik Dakota and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

woman piercing client with a

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

bent. ... A true Daith must be done in such a way that the bottom part of the ring appears to come directly out of the

ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the auricle to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. S ...

. If one can see both the entrance and exit hole of the ring, it is not a true Daith. The technique for this piercing is quite advanced, requires a specifically curved needle and was devised by Erik Dakota."

Medical claims

The area in which the piercing is placed within the ear is said to stimulate a pressure point associated with the vagus nerve. It has been claimed that the piercing can cure chronic migraines and tension headaches by activating vagal afferents (sensory nerve fibers that carry information from internal organs to the nervous system). However, a review of 186 non-clinical studies found that while patients reported lower pain after receiving the piercing, symptoms returned in the following weeks or months. The authors concluded that current evidence does not support daith piercing for treatment of migraines or tension headaches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daith Piercing 1992 introductions Acupuncture Ear piercing