AdWorld Businesses for Sale
Visit World Businesses for Sale
Thinking of selling your business? Buy or sell a business locally, nationally or worldwide. 10% off with code AWN10.
Can an ear clip lower blood pressure? Safe and easy to use, but no better than a sham overall (SCRATCH-HTN)
The full story behind my Short: In Queen Mary University of London's SCRATCH-HTN trial, 63 people with uncontrolled high blood pressure used a home ear-nerve stimulator. It was safe and easy to use but did not lower blood pressure more than a sham device overall; a possible benefit in more severe hypertension needs larger trials.
The short version
Could clipping a small device to your ear lower blood pressure? Queen Mary University of London's SCRATCH-HTN trial tested it. About 40% of people treated for high blood pressure still don't reach their targets. The trial gave 63 such patients, all already on medication, a home device whose two clips sit on the tragus (the flap in front of each ear canal) and deliver gentle electrical pulses to nerves there (transcutaneous autonomic neuromodulation). They used it 30 minutes a day for two weeks, then once a week for ten weeks, alongside their usual medication; about a third got an identical sham device. It was safe, easy to use and people stuck with it. But overall it did NOT lower blood pressure more than the sham: both groups' blood pressure fell, and the difference was not significant. In a planned subgroup, people who started with more severe hypertension (systolic 160 or above) saw a bigger drop with the real device, but the researchers say that needs confirming in much larger trials. This is not medical advice: don't change your treatment based on it (Gupta et al., Hypertension, 2026).
63adults with uncontrolled hypertension on at least one drug; 41 active, 22 sham [2][3]
Not significantdifference vs sham at 3 months: daytime systolic fell 3.15 mmHg (active) vs 5.50 mmHg (sham) [3]
≥160baseline systolic: a planned subgroup saw 12.7 mmHg more reduction with active vs sham, an exploratory finding [3]
100%median adherence in both groups; no serious adverse events attributed to the device [3]
What they found
Around 40% of people treated for high blood pressure don't reach their targets [1][3]. SCRATCH-HTN, led by Dr Ajay Gupta at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health and funded by the NIHR, was a double-blind, sham-controlled phase 2a trial of transcutaneous autonomic neuromodulation (tAN): gentle electrical stimulation delivered through two clips on the tragus, the small piece of cartilage at the front of each ear, from a handheld device (AffeX-CT, Afferent Medical Solutions) [2][3][4].
Sixty-three adults (average age 47; average daytime blood pressure 150/95 mmHg) whose blood pressure was uncontrolled despite medication were randomised 2:1 to the active device (41) or an identical sham device (22). They used it at home for 30 minutes a day for 14 days, then once a week for 10 more weeks, without changing their medication [3][4].
At three months, daytime ambulatory systolic blood pressure fell by 3.15 mmHg with the active device and 5.50 mmHg with the sham, a difference that was not statistically significant; other blood pressure measures, heart rate and quality of life also did not differ [3]. In a prespecified subgroup with a starting systolic pressure of 160 mmHg or more, the active device lowered systolic pressure by 12.73 mmHg more than the sham; the authors call this hypothesis-generating. In people starting below 160, the active device showed no benefit over the sham [3]. The device was safe, adherence was high, and patients found it easy to use [2][3].
Watch the Short
AI voice note: the narration in this Short is my own voice, cloned with AI.
About this page
This is a small early-phase (phase 2a) trial. Its main result was negative: no significant difference from the sham device at three months, partly because blood pressure fell a lot in the sham group. The bigger drop in people starting at a systolic pressure of 160 mmHg or above came from a planned subgroup analysis that the researchers describe as hypothesis-generating; it needs larger trials. Blinding was imperfect (many participants guessed their group). This page is not medical advice; don't change your medication without talking to your doctor. The trial was published on 28 September 2026; ScienceDaily reported it on 24 October 2026. All photos are illustrative, from Wikimedia Commons (credited below).
Why it matters
- A drug-free idea. A safe, easy home device could help some people if it is proven to work [2].
- Not proven. Overall, it did not beat the sham. The subgroup result is exploratory, and the trial was small [3].
- No change to care. The trial summary says the results mean no immediate change to current treatment; keep following your doctor's advice [4].
Full narration (transcript)
Could clipping a small device to your ear lower blood pressure? A new trial tested exactly that. About 40 percent of people on blood pressure medication still don't reach their targets. Queen Mary University of London's SCRATCH trial gave 63 of these patients a home device. Two small clips on the flap in front of each ear canal send gentle pulses to nerves there. Half an hour a day for two weeks, then once a week for ten weeks, alongside their usual pills. A third got a sham device that gave no real stimulation. It was safe and easy to use, and people stuck with it. But here's where it gets interesting. Overall, it did not lower blood pressure more than the sham. In a planned subgroup, people with more severe high blood pressure did see a bigger drop. That still needs confirming. The researchers say much larger trials are needed. This isn't medical advice, so don't change your treatment based on it. Follow the link to the main website for much deeper information.
Sources
- [1] Queen Mary University of London (2026). “Could lowering high blood pressure be as simple as stimulating your ear?” ScienceDaily, 24 October 2026. sciencedaily.com
- [2] Queen Mary University of London, William Harvey Research Institute (2026). “Non-invasive nerve stimulation shows potential for treating uncontrolled high blood pressure.” qmul.ac.uk
- [3] Gupta, A., Collier, D., Steckelmacher, J., Field, J., Collett, G., Zongo, O., Patel, M., Saxena, M., Learoyd, A., Ahluwalia, A. & Sever, P., on behalf of the SCRATCH Trial Investigators (2026). “Safety, Acceptability and Efficacy of Noninvasive Transcutaneous-Autonomic Neuromodulation in Uncontrolled Hypertension.” Hypertension. DOI 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.126.27847. ahajournals.org
- [4] Health Research Authority. “SCRATCH HTN” research summary. hra.nhs.uk
Credits
Images via Wikimedia Commons (illustrative): Closeup of a human ear.jpg (צולם על ידי he:משתמש:אנדר-ויק, Public domain); Queen Mary University of London in 2025.01.jpg (CAPTAIN RAJU, CC0); Tragus sideview.jpg (Sarah Naegels from ottawa, canada, CC BY 2.0); Blood pressure measurement (1).jpg (Víctor Santa María from Buenos Aires, Argentina, CC BY 2.0). Sketches and animation: my own. Narration: AI clone of Nasper Mushonga's own voice (Chatterbox TTS by Resemble AI, MIT licence), used with his consent.