Ear seeds. Heard of them? No? Well, we guarantee you've seen them on your socials because people are low-key obsessed with them.

Not only do they look really cool (more like fancy jewellery than a wellbeing treatment), but these tiny little metal ear seeds have been attributed to easing everything from pain to anxiety, fatigue and stress.

And did we mention how ~pretty~ they look?

So, what actually are they? What do they do? How do you stick 'em on?

All very valid questions, friend.

To find out more about ear seeds and if they're something we should all be using, we spoke to Elle Halliwell, author, journalist and founder of Auricle Ears Seeds.

Watch: Elle Halliwell on facing life and death on the same weekend. Post continues below.

So, here's absolutely everything you need to know about ear seeds before trying them.

What exactly are ear seeds?

In short, ear seeds are like little metal (sometimes gold-plated) pellets that adhere to the ear for therapeutic benefits - and they're completely non-invasive.

"Ear seeds are a form of auriculotherapy acupressure - so there are no needles involved," said Halliwell. When applied to specific points in and around your ear, the seeds provide a continuous gentle pressure that "helps stimulate nerves".

It may surprise you to know that the use of ear seeds for acupressure is not a new obsession – it's actually something that's been around for yonks, originating from Chinese medicine.

"Traditionally, they were made by the vaccaria flower seed and that would be covered by a piece of bandaid tape or some kind of adhesive. So, they were pretty ugly back in the day," said Halliwell. "But they had the same effect - the modern version is the same size as the traditional seeds and they kind of just apply this gentle pressure on your ears."

So, what do they actually ~do~?

"The traditional philosophy is that it opens up your meridians and helps promote the flow of qi (energy) throughout the body," explains Halliwell.

Listen: Did you know ear seeds could also help give you clearer skin? Yep, REALLY. Listen to this episode of You Beauty, where Shazzy explains everything. Post continues below.

"From a more modern scientific point of view, our ears are so highly innovative. They're connected with so many nerves. For example, our vagus nerve controls our rest-and-digest through the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)."

If the above kinda went over your head (our ears control our digestion??), basically our ears are connected to a nerve called the parasympathetic branch, which calms the body. This is the opposite of the sympathetic branch - which stresses us to s**t.

"What I've found is that it can interrupt those signals that cause shoulder pain and neck pain," said Halliwell.

"When I'm treating clients, for a lot of people the relief will be almost instant - that's how quickly they can work. So, it's a really interesting form of pain relief."

What are the benefits of ear seeds?

Good question. Important question.

Ear seeds boast a whole heap of different benefits, but some of the most common are things like migraines, back pain, arthritic pain, stress and anxiety - which is something Halliwell said she experienced on the reg, before turning to ear seeds.

"That's a really big one that I've seen personally," she said. "I started using them myself for that reason [stress and anxiety]. They basically tone down the adrenals and get you back into that parasympathetic stage."

"Ear seeds can also be used for so many other different things - from fertility to weight management and insomnia. Even libido," said Halliwell.

As someone who suffers from migraines, Jessica Staveley fromMamamiaused ear seeds to help ease the pain.

"I've had them a few times during days-long migraine attacks and they definitely alleviate the pain/pressure [for me]," she said.

"They don't completely get rid of the migraine obviously, but it helps a lot. And then throughout the day, you can continue to lightly press on the ear seeds to hit those pressure points!"