# Ear Stimulation Therapy Shows Promise for Severe High Blood Pressure

> A new non-invasive treatment reduced systolic blood pressure by approximately 12 mmHg in patients with severe uncontrolled hypertension, according to recent trial results.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-24T13:26:37.281005Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/ear-stimulation-therapy-shows-promise-for-severe-high-blood-pressure-ead5638b

A new non-invasive therapy stimulating nerves through the ear reduced systolic blood pressure by approximately 12 mmHg in patients with severe uncontrolled hypertension, according to results from the SCRATCH-HTN clinical trial published September 28, 2026 [1][5][19]. This therapy, known as transcutaneous autonomic neuromodulation (tAN), showed promise in a specific subgroup despite not meeting its primary endpoint for the overall study population [4][6][9].

For individuals whose high blood pressure remains uncontrolled despite medication, non-invasive treatments offer a potential new avenue for management [6][10]. The demonstrated safety and ease of use could make this approach an accessible option for patients needing further blood pressure reduction [6][7][10].

## What the Records Show

The SCRATCH-HTN trial, a phase 2a study, investigated the safety, acceptability, and efficacy of tAN [4][8][17]. While the overall study did not find a significant difference in blood pressure reduction between the active treatment and sham groups across all participants, a pre-specified subgroup analysis yielded different results [4][6][9]. This analysis focused on patients who started the trial with more severe hypertension, specifically those with a baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) greater than 160 mmHg [4][5][9][12][16]. In this group, tAN therapy led to an improvement of about 12 mmHg in blood pressure [5][19]. The tAN device was found to be safe and well-tolerated [9][11]. Patients reported the device was easy to use at home, and adherence rates were high [6][10][12]. No serious adverse device effects were reported [11].

## Trial Timeline

The detailed findings of the SCRATCH-HTN trial were published in the American Heart Association journal *Hypertension* on September 28, 2026 [1]. The study's protocol had been previously outlined in publications including medRxiv and *Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine*, with details appearing by December 15, 2025 [2][3].

## Potential Impact

These findings suggest that tAN could be a treatment option for patients with severe uncontrolled hypertension who struggle to lower their blood pressure through conventional means [6][11]. Researchers noted that the technique could warrant further investigation for this specific demographic [6][10].

## What We Could Not Confirm

Larger studies are required to confirm these results and to precisely identify which patient groups are most likely to benefit from tAN therapy [6][7][10][13]. Researchers have called for future trials specifically designed to establish the efficacy in these target populations [6][11].

## Evidence cited
1. Hypertension (American Heart Association) — https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/hyp
2. medRxiv — https://www.medrxiv.org/
3. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine — https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine
4. Noninvasive autonomic neuromodulation shows potential benefit in severe uncontrolled hypertension - NTK Institute (ntk-institute.org) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEY4bSMmU3nHPP9V6yrLp6ob8X0ZCT2gjeiiq2g7Sij9-SP02hVDeqOGIvmhlmf_gFYmg9KS6p7_YLNW8MCYqN5R32hn8mtkagzUCDonv5XvE5VG-hqXhdNglxl9vZ17CxKPRl7LMNPSzM0L5WgfPcJrIIwecUXJQAenNcGI8kJzZMRJD9CXM-LKRUxC1HPRuiI_6yqO0WDWtuaFB8TxdGg9BJaRw1wzJt-AqrU-SSDtU1nhfhh4oFKcAiaiHvg_R6ElZcgN6d9e1OBZWcwJyqJnbdV6LXMqFKJFaBK7ME9HbeVU35QVFurd0Q-ptJDBzKzzvOe4B6Tg5K7q7bY02Spo6Vtx_IUYw326NeBOq5Qbosd8TJ5WESIsTK3-ANEolrh4-l20AAO-NT_VxjjnvnhzOtP3HFDT8rpxhaKMjgC8ii0wF9Nl2Gi7lDeHClTCnqB6vYn
5. SCRATCH-HTN Dr Ajay Gupta (youtube.com) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQEo_7N_aw2ygle7ppS2WVd_SlQ8OV7TMtwQjNYbdhe4vZ4_I39HBvHJjX2X1_Po3HTxzMKkkL5tbV3f8huHHo0WAdD5_ks0KDqgPXxz_c2H7TitTrOBZJTmpDV-hK5GIc6PwhrU4UM=
6. Non-invasive neuromodulation device shown to be safe and acceptable for treating high blood pressure (eurekalert.org) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHGQ9GjWTbyJ6A3P5ujnZo3ysfhJaKK_8zedES70t-zizs8umFqg7OWPdUFPunXvB2DmglB3gSW43n7SZNP_PUwH8MfyoEC3OcVO-uB8F-9WCTtyI26NRqq55X08mO9gabXsCiGpOrHA_tgVw==
7. Ear Stimulation: A New Hope for Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure (scitechdaily.com) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQH3souujYZDGdNKMOnV1jPqZYUcF6ZEBdECcHAzfolOmTeWchYXc_rmOyyNpqDvp2iZhYEZfeya7329eqrhczXiiKA4yumWDNR9Mr9oS4bXWRwhAUS5i3k4Ocmxr66jx4Uldl8-lkphrbI3ykj9XbrFgccGsUPh0NyedbYzllMrCJ_oiYJXdrGQyKrIy2S5YGBWnraRPALHrRkdwUggy5iOx2e7hTCyW3sBhMLHw==
8. SCRATCH-HTN: Rationale and study design of the Sham-Controlled Randomised Trial Evaluating the Safety, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Autonomic Neuromodulation using Transcutaneous Vagal Sensory Stimulation in Uncontrolled Hypertensive Patients - PMC (nih.gov) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQG5ulSXWtf37Xj4I0iiuUor0JzR978kNqsV7u8_JCHg3Wovuh8wfZfS9pOsy_nBGbPqAENT_cXZosCAk1OIQ8jfP1PT9oMNk5AidrdI2t1gtCIeRRGetofnhjE6SWATNA3dVR_l3vNEGDbmrGBV
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10. Non-invasive neuromodulation device shown to be safe and acceptable for treating high blood pressure (qmul.ac.uk) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGwesKbD7d5XsAFKgCHD9I5pWcY7pJNgeZlUqtF1Ovl3SxAwmQYqrbnGyozibO-ViQdIKvYkNm8nRmimr1_jEctz9DpjBFNGEYPY4B4UoWNk8atGMRmidVpA53JtxQkcDWDRNbrQaG7PmwJjIGSXCshEBcyAlZh9oo_JBFs7uqlJyE9O7Y1eiDExBettuZv09Xz2L5gttpJTPSM6FAHLPoYdrfvZQGaWAWEwWX7PrusTPKpYQYVz17TSzmytD6dBGg3UtsrE5jBq6T1byql8M6-vOWRuXraQhOVnU1noPPLLyvnlAT
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13. Ear Stimulation: A New Hope for Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure (scitechdaily.com) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQH3souujYZDGdNKMOnV1jPqZYUcF6ZEBdECcHAzfolOmTeWchYXc_rmOyyNpqDvp2iZhYEZfeya7329eqrhczXiiKA4yumWDNR9Mr9oS4bXWRwhAUS5i3k4Ocmxr66jx4Uldl8-lkphrbI3ykj9XbrGgccGsUPh0NyedbYzllMrCJ_oiYJXdrGQyKrIy2S5YGBWnraRPALHrRkdwUggy5iOx2e3hTCyW3sBhMLHw==
14. Transcutaneous Autonomic Neuromodulation Is Safe But Did Not Reduce BP in Uncontrolled Hypertension: SCRATCH-HTN (cardiologynownews.org) — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQESStICotR1F_gwNSxy3JOgS1zUPLJpWC9ogQ4bMEXSHDkWUW3mh9fTRu694fqmhBD6YZr2T-3R0EzIhWuTGqTtu4ouEfGBWnraRPALHrRkdwUggy5iOx2e3hTCyW3sBhMLHw==
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16. Safety, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Noninvasive Transcutaneous-Autonomic Neuromodulation in Uncontrolled Hypertension | Hypertension (American Heart Association) — https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.126.27847
17. SCRATCH-HTN: Rationale and study design of the Sham-Controlled Randomised Trial Evaluating the Safety, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Autonomic Neuromodulation using Transcutaneous Vagal Sensory Stimulation in Uncontrolled Hypertensive Patients (Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine) — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1251918/full
18. Noninvasive autonomic neuromodulation shows potential benefit in severe uncontrolled hypertension - NTK Institute (ntk-institute.org) — https://ntk-institute.org/
19. SCRATCH-HTN Study with Dr. Ajay Gupta (youtube.com) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k51v81648k
20. Non-invasive neuromodulation device shown to be safe and acceptable for treating high blood pressure (eurekalert.org) — https://www.eurekalert.org/
21. Ear Stimulation: A New Hope for Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure (scitechdaily.com) — https://scitechdaily.com/
22. SCRATCH-HTN: Rationale and study design of the Sham-Controlled Randomised Trial Evaluating the Safety, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Autonomic Neuromodulation using Transcutaneous Vagal Sensory Stimulation in Uncontrolled Hypertensive Patients - PMC (nih.gov) — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10323942/
23. Transcutaneous Autonomic Neuromodulation Is Safe But Did Not Reduce BP in Uncontrolled Hypertension: SCRATCH-HTN (cardiologynownews.org) — https://cardiologynownews.org/
24. SCRATCH-HTN Trial Summary (hra.nhs.uk) — https://www.hra.nhs.uk/
25. Non-invasive neuromodulation device shown to be safe and acceptable for treating high blood pressure (qmul.ac.uk) — https://www.qmul.ac.uk/
26. The SCRATCH-HTN trial is registered on ... A prespecified subgroup ... Participants with baseline SBP ≥160 mm Hg experienced clinically meaningful reductions (uky.edu) — https://www.uky.edu/