Earbuds to enlarge your stomach

Published April 27, 2020

It’s called a “transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulator” because no one bothered to pay the marketing department. Put in the ear, it delivers pulses of electrical current (painless!) to the vagus nerve, which runs down to the gut, and (researcher say), helped people with indigestion — i.e., helped their stomachs’ “ability to accommodate and process a meal.” How does it work? “taVNS helped participants’ stomachs expand to accommodate the meal.” And: “In addition, the stomach emptied more quickly during the 80 minutes following the meal.” So … yay?