Vagus nerve stimulators
Early signs; no study of this device.
Hoolest sells VeRelief Prime, a hand-held device it says delivers high-dose vagus nerve stimulation and calms you “in as little as 30 seconds”, which its ad says clinical testing backs. Short answer: small sham-controlled studies of other devices, at the ear or the neck, found signs of a calmer stress response, but none measured calm as its one main outcome. We found no study of VeRelief, and the figures on Hoolest’s site are not published where we could check them.
How the evidence flows
Each claim (middle), the studies that tested it (left) — green found it, red found nothing — and the grade they add up to (right). Drawn from the same records as the grades below. Tap to open full size.
Vagus nerve stimulators (VeRelief) · evidence checked 2026-10-27
What the research shows
Grades are calculated from the studies listed, by fixed rules.
- Stimulating the vagus nerve through the skin calms acute stressEarly evidence
Small sham-controlled studies found signs of a calmer stress response — a lower stress-linked hormone with neck stimulation, and less self-reported stress with ear stimulation. Neither measured calm as its one main outcome, and neither tested VeRelief, so this is early evidence.
- VeRelief Prime is “clinically proven” to bring calm in as little as 30 secondsNo real evidence
The ad said “Clinically proven calm in as little as 30 seconds / No app, no Bluetooth / Lifetime warranty on your device”
Hoolest (VeRelief Prime) · Facebook ad, seen Oct 2026
We found no study of VeRelief or Hoolest on PubMed. The figures on its own site (such as anxiety falling “2x more than placebo”, and a case study of first responders) are not published where we could check them. The doctor in the ad is not named.