Wangu (GB12): The Point Behind the Ear for a Stiff Upper Neck and Ringing Ears

Where Wangu Sits

This point sits behind the ear, in the soft dip behind and below the rounded bony bump you can feel there, at the top of the side of the neck.

The line this point belongs to starts at the outer corner of the eye. It comes down in front of the ear, climbs over the temple and then sweeps back in a wide loop around the ear, across the side of the head, before dropping to the back of the neck. This is its twelfth stop, the lowest point of that loop behind the ear. From here the line climbs again over the head, then runs down the side of the body: over the shoulder, along the ribs, past the hip and down the outer leg to the fourth toe. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Gallbladder channel.

The landmark is the bone itself. Put a fingertip behind your earlobe and you will feel a firm, rounded bump of bone pointing downward, about the size of the end of your thumb. That bump is part of the skull, and its old Chinese name is the same as this point's name. Follow it down to its lower tip, then slide back toward the spine and slightly down. Your finger drops off the bone into a soft dip. The international standard describes the point as in the depression behind and below that bump. The Vietnamese handbook adds that it lies close to the back edge of the long muscle that runs from behind the ear down to the breastbone.

Underneath, two neck muscles fasten to the bone here. The long muscle that turns the head and runs down to the breastbone attaches to the outer face of the bump; a broad strap muscle that holds the head up and tilts it back attaches right behind it. Both work all day to hold the weight of the head. The skin is served by the small nerve that climbs from the upper neck to the scalp behind the ear, a branch of the second and third neck roots. That is why tension in the upper neck often shows up as an ache that sits right behind the ear.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is the place where the head meets the neck at the side. When the head drifts forward, over a book, a screen or a steering wheel, the muscles that fasten here have to hold it back all day. In people in their sixties and seventies, years of that posture leave a band of tight, tender tissue along the base of the skull. This dip is one of the easiest places to feel it. You can reach it sitting at a table, with no need to twist.

In this tradition the point is a meeting place. The Gallbladder channel passes through it, and the Bladder channel, which runs down the back of the head and the spine, is said to join it here. That is why the old teachers used it both for the side of the head, the ear and the cheek, and for the back of the neck. It became a point for stiffness that will not let the head turn, and for the head-and-ear complaints that so often come with it.

The name comes from the bone. Wangu, the Completion Bone, was the old Chinese name for the bony bump behind the ear, the place where the skull seemed to finish. The point took the name of the bone it sits under. Its Vietnamese name, Hoàn Cốt, is the same word.

What the Old Texts Say About Wangu

The bone behind the ear appears in the Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text. In its fourteenth chapter, the one on measuring the bones, the distance between the two bumps behind the ears is given as nine units. It was one of the fixed measures used to size the head. The bone was trusted as a landmark long before the point beside it had its modern code, and that has kept the point's location steady.

The World Health Organization's 2008 standard for point locations places it in the depression behind and below the bump behind the ear. The description is short because the bone does the work.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for ringing in the ears, toothache, a swollen cheek, and numbness of the face. It tells you to bow the head slightly to find it, which opens the dip, and to look close to the back edge of the long neck muscle. That is the method on this page, with the chin tipped down a little rather than the head bent far forward.

Notice the pattern. The entries cluster around the ear, the teeth and the face on the same side, all near the point itself. The point was trusted for its neighbourhood. That reputation comes from long use rather than proof. It tells you that many hands, over many generations, came back to this dip when the side of the head and the upper neck felt bound.

Points That Work With Wangu

The first partner sits a little higher and further back, under the base of the skull. Follow the ridge of the skull back from this point toward the spine; halfway there, between the two strong neck muscles, is a deeper hollow. In this tradition it is commonly paired with this one for a stiff neck and an ache at the back of the head.

The second sits on the other side of the same bone, in the hollow behind the earlobe, between the bump and the back edge of the jaw. It is used with this one when the ear rings or the jaw aches, one point in front of the bone and one behind.

The third is on the wrist. Turn the palm up and find the crease at the wrist on the little-finger side, in the small dip beside the tendon there. It is used with this one when tightness in the neck comes with a restless mind before sleep.

How to Find and Press Wangu

Getting Into Position

Sit upright with both elbows resting on a table so your hands reach behind your ears without lifting your shoulders. Tip your chin slightly down; that opens the dip. Do not tip the head back. If your arms tire, lie on your side with your head on a pillow and work the upper side, then turn over.

How to Find It

Put your fingertip behind your earlobe and feel the rounded bump of bone. Trace it downward to its lower tip. Now slide your fingertip back toward the spine and a little down. It will drop off the bone into a soft dip at the top of the neck, often under the edge of the hair. That dip is the area.

Probe it with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps. Most of it will feel firm and ordinary. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. Some people feel a dull ache spread up behind the ear; that should settle the moment you lift off.

How to Press It

Keep the tip on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure upward and inward, under the edge of the skull, toward the opposite eye, not straight into the neck. Rest your other fingers on the back of the head to steady the hand. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide down the neck.

How Much Pressure

Moderate, less than you would use on a thigh. Sharp under the tool is right. The test is what happens when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments. If the pain stays after you lift, if it spreads, if you feel dizzy, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If your shoulders have crept up toward your ears or you are holding your breath, you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Work each side for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute; the upper neck is often tender at the start. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both sides, even when only one side is stiff. Once or twice a day is plenty. Longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

The middle of the day suits a neck that tightens after reading, screens or driving. Before bed is a good time too, as part of winding down, when a tight upper neck can make it harder to settle on the pillow. Do not press in the middle of the night. If a stiff neck or ringing ears wake you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening.

What This Won't Do

It will not undo the reasons the upper neck is stiff. With necks, the reasons are often wear in the small joints of the neck, a head that has drifted forward over years, a pillow that bends the neck, or long hours looking down. Ringing in the ears most often follows hearing loss. A point behind the ear cannot change those. Pressing works best alongside the plain things: a pillow that keeps the neck level, raising screens and books to eye height, gentle neck turns through the day, and a hearing check if the ears ring.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A sudden, severe headache, the worst you have ever had, needs emergency help. So does neck pain with a fever and a stiff neck that will not bend forward, or neck pain with weakness, numbness, slurred speech, double vision or trouble walking. A tender, red swelling over the bone behind the ear, especially with ear pain or discharge, needs to be seen promptly. Dizziness when you turn or tip your head, new hearing loss in one ear, and neck pain that worsens week on week all belong with a doctor.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, infected, inflamed or rashy, or over a swollen lump behind the ear. Leave the area alone after recent surgery on the ear, neck or spine, after a recent neck injury such as whiplash, or if the bone behind the ear is red and tender. Do not tip the head back or twist it hard while pressing. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, fragile bones or reduced feeling in the face or neck, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, and talk to your doctor first.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too if you feel dizzy, sick or light-headed. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions and the situations where pressing on yourself is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Wangu (GB12) pressure point? Wangu (GB12) sits behind the ear. Feel for the rounded bony bump behind the earlobe, follow it down to its lower tip, and slide back toward the spine. The point is in the soft dip behind and below that bump. Probe the dip until one spot stings. In English it is called the Completion Bone; in Vietnamese, Hoàn Cốt.

How is it different from the point right behind the earlobe? The point behind the earlobe sits in front of the bony bump, between it and the jaw. Wangu (GB12) sits behind the bump, on the neck side. The bone lies between the two. Many people work both, one after the other.

How long should I press Wangu? One to three minutes on each side. Keep the first sessions to about a minute, then add a little as the days go on, up to three. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both sides, even if only one side is stiff.

Can it help the ringing in my ears? In this tradition Wangu (GB12) is listed for ringing ears, and many people find the area tender when the upper neck is tight. We cannot promise it will quiet the sound. Ringing has many causes, and a hearing check is the place to start.

My neck stiffness wakes me. When should I press? Press in the daytime and again before bed, as part of winding down. Do not press in the middle of the night; it tends to wake you further. A pillow that keeps your neck level with your spine often helps more than anything done at night.

I feel dizzy when I tip my head back to press it. Is that normal? No. Stop. Do not tip your head back; keep your chin slightly down while you work. If tipping or turning your head makes you dizzy, tell your doctor before you continue.

Other Points in This Library

Each of these sits within reach of the same hand. They are often worked in the same sitting.

This page shares general information about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not replace what your doctor has given you. If you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or unsure whether this applies to you, check with your doctor first.

The whole inner edge of the foot, laid out on one page with photographs, is in The Foot Map — the free book. For every point in this library, see the full pressure point index.

(Point shown: GB12 · Wangu · Completion Bone · Hoàn Cốt.)