Tinghui (GB2): The Point in Front of the Ear for Ringing Ears and a Tight Jaw

Where Tinghui Sits

This point sits in front of the ear, at the level of the small notch between the flap that covers the ear opening and the earlobe. It lies in the soft dip behind the back edge of the jaw joint, a dip that opens when you open your mouth.

The line this point belongs to starts at the outer corner of the eye. Its second stop is here, in front of the ear. From there it climbs over the temple, loops around behind the ear, crosses the side and back of the head, and then runs down the side of the body: over the top of the shoulder, along the side of the ribs, past the hip and down the outer leg to the fourth toe. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Gallbladder channel. Of all its stops, this one sits closest to the ear opening.

The landmark is the ear itself. Look at the ear in a mirror. In front of the ear opening is a small, firm flap of cartilage you can press shut over the opening. Below that flap is a little notch, and below the notch hangs the earlobe. The point is level with that notch, about a fingertip's width in front of the ear. Directly in front of it is the jaw joint, where the lower jaw hinges against the skull. When you open your mouth, the rounded top of the jawbone glides forward, and the hollow it leaves behind is where you press.

Underneath the skin lies the upper edge of the large salivary gland that wraps around the angle of the jaw. A small artery runs upward in front of the ear here; you can often feel its pulse a little above the point. A sensory nerve from the jaw branch of the face's main nerve climbs alongside that artery and serves the skin in front of the ear and over the temple. The nerve that moves the muscles of the face passes deeper and lower, inside the gland. That is why gentle pressure is the right pressure here: the area is busy, and none of it needs force.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is one of the few places where you can feel the jaw joint move under your finger. Many people in their sixties and seventies have a jaw that clicks, aches or feels tight, especially those who clench or grind their teeth at night, or who have had dental work that changed the bite. The muscles that close the jaw pull hard across this area. The skin and tissue in front of the ear are often tender in people who carry tension in the face, and the spot is easy to reach while sitting at a table.

In this tradition, three points sit in a short column in front of the ear, and all three are used for the ear and for the jaw. This is the lowest of them. The channel it belongs to is described as entering the ear from behind and coming out in front of it, so the old teachers saw this hollow as a doorway to the ear. That is the reason it is listed, generation after generation, for ringing, a muffled ear and a feeling of fullness or pressure inside it.

The name says the same thing. Ting means hearing; hui means a meeting or gathering. The Meeting of Hearing is the place where, in this tradition, the flow around the ear is said to gather. Its Vietnamese name, Thính Hội, carries the same two ideas.

What the Old Texts Say About Tinghui

The oldest description of the channel's path comes from the Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text. In its tenth chapter, which traces each channel from end to end, the Gallbladder channel is described as passing behind the ear, entering the ear, and coming out in front of it. That short phrase is the root of this point's long reputation. If a channel runs through the ear, the old teachers reasoned, a point at its exit in front of the ear should be a natural place to work for ear complaints.

The World Health Organization's 2008 standard for point locations places it in front of the notch above the earlobe, directly behind the back edge of the jawbone's upper knob, in a depression. That matches the older descriptions closely. The point has not drifted much through centuries of copying, because the ear and the jaw joint make such clear landmarks.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for ringing in the ears, loss of hearing, and inflammation of the middle ear, along with problems affecting the muscles of the face. It gives a practical way to find it: in front of and below the small flap over the ear opening, level with the notch at its lower edge, in a hollow that appears when the mouth is opened. That is the method used on this page.

Notice what the old lists share. Nearly every entry is about the ear or the face around it. The point was trusted for what lies close to it. That reputation comes from long use rather than proof, and it is worth holding in that spirit: a respected local point, not a switch that turns off a sound.

Points That Work With Tinghui

The first partner sits behind the earlobe. Fold the lobe forward and feel the small hollow right behind it, between the bony bump behind the ear and the back edge of the jaw. In this tradition it is commonly paired with this one for ringing and fullness in the ear, one point in front of the ear and one behind it.

The second sits a little higher on the same column, in front of the small flap of cartilage over the ear opening. Open your mouth and it, too, sinks into a dip. Many people work the two together, sliding the tool up from one to the other.

The third is on the hand. Make a loose fist and find the back of the hand between the knuckles of the ring finger and little finger, then slide down toward the wrist into the groove between the two bones. It is used with this one for the ear, and it is handy when the area in front of the ear is too tender to work for long.

How to Find and Press Tinghui

Getting Into Position

Sit upright at a table with both elbows resting on it, so your hands come up to your face without lifting your shoulders. Keep your head level, not tilted. Let your jaw hang loose. If your arms tire, work one side at a time and rest your elbow on a cushion.

How to Find It

Touch the small flap in front of your ear opening, then slide your fingertip down to the notch below it, above the earlobe. Move forward from the notch about a fingertip's width. Now open your mouth slowly, as wide as is comfortable. You will feel the bone in front of your finger slide forward and a soft dip open under your fingertip. That dip is the area.

Keep the mouth open and probe the dip with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps. Most of the dip will feel soft and ordinary. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel a strong pulse under the tip, move a little lower and toward the ear; the pulse belongs to the small artery above.

How to Press It

Keep the mouth open and relaxed. Rest the tip of the tool or thumb on the stinging spot and rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure straight in, slightly toward the back of the head, not forward into the joint. Do not push into the ear opening. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide.

How Much Pressure

Light to moderate. The face does not need the force a leg might. 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 into the ear or the teeth, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red, stop and leave it for several days. If you are holding your breath, or your shoulders have crept up toward your ears, you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Work each side for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute, because this area 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 ear rings. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly leaves the jaw sore.

When to Do It

Before bed is the natural time, as part of winding down, when ringing tends to seem louder in a quiet room. The middle of the day suits a jaw that tightens with chewing or concentration. Do not press in the middle of the night. If ringing or a tight jaw wakes you, pressing then tends to wake you further. Keep the pressing for the day and the evening, and mention night waking to your doctor.

What This Won't Do

It will not restore lost hearing, and it will not reliably silence ringing in the ears. Ringing is most often linked to hearing loss that comes with age or with years of noise. It can also come from wax, from an ear infection, from certain medicines, from a stiff neck or from a jaw that is clenched every night. A point in front of the ear cannot change any of that. Pressing is a gentle, low-cost thing to do alongside the plain steps that help most: a hearing test, hearing aids if you need them, a quiet background sound at night, and a word with your dentist if you grind your teeth.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. Hearing that drops suddenly in one ear, over hours or a day or two, needs to be seen urgently, because early care matters. Ringing in only one ear that does not go away, ringing that beats in time with your pulse, an ear that hurts or leaks fluid, or ringing with dizziness or a spinning feeling all belong with a doctor. So does a jaw that locks open or shut, or pain in front of the ear with a fever or swelling of the face. Ringing that comes with weakness or drooping on one side of the face needs emergency help, not pressing.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, infected, inflamed or rashy, or over a swelling in front of the ear. Leave the area alone if the ear is painful, hot or discharging, after recent surgery on the ear or jaw, or within days of dental work that left the jaw sore. Do not push into the ear opening. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder or reduced feeling in the face, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, and talk to your doctor first.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads into the ear or teeth, or if the area becomes swollen, hot or red. Stop too if the jaw clicks painfully or locks. 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 Tinghui (GB2) pressure point? Tinghui (GB2) sits in front of the ear, level with the small notch above the earlobe. Put a fingertip there and open your mouth wide; the spot sinks into a soft dip behind the back edge of the jaw joint. Probe that dip until one spot stings. In English it is called the Meeting of Hearing; in Vietnamese, Thính Hội.

Why do I need to open my mouth? When the mouth opens, the rounded top of the jawbone slides forward out of the joint, and the space behind it becomes a dip you can feel. With the mouth closed, the bone fills that space and the point is hard to reach. Keep the mouth open, relaxed, while you press.

Will Tinghui stop the ringing in my ears? We cannot promise that. In this tradition Tinghui (GB2) is commonly used for ringing and fullness in the ear, and many people find the area tender and like the way it feels to work it. Ringing has many causes, from hearing loss to medicines to ear wax, and a hearing check is the place to start.

How long should I press it? One to three minutes on each side. Keep the first sessions to about a minute, because the area in front of the ear can be sensitive, and add a little time as the days go on. Once or twice a day is enough. Work both sides, even if only one ear rings.

Is this the same as the point for jaw pain in front of the ear? It is one of three points stacked in a short column in front of the ear. The top one sits in front of the upper ear, the middle one in front of the small flap over the ear opening, and this one is the lowest, level with the notch. All three open up when the mouth opens.

Ringing wakes me at night. Can I press it then? No. Press in the daytime and again before bed, as part of winding down. Pressing in the middle of the night tends to wake you further. If ringing keeps waking you, mention it to your doctor; a quiet sound in the room, such as a fan, helps many people more than anything done at 3 a.m.

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: GB2 · Tinghui · Meeting of Hearing · Thính Hội.)