Tinggong (SI19): The Point in Front of the Ear for Ringing, Ear Fullness and Jaw Ache

Where Tinggong Sits

This point sits right in front of the small flap of cartilage at the front of the ear, in a hollow that opens when you open your mouth.

The line it belongs to starts at the outer corner of the little fingernail. It runs along the outer edge of the hand and the back of the forearm, round the elbow and up the back of the arm to the shoulder blade. From there it climbs the side of the neck to the cheek and ends here, in front of the ear. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Small Intestine channel. This is its nineteenth and last stop. Two other lines that circle the ear, the Triple Energizer and the Gallbladder channels, meet it here.

The old texts place it in the hollow in front of the ear flap, behind the head of the lower jaw, found with the mouth open. The World Health Organization's 2008 standard puts it more exactly: in front of the middle of that flap, in the dip between its front edge and the back edge of the head of the jaw. That small flap is the tragus, the bit of cartilage you press when you want to close your ear. The head of the jaw is the rounded knob you feel move in front of the ear when you chew.

Underneath, the point lies right behind the jaw joint, at the front of the ear canal. The skin here is served by a branch of the trigeminal nerve, the large nerve of feeling for the face, which also brings feeling to the front of the ear. An artery climbs in front of the ear toward the temple, and you can often feel its pulse a little forward and up from the point. Branches of the facial nerve, which moves the muscles of the face, cross the area, and the salivary gland in front of the ear lies below and in front. All of this sits close under the skin, which is why this point needs a gentle touch.

Why This Spot

On the anatomical side, this is the meeting place of the ear and the jaw. The jaw joint sits right in front of the ear canal, separated from it by a thin wall of tissue. That is why jaw tension, clenching and grinding so often show up as an ache in front of the ear, a full feeling in the ear, or a change in ringing when the jaw moves. Many people with ringing notice it gets louder when they clench or push the jaw forward. Gentle work here meets the ear and the jaw at the same spot.

In this tradition the name says it plainly: the Palace of Hearing. It is the point closest to the ear on any of the lines that pass it, and the meeting place of three channels that circle the ear. Teachers describe it as the place where the flow to the ear gathers, and they reach for it first when the ear is blocked, full or ringing. The Small Intestine channel ends here after climbing from the little finger, so the point is also used for aches that run from the neck and the shoulder blade up to the side of the face.

What the Old Texts Say About Tinggong

The Lingshu, the Spiritual Pivot, a Han-dynasty text, names the palace of hearing in a chapter that describes a method for rousing dull hearing. It is a short passage, done at midday, and it says that when the right place is reached, a sound answers in the ear. Whatever one makes of the method, it shows how long this spot has been linked with the ear.

The Vietnamese handbook of points and channels by Ngo Trung Trieu, published by Hong Duc, lists it for ringing in the ears, deafness, and inflammation of the middle and outer ear. The list could hardly be more focused. Every entry is about the ear the point sits beside.

The handbook's finding method matches the old one. Take the point at the middle of the base of the ear flap, behind the head of the lower jaw, and have the person open the mouth so the hollow shows clearly. It adds a practical note: press the point and a sound can be heard in the ear. That is the method used on this page, and many people do notice a soft crackle or rumble.

In the wider tradition, this point is the first one teachers think of for the ear: ringing, a blocked feeling, hearing that seems dull. That reputation comes from long use rather than from proof. It tells you the point has been trusted for a long time for a set of problems that become common after sixty, and for which there are few simple answers.

Points That Work With Tinggong

The first partner is behind the earlobe. Fold the earlobe back against the head; the point is in the hollow where its tip lands, between the bone behind the ear and the back of the jaw. It is commonly paired with this one for ringing and a full feeling in the ear, one in front and one behind.

The second is right below this one. Slide your fingertip down from this point to the small notch below the ear flap, and with the mouth open, feel the hollow in front of that notch. It is used together with this one, the two often worked as a pair along the front of the ear.

The third is on the back of the hand. Make a loose fist and find the knuckles of the ring finger and little finger. The point is in the dip between those two bones, right behind the knuckles. In this tradition it is the distant point for the ear, and it is used with this one when ringing comes with tight neck and shoulders.

How to Find and Press Tinggong

Getting Into Position

Sit upright in a chair with your elbows resting on a table, so your arms do not tire and your head stays level. Let the shoulders drop. Keep the mouth half open and the jaw loose. If you wear hearing aids, take them out first.

How to Find It

Put a fingertip on the small flap of cartilage in front of the ear hole, at its middle. Slide the fingertip forward, off the flap, by a few millimetres. With the mouth closed you will feel a firm, rounded bone there, the head of the jaw. Now open your mouth halfway. The bone slides forward and away, and a soft hollow opens under your finger between it and the ear flap. The area is that hollow.

Now probe it gently with a rounded-tip pressing tool, or the tip of your thumb with the nail cut short. Move slowly in small steps within the hollow, up and down a little along the flap. Most of it will feel soft. One spot will sting: a small, sharp, pinpoint tenderness. That spot is the point. If you feel a pulse beating under the tip, you have drifted forward onto the artery; move back toward the ear flap. Do not press into the ear hole itself.

How to Press It

Keep the mouth slightly open and keep the tip of the tool or thumb on the stinging spot. Rub in small circles, about the size of a fingernail, roughly one each second. Aim the pressure straight in toward the centre of the head, not backward into the ear canal. You can work one side at a time, or both sides together with the two thumbs. Keep the tip on the same spot; do not let it slide forward onto the jaw.

How Much Pressure

Gentle. This is one of the lightest points on the body. Sharp under the tool is right, and a soft crackle in the ear is common. The test comes when you lift off: the sting should fade within moments, and the ear should feel the same or easier. If the pain stays after you lift the tool, spreads into the ear, if the ringing grows louder and stays louder, or if you feel dizzy, stop and leave it for several days. If you are clenching your teeth or holding your breath, you are pressing too hard. Ease off until you can breathe slowly.

How Long

Work each side for one to three minutes. In the first sessions keep to about one minute. As the days go on, add a little time, up to three minutes. Do both sides, even when the ringing is in one ear only. Once or twice a day is plenty. Pressing longer does not add benefit; it mostly adds soreness.

When to Do It

Late afternoon suits a jaw and ear that grow tight after a long day of talking, chewing or concentrating. Evening, before bed, suits ringing, which often seems loudest when the house goes quiet; press, then settle with soft background sound such as a fan or quiet music. Do not press in the middle of the night. If ringing wakes 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 restore hearing, stop ringing in the ears, or clear an infection. Lasting ringing usually goes with hearing loss from age or noise, and sometimes with wax, jaw tension, or medicines. A blocked feeling can come from wax, fluid behind the eardrum, or a cold. The right help may be a hearing test, wax removal, a hearing aid, a change of medicine, or a sound program from an audiologist. A point in front of your ear cannot out-argue any of that. Pressing is best used as a calm, gentle habit alongside that help, not in place of it.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A sudden loss of hearing in one ear, with or without ringing, needs a doctor within a day or two, because early care matters. Ringing in one ear only, ringing that beats in time with your pulse, or ringing with spinning dizziness, needs to be checked. Ear pain with fever, discharge or swelling behind the ear needs prompt care. Sudden weakness or drooping of one side of the face, or trouble speaking, is an emergency.

Safety First

Do not press over skin that is broken, burned, infected, badly bruised or rashy, or on an ear that is painful, swollen or discharging. Do not press into the ear hole, and do not press on the pulse in front of the ear. Leave the area alone with a recent fracture of the face or jaw, after ear surgery until your surgeon says it is fine, or with unexplained swelling in front of the ear. If you take blood thinners, bruise easily, or have a bleeding disorder, use lighter pressure, keep sessions short, and talk to your doctor first.

Stop at once if the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, if the area becomes swollen, hot or red, or if you feel dizzy. 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 Tinggong (SI19) pressure point? Tinggong (SI19) sits right in front of the small flap of cartilage at the front of the ear. Put a fingertip on the middle of that flap, slide forward, and open your mouth; a hollow opens there between the flap and the jaw joint. In English it is called the Palace of Hearing; in Vietnamese, Thính Cung.

How long should I press Tinggong? 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 the ringing is in one ear.

Will pressing it stop my tinnitus? No one can promise that, and this page does not. In this tradition the point is commonly used for ringing ears and a full, blocked feeling, and some people find the ringing feels less intrusive after a calm session. Lasting ringing needs a hearing check; the right help may be wax removal, a hearing aid, or a sound program from an audiologist.

Why do I need to open my mouth? With the mouth closed, the head of the lower jaw sits right in front of the ear flap and covers the hollow. When you open your mouth, the jaw slides forward and the hollow opens. Keep the mouth slightly open while you press, so the tip stays in the soft dip, not on the bone.

I hear a sound in my ear when I press. Is that normal? Yes, often. The Vietnamese handbook notes that pressing here can make a sound in the ear, a soft crackle or rumble. It comes from the movement of the soft tissue and the jaw so close to the ear canal. It should stop when you lift off. Ringing that gets louder and stays louder after pressing is a sign to stop.

Can I press it for an earache? Not for a painful ear. Ear pain with fever, discharge, swelling or a recent cold needs a doctor or pharmacist, not pressure. An ache in front of the ear that comes from a tired jaw, after chewing or clenching, is different; gentle pressure here, along with rest for the jaw, is fine.

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: SI19 · Tinggong · Palace of Hearing · Thính Cung.)