Yifeng (TE17): The Point Behind the Earlobe for Ringing Ears and Jaw Ache

Where Yifeng Sits

The point sits behind the earlobe, in a small soft hollow. On one side of the hollow is the bony bump behind the ear (the mastoid process). On the other is the back edge of the lower jaw, which you can feel move when you open and close your mouth. To place it, fold your earlobe back flat against the side of your head. Where the tip of the lobe lands is the area.

This is the seventeenth stop on one of the longest lines on the traditional map. It begins at the outer corner of the ring fingernail, runs up the back of the hand, the forearm and the upper arm, and crosses the shoulder and the side of the neck. It then circles behind the ear and ends at the outer end of the eyebrow. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Triple Energizer channel. This point is where the line reaches the ear.

The World Health Organization's location manual describes it in modern terms. It lies behind the earlobe, in the dip in front of the lower tip of the bony bump behind the ear. The front edge of the long neck muscle that runs from behind the ear down to the breastbone lies close behind it. You feel that muscle as a cord when you turn your head to the other side.

This is a busy small space, and it is worth knowing what lies under it. Deep in the hollow, the nerve that moves the muscles of the face leaves the skull through a small opening and runs forward. Next to it is a thin spur of bone pointing down from the skull. In front of the hollow sits the salivary gland that lies in front of the ear. The skin is served by a nerve from the upper part of the neck (the great auricular nerve, from the second and third nerve roots of the neck). Small vessels that serve the back of the ear pass nearby. Lower down and further forward, in the front of the neck, run the large vessels. That is why the pressure here goes straight in toward the centre of the head, never down into the neck.

Why This Spot

The anatomy explains why it feels the way it does. The point sits where the ear, the jaw joint and the upper neck meet. Several small nerves cross the area, and the hollow lies over the place where the facial nerve leaves the skull. That makes it tender in almost everyone, and very tender when the jaw is tight, the neck is stiff or the ear feels blocked. It is a place you will always feel.

It is also a meeting point of strain. The jaw joint sits right in front of the ear, and the muscles of the upper neck attach to the bony bump behind it. A jaw that clenches and a neck held forward both pull on the tissues around this hollow. Many people who notice ringing or fullness in the ear also have a tight jaw or neck on the same side.

In this tradition the name explains the use. The name means the wind screen. The earlobe is said to screen this hollow from the wind, and wind, in this tradition, is the cause of complaints that come on suddenly at the head and face. Vietnamese teachers call it Ế Phong, the same characters. The point is used to open the ear, to clear the side of the head, and to ease the area below the ear. Those are traditional descriptions, offered as such.

What the Old Texts Say About Yifeng

This is one of the old channel points. It belongs to the points set down in the great early catalogues. The oldest that survives is the Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, compiled by Huangfu Mi in the third century, which arranged the points channel by channel. Its address behind the earlobe has stayed essentially the same since.

The Vietnamese reference we work from is Ngô Trung Triều's Huyệt vị kinh lạc cơ thể người (Points and Channels of the Human Body). It describes the point as the hollow at the sharp corner behind the ear. Its quick-finding note is precise. Look in the dip behind the lowest tip of the earlobe, beside the front edge of the long neck muscle and behind the angle of the jaw. Pressing there, it adds, is felt inside the ear as pain. That last detail is worth keeping: the sensation of this point often seems to arrive in the ear itself.

The same book lists ringing in the ears, hardness of hearing and loss of hearing among its uses. It also lists swelling of the salivary gland and one further complaint of the face, which belong with a doctor. On this page we keep to the everyday ones: ringing and fullness in the ear, and an ache below the ear and along the jaw.

The World Health Organization's location manual of 2008 gives the same place in anatomical language: behind the earlobe, in front of the lower tip of the bony bump behind the ear. Ancient catalogue, Vietnamese handbook and modern standard all put the thumb in the same place.

We have not found a classical passage for this point that we can quote with confidence, so we will not invent one.

Points That Work With Yifeng

The first partner is on the forearm, on the same line. Turn the arm palm down and lay three fingers across the back of the wrist crease, going up the arm. The point is level with the far edge of the third finger, in the hollow between the two forearm bones. In this tradition it is the arm point for the side of the head and the ear, and it is often pressed before working behind the ear.

The second is on the cheek. Find the corner of the lower jaw and move one finger-width up and forward onto the thick chewing muscle; clench and release the teeth to feel the dip. It is used when the ache spreads from below the ear along the jaw.

The third is at the base of the skull. Run your fingers up the back of the neck until they meet bone, then move out to each side into the hollows between the two big neck muscles. When the neck is tight on the same side as the ear, working these hollows helps ease the pull on the area behind the ear.

How to Find and Press Yifeng

Getting Into Position

Sit upright at a table with your elbows resting on it, so your hands reach behind your ears without effort. Keep your head level and still; do not tip it to the side to meet your hand. Let your teeth part and your shoulders drop.

How to Find It

Fold your earlobe back flat against your head with a fingertip and note where its tip lands. Let the lobe go. Now feel the bony bump behind the ear on one side and the back edge of the jaw on the other. Open and close your mouth a little and you will feel the jaw move under your finger. The soft dip between the bone and the jaw is the area.

Probe inside that dip with the tip of your thumb or a rounded-tip tool. Press lightly, move a millimetre or two at a time, and press again. Almost all of it will feel tender. One spot will sting more sharply than the rest, a pinpoint tenderness that often seems to reach into the ear. That is the point. If you feel a buzz across the face or numbness, lift off and press more lightly.

How to Press It

Use the tip of the thumb with the nail cut short, or a pressing tool with a smooth, rounded tip. Many people use the middle finger tip here instead of the thumb, because it fits the hollow more easily; that is fine, as long as the nail is short. Point the tip straight in, toward the centre of the head. Never press down into the side of the neck below the hollow.

Once you have the stinging spot, rub in small circles, no wider than a grain of rice. Keep the tip in contact with the skin so the skin moves with it. Keep the pressure light and the head still. Breathe out slowly as you rub.

How Much Pressure

Lighter than anywhere else on this site except the eyes. This hollow is naturally tender, and you need very little pressure to find the sting. When you lift off, the sting should fade within a few seconds, leaving the area warm and the ear a little clearer. If the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or the area turns swollen, hot or red, stop for the day. A buzz, tingling or numbness across the face, or any dizziness, means stop at once. Holding your breath or clenching your teeth means you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Rub each side for one to three minutes. Stay near one minute in the first sessions, or less if the area is very tender. Build toward three as the days go on. Do both sides, even when only one ear rings, because the jaw and neck work as a pair. Once or twice a day is plenty.

When to Do It

Daytime suits it best. A round in the morning helps when the ear feels full on waking, and another in the afternoon helps when the jaw and neck have tightened over the day. A short round before bed is a quiet way to let the jaw and neck settle. Do not press in the middle of the night. If the ringing or an ache wakes you, change position, sip some water, and leave the point until morning. Pressing behind the ear when you are half awake makes it too easy to press too hard.

What This Won't Do

It will not restore hearing, and it will not reliably silence ringing in the ears. Ringing has many causes: age-related hearing change, years of noise, wax in the ear canal, some medicines, a tight jaw or neck. Sometimes there is a cause that needs a doctor. A point behind the ear sits downstream of all of that. Have your hearing tested, have the ear canal checked for wax, ask your pharmacist whether any of your medicines can cause ringing, and look after the jaw and neck. Then this point has something to add. On its own it is a comfort measure, and many people value it.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. Sudden loss of hearing in one ear is urgent and needs a doctor the same day. Ear pain with discharge, fever or swelling and redness behind the ear needs to be seen promptly. Ringing in one ear only, ringing that beats in time with your pulse, or ringing with dizziness also needs checking. Dizziness or headache with weakness, numbness, slurred speech or a drooping face is an emergency. Call for help at once and do not sit pressing behind your ear.

Safety First

Press gently. This hollow is naturally sensitive and sits over a nerve that moves the face, so it never needs force. Do not press if the area behind the ear is swollen, red or hot, if the ear is discharging, or on broken or bruised skin. Keep the pressure pointing in toward the centre of the head, never down into the side or front of the neck. After a recent neck injury, whiplash or neck surgery, leave this area alone until your doctor agrees, and even then avoid vigorous rubbing or twisting of the neck. If you take blood thinners or bruise easily, use the lightest touch.

Stop at once if you feel dizzy, feel a buzz, tingling or numbness across the face, if the pain stays after you lift off or spreads, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions and situations where self-applied pressure is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Yifeng (TE17) pressure point? Yifeng (TE17) sits in the small hollow behind your earlobe. Fold the earlobe back flat against your head; where its tip lands, between the bony bump behind the ear and the back edge of the jaw, is the area. The point is the one spot in that hollow that stings when you press.

How long should I press Yifeng? One to three minutes on each side. Stay near one minute in the first sessions and build up as the days go on. Do both sides, even if only one ear is troublesome. Once or twice a day is plenty.

Will pressing Yifeng stop the ringing in my ears? We cannot promise that, and nobody honestly can. It is commonly used in this tradition for ringing and fullness in the ear, and many people find the area tender and are glad of the relief of working it. Ringing ears have many causes, so have your hearing checked by a doctor or audiologist as well.

Why does this spot feel so tender? It is a naturally sensitive place. Several small nerves pass close by, and the hollow lies over the place where the nerve that moves the face leaves the skull. That is why it needs a lighter touch than most points. A sharp sting that fades when you lift off is right. A buzz, numbness or pain that stays means ease off.

Should I press Yifeng if I feel dizzy? No. Stop and sit quietly until the dizziness passes. If dizziness comes with sudden hearing loss, a new loud ringing in one ear, a spinning room, or weakness, numbness or slurred speech, get medical help at once. This point is for an ear and jaw that ache, not for an ear that has changed suddenly.

My neck was injured recently. Can I still use this point? Wait. After a recent neck injury, whiplash or neck surgery, leave the area behind the ear and the base of the skull alone until your doctor says it is fine. When you do start again, press very gently with the head kept still. No twisting or vigorous rubbing of the neck.

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: TE17 · Yifeng · Wind Screen · Ế Phong.)