P. Sze 
Earache is one of the most painful and uncomfortable experiences you can have. It is predominant in children and can be a reason why your baby touches the ear while crying. If you know the acupressure points for earache, you may not need the right ear drops or painkillers to heal your child’s earache.
Earache that comes from infection can be at the external ear, middle ear, or inner ear. However, you can’t easily distinguish where it’s coming from because of the intensity of the pain.
So, in this article, I’ll show you the acupressure points for earache caused by infection, irrespective of the position in the ear, and the pressure points for treating inflammation of the middle ear – Otitis media.
Can Acupuncture Help With Ear Infections?
Yes, acupuncture can help heal ear infections. If you know the acupressure points for ear infection, you’ll be able to reduce the mucus and inflammation that characterizes ear infection, lessen the pain you feel, help your lymph to better circulate, and fortify your immune system to resist another occurrence of ear infection.
A recent study was carried out to show if acupuncture therapy can be used to manage serious ear infections. The chronic otitis external which acupuncture therapy was applied to was caused by damp heat in the gallbladder meridian. The researchers used acupuncture points to increase the energy level of the spleen, remove heat damp heat from the gallbladder, and manage chronic inflammation as a result of otitis externa.
Can Acupressure Relieve Earaches And Headaches?
Earache usually comes accompanied by headaches. It is so because sinus inflammation causes both earache and headache. When pressure builds up in your sinus cavities, your ears feel filled up and you feel a throbbing pain around your temples and the back of your ears. These are conditions that acupressure can remedy. It has been used to remedy them for centuries as alternative medicine.
By identifying the acupressure points for earache, also referred to as auricular points, you can easily treat conditions related to the sinus cavities and the ear canal. All you have to do is apply pressure on these pressure points for ear pain to relieve earache and headache.
Where Are The Pressure Points For Ear Pain?
Below are the pressure points for inner ear pain, external ear pain, and all ear pains in general.
#1. Acupoint: SI-19 (Other Names: Small Intestine-19/Ting Gong/Palace of Hearing)
Acupoint SI-19 is one of the major pressure points for ear pain. In Chinese, it is called Tinggong which translates in English to Hearing Place. You can find SI-19 on the face, before the tragus, at the back of the mandibular condyle, in a depression that is formed when you open your mouth.
Its location makes it ideal for treating tinnitus, deafness, otorrhea, toothache, and dysfunction of the maxillary joint, alongside any type of ear problem.
For treating tinnitus, some believe ginger helps relieve the situation in addition to acupressure points; but is Ginger Good for Tinnitus?
#2. Acupoint: LI-4 (Other Names: Large Intestine-4/He Gu/Joining Valley)
Acupoint LI-4 is an acupressure point of the large intestine meridian yet it is a pressure point for ear pain. In Chinese, L1-4 is referred to as He Gu, which translates to Joining Valley in English. As the name implies, you can find LI-4 at the center of the radial part of the second metacarpal bone, just between the first and the second metacarpal bones.
Clinically, He Gu is suitable for the treatment of stress, headaches, neck pain, and toothaches. Evidence shows that activating LI-4 reduces myofascial pain in the jaw muscles.
You can also use LI-4 and these acupressure points to quit smoking to cut down on smoking.
#3. Acupoint: TE-17 (Other Names: Triple Energizer-17/Yi Feng/Wind Screen)
Acupoint TE-17 or Yifeng is another effective acupressure for earache. It is found on the backside of the ear lobe, in the depression between the front of the lower end of the mastoid and the jawbone.
Because of its location in the ear – like a windscreen – Yifeng is effective for treating several ear conditions like tinnitus and deafness. It is also clinically used to treat facial paralysis, locked jaw, toothache, and bell palsy as TE-17 dispels wind and opens up channels in the face.
Here are other acupressure points for tinnitus you should try.
#4. Acupoint: TE-5 (Other Names: Triple Energizer-5/Wai Guan/Outer Pass)
Triple Energizer 5 or Waiguan is another acupressure point for earache that you should activate to treat all kinds of ear pain. It is located on the back of the forearm, 2 cun above the cross-crease of the back of the wrist, connecting with TE-4 and the tip of the elbow, within the ulna and radius.
Because TE-5 helps move energy around the upper and lower body, it is ideal for treating headaches, migraine, cheek pain, tinnitus, and deafness.
If you have arthritis, you can relieve the situation with TE-5 and reflexology for arthritis.
Current research to evaluate the therapeutic effect of warm acupuncture of TE 5 in treating shoulder-hand syndrome in patients with stroke shows that acupoint TE 5 is effective in improving shoulder pain and hand edema. It also improves the limb motor function of stroke patients.
Otitis Media And Acupuncture
Aside from the general acupressure points for earache above, there are specific acupoints for the treatment of otitis media. Otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear that is caused by either a cold, flu, or sinus infection.
Mostly, children are the ones who suffer from otitis media because their eustachian tube, which is the part that gets infected, is shorter and more horizontal than those of older children and adults. Here are other Eustachian Tube Pressure Points for congested ears that you should know about.
Meanwhile, if you or your kids happen to have otitis media, here are three acupoints to massage.
#1. Acupoint: TE-21 (Other Names: Triple Energizer-21/Er Men/Ear Gate)
TE-21 or Ermen is a notable pressure point for ear infection of the middle ear. TE-21 is located in the front of the ear, before the supratragic notch, at the back of the posterior border of the condyloid process of the jawbone when the mouth is open.
As it is referred to in English as the Ear Gate, it opens the ear and dispels heat. So, it is effective for treating tinnitus, deafness, toothache, and stiffness in the lip. It is also effective for clearing ear congestion with these other pressure points for ear congestion.
#2. Acupoint: SI-19 (Other Names: Small Intestine-19/Ting Gong/Palace of Hearing)
As well as being an acupoint for general ear pain, SI-19 is also used to treat otitis media. The Hearing Place is located on the face, before the tragus, at the back of the mandibular condyle, in a depression that is formed when you open your mouth.
In addition to treating otitis media, SI-19 is used clinically to treat tinnitus, deafness, otorrhea, toothache, and other kinds of ear problems. If you want to facelift like a pro, SI-19 and these acupressure points for facelift will get you there.
#3. Acupoint: KD-7 (Other Names: Kidney-7/Fu Liu/Returning Current)
Acupoint KD-7 is one of the acupressure points for earaches in the middle ear. KD-7 in Chinese medicine is called Fuliu which translates to Returning Current in English. KD-7 is located at the outer part of the leg, directly above KD 3 and before the tendo calcaneus.
Despite its location, KD-7 is clinically used to treat cough and asthma that is caused by pathogenic cold or heat. What you need to do is activate this acupoint through a pinching motion on the thin part of the leg where the acupoint is located.
Interestingly, KD-7 also improves fertility along with these other acupressure points for fertility.
