Deafness and tinnitus

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Textbook Prescriptions Ears

Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.

Points

TE17 Yifeng bilateral

San Jiao point behind the ear; local Shaoyang point for hearing

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.
TE21 Ermen bilateral

San Jiao point in front of the ear; local Shaoyang point for hearing

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.
GB2 Tinghui bilateral

Gall Bladder point in front of the ear; local Shaoyang point for hearing

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.
TE2 Yemen bilateral

Ying-Spring of the San Jiao; distal Shaoyang point on the channel to the ear

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.
GB43 Xiaxi bilateral

Ying-Spring of the Gall Bladder; distal Shaoyang point on the channel to the ear

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.
TE3 Zhongzhu bilateral

Shu-Stream of the San Jiao; distal Shaoyang point on the channel to the ear

Reduce in shi type; even technique with moxa in xu type.

Needling Safety

Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.

Treatment Principle

In the excess type, restore hearing by reducing Shaoyang points; in the deficiency type, strengthen liver and kidney with even technique and moxibustion.

Indications

shi type: constant ringing not eased by pressure, or sudden deafnessshi type: heavy, distended head, blocked nose, bitter taste, hypochondriac pain, sticky coating, rolling rapid pulsexu type: intermittent ringing, worse with strain and partly eased by pressure, or slowly worsening deafnessxu type: dizziness, blurred vision, low back pain, lassitude, thready pulse

Method

Shi type: reducing technique, mainly on San Jiao and Gall Bladder points. Xu type: even technique combined with moxibustion, with Kidney and Liver points added.

⚠ Cautions

Sudden hearing loss is an emergency needing same-day medical (ENT) assessment, as early steroid treatment affects the outcome; unilateral tinnitus or deafness needs investigation to exclude an acoustic neuroma. Needle the periauricular points with the mouth open and avoid deep needling at TE17 (near the facial nerve and vessels). If added, SP6 is contraindicated in pregnancy.

About

The college base prescription for deafness and tinnitus, which the book divides into an excess type from liver and gall bladder qi rising upward and a deficiency type from kidney qi failing to rise.

Rationale

All six main points belong to the hand and foot Shaoyang channels, which pass around the ear: TE17, TE21 and GB2 act locally, while TE2, GB43 and TE3 work from the hand and foot along the same channels. Additions then address the underlying excess or deficiency.

Clinical Notes

Shi type: for liver and gall bladder qi rising add LV2 and GB41; for sudden deafness add TE16 as a local point. Xu type: for sinking kidney qi add BL23, GV4 and KI3; for deficient yin of liver and kidney add LV3 and SP6 to nourish yin and calm deficiency fire. The book notes that in the clinic these complaints are often of nerve origin. It also gives an ear-acupuncture option.

Sources

Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Deafness and Tinnitus, p. 389–391.

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