Luxi

What is TE19?

TE19 (Luxi) is an acupressure point on the Triple Energizer channel, set behind the ear along the curved line that follows the ear's rim.

Its Chinese name, Luxi, is usually translated as "Skull Rest". Classical texts group it with the other points that ring the ear, and it has been listed in Chinese medical writing for well over a thousand years. Traditionally it belongs to a small cluster of points used for complaints of the ear and the side of the head.

In traditional theory, the Triple Energizer channel runs up the arm, around the shoulder, and then loops around the ear before ending at the eyebrow. TE19 sits on that loop. Practitioners have used it for ringing in the ears, earache, headache on the side of the head, and — in older texts — for frightened, convulsing or vomiting infants.

Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. No controlled human trial has tested finger pressure on TE19 for any condition. Acupuncture studies for tinnitus (ringing in the ears) sometimes include points in this region, but those studies used needles, were mostly small and poorly blinded, and gave mixed results. Nothing in that body of work tells you what pressing TE19 with a fingertip will do.

Two things are worth saying once, clearly. First, the fact that a point is old and widely taught is not evidence that it works; tradition records what practitioners believed, not what was measured. Second, tradition is not evidence of safety either. The area behind the ear sits over the mastoid bone and close to the ear canal, and some of the things that cause pain there — infection, injury, a recent operation — are reasons not to press at all.

Treat TE19 as a low-risk comfort technique for most healthy adults, not as a treatment. If you have a real ear or hearing problem, it needs a real assessment.

Where is TE19 and how do you find it?

TE19 lies in the soft groove behind the ear, roughly two-thirds of the way up the curved line running from behind the earlobe to the top of the ear.

• Start behind the earlobe. Find the hollow between your earlobe and the bony bump behind it. That hollow is the lower anchor point of the line you are going to trace.
• Find the upper anchor. Fold your ear forward. The upper anchor sits just above the highest point of the folded ear, where the hairline begins.
• Trace the curve. Run your fingertip from the lower anchor up to the upper one, following the back edge of your ear rather than cutting straight across. You are sweeping a shallow arc.
• Stop two-thirds of the way up. TE19 sits where the upper third of that arc meets the lower two-thirds. On most adults that is around 3 to 4 cm above the lower anchor.
• Feel for soft tissue. You want the slight groove between the ear cartilage and the bone of the skull, not the hard dome of the mastoid bump itself.

Texts agree on the general arc behind the ear but differ slightly on the exact fraction, so do not chase a millimetre. What is agreed is that TE19 is behind the ear, above the midpoint of that curve and below the level of the ear's top.

A simple check: TE19 is above TE18 and below TE20 on the same curve. If your finger is in front of the ear, on the earlobe, or down on the neck, you have drifted off the line. Use the pad of a finger, not a nail, and never push anything into the ear canal. This is a surface landmark for finger pressure only — no needles, no depth, no angle apply here.

How do you apply pressure to TE19?

1. Wash your hands first. The skin behind the ear is thin and easily irritated, and you may be close to your ear canal. Clean, short nails matter here.
2. Sit down and settle. Rest your elbow on a table or the arm of a chair so your hand is steady. Working on the head is easier when your arm is supported.
3. Place the pad of your finger. Use the flat pad of the index or middle finger on the groove behind the ear. Some people find it easier to use the middle finger with the index finger resting beside it for control.
4. Press lightly, then settle. Build up to firm but comfortable pressure — around a 3 or 4 out of 10. The head needs far less force than a shoulder or a foot.
5. Hold or circle slowly. Either hold steady for 30 to 60 seconds, or make small slow circles that move the skin over the tissue beneath rather than dragging across it.
6. Breathe out as you press. Slow breathing is doing some of the work in any relaxation technique, and it costs nothing.
7. Do both sides. Work one side, then the other, or both together with one hand on each. Two or three rounds per side is plenty.
8. Repeat sparingly. Once or twice a day is reasonable for a short stretch. There is no reason to grind away at this point for long periods.

Stop straight away if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, a spinning sensation, new or louder ringing, or any fluid from the ear. Stop if the skin reddens, breaks or stays sore afterwards. Pressure should feel like a dull, bearable ache that eases when you lift your finger — nothing more.

This is finger pressure only. Do not use needles, heat, burning herbs, suction cups or any tool that breaks the skin anywhere on this page.

What is TE19 traditionally used for?

• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus). This is the main classical claim for TE19, usually alongside other points around the ear. Acupuncture trials for tinnitus have used nearby points, but they are small, rarely well blinded and conflicting; reviews generally call the evidence weak. No study has tested finger pressure on TE19 alone.
• Earache and a blocked feeling in the ear. Tradition lists TE19 for pain and fullness in the ear. There is no human trial supporting this. Ear pain with fever or discharge is an infection question, not a pressure-point question.
• Headache on the side of the head. Points along this arc were used for one-sided head pain. Some acupuncture research on migraine is reasonably designed, but it tests whole point prescriptions with needles, not TE19 by itself, so it cannot be credited to this point.
• Tension around the ear, jaw and temple. Many people find slow pressure near the ear calming. That is a plausible general effect of gentle self-massage and attention to breathing, not a specific property of TE19.
• Infant fright, convulsions and vomiting. Classical texts name TE19 for these in children. Modern medicine treats convulsions in a child as an emergency. Treat this entry as history only, and never as something to try.
• Dizziness. A secondary traditional listing. There is no useful human evidence, and dizziness has causes — inner ear, blood pressure, medication — that need identifying.

In short, TE19 has a long traditional record for ear and side-of-head complaints and almost no modern human evidence of its own. Pressing it is unlikely to harm a healthy adult, but it should sit alongside proper assessment of any ear symptom, not replace it.

Are there tips for using TE19 effectively?

• Fold the ear to find your bearings. Folding the ear forward makes both ends of the curve obvious and stops you from guessing. Re-check the landmark each session rather than trusting memory.
• Less force than you think. The head tolerates far less pressure than a calf or a shoulder. If your fingertip is blanching white, you are pressing too hard.
• Move skin, not across it. Small circles that take the skin with them are more comfortable and less irritating than rubbing over dry skin. A tiny amount of plain moisturiser can help if the skin is dry.
• Work both sides even for one-sided symptoms. Traditional practice usually treats both sides, and it keeps you balanced and relaxed. It also stops you overworking one spot.
• Pair it with your breathing. Four slow breaths per hold gives the session a natural length and adds a genuine relaxation effect. Set a timer if you tend to rush.
• Keep sessions short and regular. One or two minutes per side, once or twice a day, beats a long grinding session. Overworking the area just leaves it tender.
• Write down what happens. Note your symptom level before and after for a couple of weeks. Self-recorded notes are not proof, but they tell you honestly whether it is worth continuing.
• Give it a fair but limited trial. Two to three weeks is enough to form a view. If nothing has shifted, stop rather than drifting on out of habit.
• Keep hearing aids and jewellery out of the way. Remove an over-ear hearing aid or glasses first so you are pressing skin, not plastic. Put them back afterwards.
• Protect the ear canal. Keep fingers and any object outside the ear entirely. Nothing should go in, ever.

What do people get wrong with TE19?

• Expecting a cure. Some videos imply TE19 will clear tinnitus or restore hearing. Nothing in the evidence supports that, and persistent ringing or hearing loss needs a proper assessment.
• Landing on the wrong point. Drifting down to the hollow behind the earlobe puts you on TE17, and going above the ear tip puts you on TE20. TE19 is on the arc between them, about two-thirds of the way up.
• Pressing on the hard bump. The mastoid bone behind the ear is solid, and digging into it just bruises. Aim for the softer groove along the back edge of the ear.
• Using far too much force. People transfer the pressure they would use on a foot to the side of their head. Hard pressure here causes headache and tender skin without any added benefit.
• Poking into the ear canal. Cotton buds, pen caps and fingertips near the canal risk damaging the eardrum or pushing wax in. Stay on the outside, always.
• Pressing a hot, swollen area. Redness, heat and tenderness over the bone behind the ear can mean infection. Pressure can make it worse and delays the medical care that is actually needed.
• Treating a child's convulsion with pressure. Older texts name TE19 for infant fits. A convulsing child needs emergency services immediately, not a pressure point.
• Ignoring sudden symptoms. Hearing that drops suddenly in one ear is time-critical and treated as urgent by doctors. Self-massage while you wait and see is the wrong response.
• Using anything sharp or hot. This page covers finger pressure only. Needles, burning herbs and suction have no place in self-care here.
• Judging it in one session. One press tells you nothing. Give it a short, honest trial, then decide.

What does the research on TE19 actually say?

There is essentially no research on TE19 on its own. We found no controlled human trial testing finger pressure on this point for tinnitus, earache, headache or anything else. That is the plain answer, and it should shape your expectations.

The nearest relevant work is acupuncture research for tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Trials in this field often use a group of points around and in front of the ear, sometimes including points on this part of the Triple Energizer channel. Those studies used needles, not fingertips. Systematic reviews of them have repeatedly reported the same problems: small numbers of participants, short follow-up, weak or absent blinding, and results that do not agree with each other. Reviewers generally conclude the evidence is too low in quality to support a firm recommendation.

Acupuncture for migraine and tension headache has a stronger research base than tinnitus does, with some large trials. But those trials tested whole prescriptions of points chosen by practitioners, and the benefit over sham needling has usually been modest. None of that evidence can be assigned to TE19 specifically, and none of it was produced by pressing with a finger.

Why does this matter to you? Because a point can be ancient, widely taught and listed in every chart while still having no modern test of its own. The absence of trials does not prove TE19 does nothing. It means nobody has checked, so any confident claim you read about it is going beyond what is known.

What you can reasonably say is this. Gentle self-massage around the ear is comfortable for most people and carries little risk if the skin and the underlying bone are healthy. Any effect you notice may come from relaxation, slow breathing, touch and the simple passage of time. That is worth something, but it is not the same as a treatment for an ear condition, and it is not a reason to delay getting a persistent symptom looked at.