↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.
Clinical manifestations: Redness and swelling of the ear, throbbing hot pain, sore throat, mild fever and thirst, ear feels hot to the touch.
Tongue: Red tip and edges with thin yellow or white-to-yellow coating. Pulse: Floating and rapid.
Treatment principle: Disperse Wind-Heat, clear Heat, and resolve toxicity to release the exterior pathogen.
Note: no moxa. Direct match with this site's own Invasion-of-Lungs-by-Wind-Heat slide.
Clinical manifestations: Sudden severe ear pain, burning or throbbing sensation in the ear, red face and bloodshot eyes, bitter taste in the mouth, intense irritability and short temper.
Tongue: Red body with redder sides, dry yellow coating with possible red prickles. Pulse: Wiry and rapid, full and forceful at left middle position.
Treatment principle: Drain excess Fire from the Liver and Gallbladder channels, cooling the inflamed pathway to the ear.
Note: no moxa. Direct match with this site's own Liver-Fire-blazing slide.
3. Damp-Heat in the Liver Channel
Clinical manifestations: Ear pain with a feeling of fullness or sticky yellow discharge, bitter taste in the mouth, feeling of heaviness or bloating.
Tongue: Red body with redder sides, yellow greasy coating thicker at centre and root. Pulse: Wiry, slippery and rapid.
Treatment principle: Clear Damp-Heat from the Liver and Gallbladder channels, resolving ear discharge and pain.
Note: no moxa. This site's own Damp-Heat-in-the-Liver slide is genital/vaginal-discharge-specific (checked directly), not a match for an ear presentation, so no pattern link is given here.
Clinical manifestations: Tight constricting ear pain, worse with cold and better with warmth, chills and aversion to cold, clear watery nasal discharge, no thirst or preference for warm drinks.
Tongue: Normal or slightly pale body with thin white moist coat. Pulse: Floating and tight.
Treatment principle: Dispel Wind-Cold by warming the channels and promoting Qi circulation.
Note: moxibustion on DU-14 given the Cold. Direct match with this site's own Invasion-of-Lungs-by-Wind-Cold slide.
5. Empty-Wind Agitating in the Interior
Clinical manifestations: Dull or twitching ear pain, dizziness and tinnitus, five-centre heat, night sweats, dry mouth and throat, blurred vision or dry eyes.
Tongue: Crimson, thin, dry, cracked with little or no coating, may tremble. Pulse: Fine, rapid, wiry at left Guan but lacking force on deep palpation.
Treatment principle: Nourish Liver and Kidney Yin while sedating the Liver and extinguishing internal Wind.
Note: no moxa given the Empty-Heat. No deck on this site has a Yin-deficiency-generating-Wind slide distinct from the Fire- and Blood-deficiency Wind patterns already covered, so no pattern link is given here.
6. Phlegm in the Channels
Clinical manifestations: Fixed stabbing pain deep in the ear, sensation of heaviness or stuffiness in the head or ear, excessive phlegm in the throat or chest tightness, pain that persists long after an acute illness.
Tongue: Purple body with stasis spots, white greasy coating, distended sublingual veins. Pulse: Wiry and choppy, or wiry and slippery.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood and dispel stasis while drying Dampness and transforming Phlegm.
Note: no moxa. No deck on this site has a dedicated Phlegm-in-the-channels Bi-syndrome category, a confirmed and recurring absence, so no pattern link is given here.