During a visual diagnosis, you inspect the appearance of a patient's ears to spot any abnormality that would signal a pathology associated with an auricular point:

• Nodules, papules, swellings, grooves, cords, and other protrusions or physical deformities:
  Indicate the presence of masses, abscesses, or pathophysiological changes in the corresponding organs or structures.
• Color variations (from normal skin color):
  For example, red, pale, grey, dark brown, or another abnormal color at a point reveals the underlying nature of the condition. Generally, red indicates inflammation or heat, dark brown indicates blood stasis, and pale indicates insufficient blood supply or a chronic condition.
• Blood Vessel Changes:
  Typically, red-colored vessels suggest the presence of acute inflammation, heat, or pain. In contrast, blood vessels from blue, purple, and nearly black indicate increasingly severe degrees of blood stasis.
• Desquamation:
  Desquamation refers to the process of skin flaking on the ear. The presence of desquamation often signifies a skin condition, an allergic reaction, or a fungal infection.
• Dryness, wrinkles, and withering of the earlobe:
  Indicate poor circulation or a patient's overall decline of health.

Palpation diagnosis mainly involves feeling the ear with a finger or probe to detect any indications of pathology in the corresponding body part/organ. Such indications include:

• Physical deformities
• Pain or edema elicited from pressing on a point

For electrical resistance diagnosis, Dr. Li-Chun Huang uses a probe from her electrical detection device to inspect a patient's ears for variations in electrical resistance. She would hold an ear for inspection with her non-dominant hand and use her dominant hand to control and direct the probe. When the probe detects a lower resistance at a particular point, the machine makes a sound to signal this electrical variation - this reaction is referred to as a "positive response."

Typically, the intensity of a positive response reveals the severity of the associated conditions. When a positive response is stronger, the signal sound made by the device becomes louder and higher in pitch, which, in turn, indicates that the pathology associated with the auricular point is more severe.

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