Lesson Eighteen: Auditory Diagnosis
Auditory diagnosis, one of the “four examinations” in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is a method by which the physician diagnoses diseases through listening to sounds and smelling odors.
Listening to sounds involves not only hearing the patient’s speech but also listening to their breathing, coughing, belching, and bowel sounds. For example, if bowel sounds are heard, it may indicate that the gastrointestinal tract is cold.
Smelling odors refers to detecting various smells emitted from the patient’s body, as well as the odors in the examination room and the smells from the patient’s excretions and secretions. Foul and sour odors often indicate excess heat; a slight fishy smell may indicate deficiency and cold.
Recitation
The five organs are the guardians of the center. When the center is full and the qi is strong, the voice sounds as if it comes from within the room, indicating dampness in the center; if the speech is weak and only returns after a long time, this indicates a loss of qi.
——《Huangdi Neijing: On the Pulse》
Auditory Diagnosis VerseAuditory diagnosis listens to sounds to discern abnormalities, and also smells odors to diagnose in detail.Listen to speech, breathing, and coughs, belching, and the strength of sounds.Smell the body and breath, and the odors of secretions and excretions reveal the condition.
Discussion
Pay attention to observing yourself or your friends and family, and discuss how the voice changes during a cold.
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