big ears

Big Ears

  
      

Did you come here to read about big ears? If so, don’t go anywhere. Today, you are going to learn some fun information about this topic. We will help answer some interesting questions you may have asked. We will also share a wonderful story about a teenager who had surgery to make her ears look normal. The following post contains true information from various reputable sources.

What Is The Average Length Of A Human Ear?

ear

Ear” by David Benbennick is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The term “macrotia” refers to an ear that is larger than normal. So what is considered a normal ear length? According to Wikipedia, the normal auricular axis length is 58–62 mm for females. The average for males is a little longer, at 62–66 mm long. In cases where the ear (or ears) is a lot larger than normal, many people will turn to surgery to help correct it by reducing the size. The type of surgery is called otoplasty. Some deformities can be corrected by using non-surgical procedures.

Teen Gets Bullied For Her Ears, Gets Free Surgery

surgery for protruding earsIsabelle Stark is a teenager from Utah. Due to her protruding ears, she did everything she could to hide them. She was even bullied and called “Dumbo.” From wearing beanies, to growing her hair long, there was nothing else she could do. That is, until she met plastic surgeon Steven Mobley.

Like Stark, Mobley was also bullied for having ears that protruded. His deformity is part of what inspired him to become a plastic surgeon. Mobley wanted to help people who suffered from the same deformity as himself. Thanks to the Mobley Foundation that provides surgery to children in a low-income school, Mobley pinned Stark’s ears back absolutely free. This is a surgery that would have costed $7,000. Luckily for Isabelle Stark, there are kindhearted people like Steven Mobley.

Surprising Study On Children And Teenagers With Protruding Ears

Will SmithIn 2013, a study (conducted from August 1, 2013, to October 31, 2013) was performed to quantify attention directed toward protruding ears and its effect on the perception of selected personality traits. The study involved 20 adult participants, and photos of 20 faces of children and teenagers (with the age range of 5-19 years) who were interested in getting surgery to change the appearance of their ears. Although the participants looked at the prominent ears longer than the ears that were digitally corrected via computer software (to look average), their rating was not what was expected.

The participants were asked to rate a variety of personality traits based on the photos. Surprisingly, they gave some high marks on intelligence, assiduousness, and likability to the 5 children who had ears that drew more attention than all the rest. Although the protruding ears did draw a lot more attention of the viewers (compared the ears that were digitally corrected), they did not cause a negative perception of personality traits. Of course, this is just a small study. If you have the same study using 20 teenagers instead of adult participants, the results would likely be a lot different.

Why Do Elderly People Tend To Have Big Ears?

old man with big earsHave you ever wondered why old people have ears that are larger than normal? According to a study, ear circumference increases with age. Each year, it increases about 0.51 mm. So why is this the case? It is believed that the enlargement is likely associated with aging changes of collagen.

Meet The Dog With The Longest Ears In The World

Now enough about humans ears. The Guinness World Record for the longest ears on a dog belongs to a healthy black Colorado Coonhound named Harbor. He has ears that are 31.1 centimeters long.

Conclusion

Do you know anyone with ears that are larger than normal? Growing up in school, they probably had to deal with a lot of teasing. Not long ago, one had no choice, but to accept it. These days, they are fortunate to have the option of surgery to help change it. The results are absolutely amazing.

It is not at all bad to look different from everyone else. Just imagine a world with nothing but the same faces everywhere you go. Wouldn’t life be very boring if we all looked the same? In a planet filled with life, you are going to find plenty of both humans and animals with noticeably big ears.