# Can boxing someone's ears really kill them?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 21, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575 "2015-03-21T06:35:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575/1 "2015-03-21T06:35:30Z")

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I tried to search the forum on this topic but didn’t see anything. I’ve read before that boxing someone’s ears can kill them, is this really possible?  
By boxing ears I mean basically hitting both of a person’s ears with a cupped hand, online I’ve read that doing this could rupture the ear drums leading them to bleed to death. Seems unlikely but is it actually possible?

Need answer fast…

J/K:p

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**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575/2 "2015-03-21T07:01:21Z")

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I don’t see how ruptured ear drums could possibly cause fatal bleeding. The blood vessels in there are _tiny_!

You _might_ be able to strike the victim unconscious by this method, but I think there are far more effective ways…