# Do our ears and nose continue to grow throughout our life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032 "2013-03-26T19:04:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/1 "2013-03-26T19:04:01Z")
This a spinoff from the current “Long Ears of the Buddha” thread. So we’re sitting around at the Seder, and my know- it- all brother, after I tell him what I learned from Cecil about those Buddha ears–see, fighting ignorance–says that our ears and nose never stop growing, which we sometimes notice that old people have big ears. I called screaming bullshit, and unsurprisingly he didn’t budge. I told him I was going to sic the SD on him. So: Bullshit? ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/2 "2013-03-26T19:38:25Z")
I don’t know the details, but certain facial bones do keep growing, and the pattern is different in men versus women. An artist once showed me how simple it is to age a boy’s face into a man’s, by widening his chin bone (on a very simple sketch, like a cartoon). He then aged it into an old man by widening it some more, and adding the lines from nose to corners of the mouth. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that ears keep growing as well. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/3 "2013-03-26T19:57:44Z")
I don’t know about noses, but ears definitely keep growing, at least in my family . . . lots of big-eared uncles & aunts, compared to photos taken when they were younger. Some people say penises also grow longer. I’m still waiting for that to kick in. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/4 "2013-03-27T02:48:42Z")
Shit. Are you telling me my brother was right? I hate that when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/5 "2013-03-27T02:58:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I don’t know about noses, but ears definitely keep growing, at least in my family . . . lots of big-eared uncles & aunts, compared to photos taken when they were younger. > > Some people say penises also grow longer. I’m still waiting for that to kick in. Hopefully Puberty will help with that.😛 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/6 "2013-03-27T03:17:04Z")
There may be some normal growth of the nose later in life, but it’s minor. In the condition called [acromegaly](http://endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/acro/acro.aspx), there _is_ growth of the nose (and mandible) and [here’s](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1917&bih=1028&tbm=isch&tbnid=MNQwPP4VUViupM:&imgrefurl=http://drugline.org/medic/term/acromegaly/&docid=7bkQtPyDCoEKDM&imgurl=http://drugline.org/img/term/acromegaly-214_3.jpg&w=1348&h=450&ei=0GNSUdr-F8fx2wWPoIGgAw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:5,s:0,i:153&iact=rc&dur=2036&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=330&start=0&ndsp=47&tx=84&ty=28)[what](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=iSfC827M06f3vM&tbnid=qMmaRI2QW8fl2M:&ved=0CAIQjBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merckmanuals.com%2Fmedia%2Fprofessional%2Fphotos%2Fmedia%2Fphotos%2Facromegaly_facial_changes.jpg&ei=AmRSUarSD4jo2gWh-4DwAg&psig=AFQjCNETryW8oaz13zClQTKxRnhtsmyBeg&ust=1364440400647322) [the nose looks like](http://www.pathguy.com/sol/25668.jpg). Definitely not like normal growth. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/7 "2013-03-27T03:23:33Z")
your hair looses body as you age. it doesn’t spring out so much, it lays flatter. ears and nose stays the same. hair shrinks. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-our-ears-and-nose-continue-to-grow-throughout-our-life/654032/8 "2013-03-27T09:11:10Z")
Maybe it’s just that future generations are being born with smaller ears and noses?