# Is it normal for someone to have different sized ear canals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969 "2015-05-01T06:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/1 "2015-05-01T06:05:05Z")
Inspired by [this tale.](http://notalwaysworking.com/getting-an-earful-about-being-normal/38414) I don’t know what the difference was in the story, but it must’ve been noticeable. I was wondering if it was at all common myself. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/2 "2015-05-01T06:41:24Z")
That doesn’t surprise me. While I can’t really say I’m an expert on ear canals, I do know that a certain amount of asymmetry in our entire face and body is normal. Most people have one leg that is slightly longer than the other. Women often have one breast that is slightly larger than the other. The location of the ears (which depends on the location of the ear canal) is often a bit asymmetric. Even the size and shape of the ears can be asymmetrical. We’re so used to people being slightly asymmetrical that people with perfect symmetry look weird. See the wikipedia page here: > **[Facial symmetry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_symmetry)** > > Facial symmetry is one specific measure of bodily symmetry. Along with traits such as averageness and youthfulness it influences judgments of aesthetic traits of physical attractiveness and beauty. For instance, in mate selection, people have been shown to have a preference for symmetry. > Facial bilateral symmetry is typically defined as fluctuating asymmetry of the face comparing random differences in facial features of the two sides of the face. The human face also has systematic, directional a... It’s only when the asymmetry gets really pronounced that people start to look weird to us. For the nurse to comment on that person’s ear canal, I’m guessing that the asymmetry in their ear canals was pretty significant. That much asymmetry may not be common, but a certain amount of asymmetry is perfectly normal. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/3 "2015-05-01T10:12:47Z")
I’ve always had a much narrower right ear canal than left one. It became especially obvious to me when I started sesribg earplugs at night about ten years ago – it always takes more effort to roll a plug and shove it into my right ear than it does for my left. I I agree with the previous poster – I’ve never worried about it, because assymetry of features is normal, and rarely a true impediment even if at the edge of normal range (as my ear canal assymetry apparently is). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/4 "2015-05-01T11:03:16Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > … when I started sesribg earplugs at night … I think you win the prize for most unexpected typo of the year. Seriously, \*what \*were your fingers doing? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/5 "2015-05-01T13:25:37Z")
I have one nostril that is signficantly narrower than the other (less then half the width of the larger one). Since I have a lot of sinus issues, I asked my doctor if there might be some connection. He laughed at me. I still think some of my breathing issues might be related to only having one-and-a-half nostrils. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-someone-to-have-different-sized-ear-canals/718969/6 "2015-05-02T14:09:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I think you win the prize for most unexpected typo of the year. > > Seriously, \*what \*were your fingers doing? 😃 Sometimes I slip into a little-known Hungarian-Swahili-Navajo dialect. What, are you too lazy to use Google Translate? 😉