# What do you call those earrings... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805 "2005-02-18T22:20:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/1 "2005-02-18T22:20:39Z")
They’re increasingly popular it seems and rather than clipping onto the ear they’re inserted. The bigger ones allow you to insert your finger through the person’s earlobe if you particularly wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/2 "2005-02-18T22:57:56Z")
They’re usually called plugs or ear plugs. Yes, just like the other kind. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/3 "2005-02-18T23:47:51Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > They’re usually called plugs or ear plugs. Yes, just like the other kind. If they’re hollow and narrow diameter they’re called eyelets. If there hollow and a larger diameter they’re called flesh tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/4 "2005-02-19T01:46:02Z")
Plugs, eyelets, earlets, flesh tunnels, spools, gauges…whatever. Plugs are solid, eyelets, earlets, and flesh tunnels have a hole through the middle. Spools and gauges can be either way. I’ve never heard of the distinction between eyelets and flesh tunnels that **1181** mentioned. Educate yourself about [stretched earlobes.](http://encyc.bmezine.com/?Stretched_Earlobe_Piercing) ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/5 "2005-02-19T01:59:57Z")
gross? ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/6 "2005-02-19T02:01:43Z")
Only if by “gross,” you mean “awesome.” ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/7 "2005-02-19T02:03:08Z")
> [@Mirror Image egamI rorriM](#): > > Only if by “gross,” you mean “awesome.” Yeah, I’m not usually so judgemental. But when I look at those, I just think of the PAIN and wonder “why.” This from a woman with hidden “intimate” piercings. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/8 "2005-02-19T02:06:56Z")
Actually, streching earlobes is painless if you do it right. It’s not like you take a huge plug and shove it in a standard piercing hole…or at least you shouldn’t. That’s how you tear your skin and get infections. If you do it slowly and correctly, using teflon tape, it doesn’t even feel uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/9 "2005-02-19T02:13:19Z")
> [@Mirror Image egamI rorriM](#): > > Actually, streching earlobes is painless if you do it right. It’s not like you take a huge plug and shove it in a standard piercing hole…or at least you shouldn’t. That’s how you tear your skin and get infections. If you do it slowly and correctly, using teflon tape, it doesn’t even feel uncomfortable. Yeah, but still… 🙂 Just giving you a hard time. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/10 "2005-02-19T07:23:59Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > gross? Not so much. I stretched mine from 16 gauge (normal size) to about 1/2" over the course of 18 mos. A few years later I let em shrink back. Took over a year, and they are still a bit looser than average. They aren’t that gross. But I’ll tell you what is- EAR SMEGMA! Yes, when your piercings are stretched that much, dead skin, conditioner, sweat, etc combine to make a nasty smelling whitish paste/cheesy crust on your tunnels, which should be cleaned off every so often with alcohol. Small gauge piercings can get this too, but on a much smaller scale. Nummy. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/11 "2005-02-19T16:47:29Z")
“Every so often?” No wonder your ears got gross. I clean mine every day when I take a shower. Of course, mine are just 4g, so they wouldn’t get as much gunk in them anyway. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/12 "2005-02-19T19:33:24Z")
> [@Mirror Image egamI rorriM](#): > > “Every so often?” No wonder your ears got gross. I clean mine every day when I take a shower. Of course, mine are just 4g, so they wouldn’t get as much gunk in them anyway. Yeah, I did about every other day. If I did it daily, they would get irritated and then things got much worse. You are at 4g? Keep going! Soon you will be able to put a q-tip through the holes with ease! Once you are at 0g or 00g, you can put all _sorts_ of things through eye glasses, carabeeners, small fingers, baby carrots, you name it! Fun party game. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-those-earrings/290805/13 "2005-02-19T21:36:24Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > Yeah, I did about every other day. If I did it daily, they would get irritated and then things got much worse. > > You are at 4g? Keep going! Soon you will be able to put a q-tip through the holes with ease! Once you are at 0g or 00g, you can put all _sorts_ of things through eye glasses, carabeeners, small fingers, baby carrots, you name it! Fun party game. 😃 Too true. I’m at 0 gauge and stuffed a bunch of cut-down incense sticks into the hole in my flesh tunnel.