# Why do my ears turn red? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600 "2004-10-28T02:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/1 "2004-10-28T02:03:11Z")
Sometimes one or both of my ears get hot and turn red. When it is just one it is very weird. When it is both it is merely embarrassing. The bad thing is that I have very very short hair so I can’t hide them at all. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/2 "2004-10-28T04:36:27Z")
I had that problem with the hot ears something bad when I was an adolescent. It got to be so uncomfortable that I’d be dipping my ears in a cold glass of water (I’m not kidding!). For some reason, I grew out of it. I don’t know what caused it, or why it stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/3 "2004-10-28T04:45:39Z")
Mine do this too. Dunno why. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/4 "2004-10-28T06:34:57Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Mine do this too. Dunno why. You idiots it means people are talking about you behind your back. :wally You know I’m joking, right? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/5 "2004-10-28T07:08:21Z")
I once had a teacher whose ears turned bright red whenever she became angry. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/6 "2004-10-28T22:35:12Z")
I’ve seen it happen to people with allergies when they are exposed to the allergen. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/7 "2004-10-29T03:32:49Z")
It usually happens to me after sex. (I’m not kidding) Sometimes it seems to happen for no apparent reason and my wife looks at me very suspiciously. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/8 "2004-10-29T11:54:27Z")
Well, I can’t grow out of it because I’m 45. Next time I’ll notice if I’m upset or angry. I don’t think so. I was at a party once, standing in the lobby of someone’s home, and my friend’s husband says really loudly, “Leslie, why are your ears so red?” so the entire party had to notice my ears. Very embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/9 "2004-10-29T16:24:51Z")
A friend of mine has this same problem, closely tied to his stress/anger level. He was leading into a rant about a coworker one day, speaking calmly, giving no evidence of the issue to come, but I could see it coming a mile away by his ears. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-my-ears-turn-red/271600/10 "2004-10-29T16:49:38Z")
My ears turn red when I’m angry. They also turn red when I’m drinking. It seems I burn off alcohol through my ears.