Explore Plastic Surgery

It is a well recognized phenomenon that as we age, our earlobes sag and ‘grow’ longer. With this sagging, some earlobes get thinner and develop creases or wrinkles as well. This is almost an exclusive female problem which is often exaggerated by the use of ear rings over the years. In those women who develop elongated ear lobe holes or have actual tears, resulting in a split ear lobe, the ear lobes are often thin as well even after surgical repair.
One of the more uncommon, but very beneficial uses of injectable fillers, is to rejuvenate the appearance of the thinned ear lobe. Adding volume to the ear lobe through an injectable filler helps expand and stretch the ear lobe out to a more youthful appearance. I prefer the use of a hyaluronic filler, such as Juvaderm, Restylane, or Perlane, to create this tissue-expanding earlobe effect. It is quick and easy to perform and a hyaluronic filler flows in quite nicely into the small space of the earlobe. A small volume of .2 to .3ccs is all that is needed per ear alobe. An injectable filler in the ear lobe seems to last much longer than in any other area of the face, presumably due to the lack of any muscle movement on the treated area. patients can wear ear rings immediately thereafter.
I would not say that the hyaluronic acid fillers in the ear lobe are permanent but volume retention up to a year is likely. I suspect that any of the particulated fillers would last much longer (years) and I will likely turn to using those instead in the near future. I don’t think they pose any increased risk in the ear lobe compared to any other facial area.
For those squeemish about putting a needle in the ear (I would be!), I always numb up the area first by doing a simple injection of local anesthetic right in front of the earlobe which is not as tender an area. Ear lobe injections are then painless!
Dr. Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis

A patient asked me the other day an interesting question….what is the purpose of earlobes? Having done a lot of cosmetic otoplasties and reconstruction of missing ear parts, making an earlobe look better or rebuilding it has always been an important part of making an ear. But I must admit I have never thought about the functional purpose of an earlobe. We all know that some earlobes are directly attached to the side of the face and others are separated and hang away from it…and there may be some medical significance to that as has been reported for risk of heart disease. But as to function….the obvious answer is it a good place to put earrings…which would suggest that it may have some value in sexual attraction and historically, gender differences. But that is hardly an evolutionary functional explanation.

Interestingly, the earlobe is the one part of the ear that has no cartilage and it plays no role in capturing sound as does the rest of the ear. I suspect the answer lies somewhere in that anatomic difference. It is not stiff for a reason. So it being mobile and flexible might have significance. Perhaps at one point in our evolutionary development the earlobe was larger and served a protective function for the ear canal (when we walked on all fours?) but there is no fossil evidence to indicate that this was so. I guess my answer must remain…I don’t know.
Dr Barry Eppley

http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com

http://www.ologyspa.com

Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana

Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis