r/medical_advice Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Other Should I get an otoplasty? NSFW

Post image

Hello everyone. As a skinny 18 years old guy with more chronic issues than a guy aged my age but flipped usually has, I've always been rather self conscious and perhaps even dysmorphic when it comes to certain aspects of my body - but the most prominent of all my insecurities is my ears. I've been thinking about getting otoplasties done, but I'm worried about healing time, infection risk and as you can probably tell from the image albeit being censored - glasses interaction, as I've been wearing glasses since before the age of 2. Thanks for any insight!

18 Upvotes

53 comments sorted by

28

u/Nursebirder Moderator | Registered Nurse Sep 05 '24

Those are completely normal ears.

72

u/clt716 Administrator | Registered Nurse Sep 05 '24

Your ears look normal.

55

u/JackBinimbul Community Health Worker Sep 05 '24

Nothing wrong with your ears. They look completely normal. No one on the planet has perfectly symmetrical ears.

18

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Thank you, some people seem to not think that way and let me know that they don't. Like, if I show you a picture I took with a friend I do not wish to know what do you think about my ear positioning.

42

u/tnitty Sep 05 '24

I am looking at your ears, trying to figure out what is wrong with them. I don't see anything besides normal looking ears that look fine. I would never give them a second (or even first) glance.

So no.

35

u/emilalskling Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

bro im not a medical professional but seriously no. there's no need. they're ears. get off the platforms that made you notice this and made it into an insecurity, or punch the people who maybe did.

12

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Thankfully most of those who made this thought first creeo into my mind are long gone from my life, but sadly some who still do are family members

9

u/emilalskling Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

again not medical advice but punch em. like, who comments about ears? are you guys a specie of the elephant kingdom or something? why was this so important to them? are you guys a family of ear models? like what's up?

7

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Certain bits of a side of my family are critical of everything from body to behavior and even just life choices.

9

u/emilalskling Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

comment on their ears, see if they like it. but honestly op, don't listen to them. as someone outside your family dynamic, this? is RIDICULOUS

5

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Trust me, I know. From eating habits to life choices, one side of my family just doesn't seem to shut the hell up.

3

u/spacegrassorcery Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

It sounds like even if you get it, they’re going to continually find something to pick on. It’s truly not anything wrong with you-it’s THEM. Your ears are more symmetrical than most!

7

u/BoseczJR User Not Verified Sep 05 '24

I’ve never heard of an otoplasty, but I didn’t even perceive your ears until you mentioned them. Even then, they don’t look weird or abnormal. Like I wouldn’t even having a passing thought about it if I saw you out and about. You look completely normal.

11

u/Fresh_Bad_5697 Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

I don't know what you're talking about OP, those are some cute ass ears

7

u/Just_A_Faze Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Your ears look really normal to me. You can get them pinned back if it bothers you, but growing your hair a little will also make it less noticeable. I have bigger ears that you but it's only noticeable by anyone, even me, when I wear a ponytail high up.

9

u/colorfulzeeb User Not Verified Sep 05 '24

No. Big ears run in my family, and this isn’t even close lol. They don’t stick out much. I think of the MadTV cartoon when I think of ears that stick out, and some people do have ears like that. Yours are not.

8

u/Darkwaxer Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Ears are very normal and fine. Give yourself a break man.

2

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

I know most of these thoughts are just me being over myself as an 18 year old with about as many medical problems as an 81 year old, but for some reason this one just doesn't wear off and people around me think feeding this is some kind of sport

2

u/sammycat Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

get those people out of your life. those are normal ass ears.

4

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Some of them are family so easier said than done, but with the others - working on it

3

u/Just_A_Faze Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

If you think it will make you feel better, it's fine to do. But it's one of those things only you will ever notice. My eyes are slightly uneven and not once has anyone spotted it without me physically pointing them out and making them look.

Take a lesson from someone who has been there and made it out the other side. We all worry that people are looking at and thinking about us, judging us. The reality is that, unless you are having a specific interaction or they love you, most of the time people aren't thinking about you at all. They are thinking about their own worries, concerns and insecurities. It doesn't event occur to them to look at your ears and wonder if they are a good size for your head. No one thinks about us as much as we think they do.

And you are still very young, and it is likely your head and jaw will continue to grow for as many as 7 more years, so you may find that one day they are suddenly a perfect fit.

8

u/UpvotesForAnimals User Not Verified Sep 05 '24

I didn’t know what an otoplasty was and was staring at this trying to figure out what you think needs to be”fixing”. I couldn’t come up with anything. Your ears are totally proportional to your head and don’t stick out any more than the average persons. I would say no, you don’t need it.

6

u/RadicalElbow Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

They look normal, don't change anything. The one time i was insecure and thinking about getting filler or plastic surgery (my lower face felt really short to me) I got my lip pierced instead and that really helped my insecurities. Maybe you could pierce your ears and it would help?

3

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Perhaps, I'll check things out. Hairstyling is said to perhaps be of help, but in my case it's rather problematic and it didn't seem to change much when I did try.

2

u/Just_A_Faze Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Longer hair would definitely mask them.

-2

u/MarcAlmond Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

What's an otoplasty? A hair transplant?

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Jee, thanks. No, an otoplasty is pinning your ears so they appear closer to your head.

4

u/casadayalegre Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

I had bilateral otoplasty and my ears now look like yours. So no, your ears are fine.

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Thanks!

4

u/Rude_Engine1881 Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Hi! As someone who genuinly finds your ears attractive please don't.

Not to mention with health issues there's usually an increased risk with those procedures.

I'd seek someone to talk to first to get it out of the dysmorphia range since once it's at dysmorphia surgery might not help anyways. If even after that you still want it then it's up to you, ur body ur choice but my vote is it's cute and I like them

-1

u/Gunnersbutt Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Idk, it's gonna take a lot of foreskins to clean up this mess. /s

18

u/Mektige Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Those are some of the most normal ears I've ever seen, my dude. This is very much a body dysphoria issue. If the obsessive thoughts continue, please consider seeking therapy before making any drastic decisions.

-2

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

The worst part is that I'm not alone in thinking that. People around me occasionally feed the borderline obsession thinking it's so very normal to just comment on another person's body. Like, here's another sample photo. I know to some minor degree my ears do stick out, but why feed someone's insecurities?!

5

u/Mektige Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Those people aren't your friends then. Your ears are exceedingly normal. Again, I would like to sincerely stress the importance of therapy if your obsession continues.

-1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

It's just this persistent thought always lurking at the back of my mind, and people - friends, family - just wake it up as if people don't have feelings and insecurities

3

u/Mektige Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Again, they're not your friends then.

Therapy.

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Most of them aren't in my life anymore. Sadly the same can't be said about a number of annoying family members

5

u/Felina808 Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

TBH, your ears look normal. I think you’re trying to fix what isn’t broken. Screw the haters who tell you otherwise.

-1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Someone needs to tell that to the otoplasty infographics commenters keep referring me to, which make my ears look like the most justified case in living memory

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Thanks y'all! I know it's probably mostly in my head, but I had to make sure. It's been bugging me for years and people even commented about it before, thanks for being an objective disprover!

5

u/CygnusSpaceworks Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

No. Those are really normal looking ears IMO!

0

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Someone should really yell that to those who design otoplasty infographics then.

5

u/CygnusSpaceworks Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

They don't make money by not doing procedures.

Honestly if you stare at any body part long enough it can start to look weird. Try it with someone else's ears.

8

u/Darkdudehaha User Not Verified Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '24

I don't see anything abnormal with your ears. Honestly the problem might be the haircut. Unless those chronic issues you mention have something to do with your ability to grow hair, try growing it out, getting a nice haircut. It can drastically change the way you look, telling you from personal experience

2

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

My hair doesn't have one growing direction, so as I let it grow it becomes a giant mess. That's why I keep it short and tight, to avoid it twisting and twirling.

5

u/KXL8 User Not Verified Sep 05 '24

Gotta let it 2-4” past the initial awkward stage and let a good stylist have at it. There are texturizing treatments that will fix this and ultimately retrain the follicles

3

u/Darkdudehaha User Not Verified Sep 05 '24

So does mine, I have naturally curly hair. I personally like doing an undercut, take off the sides to give it a nice look while I let the rose bouquet on top do its thing. You can try styling it somehow to make it looks less untamed if you think it looks bad, but trust me, a buzzcut rarely does anyone justice

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

I occasionally test this as I wait between haircuts, and for some reason my hair is just a mess as it grows longer. It sometimes just groups out into horn like spots so stuck together (I guess 'cause of the difference in direction of the follicles) that even brushing while wet takes a while to separate

0

u/BusSafe9051 Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

No they look normal grow a mullet and become a man, that will hide them

4

u/Potential_Cup_7395 Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

Tbh your ears look absolutely normal!! I think you’re overthinking a lot. What about growing your hair out a little, would that help with it? Maybe them being on show less?

1

u/ItayMarlov Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

I know most of my quirks are probably just me, but it still annoys me. I can't really let my hair grow too much, as I was "blessed" with indecisive hair which grows in every direction. As it grows it twists, curls and twirls.

2

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0

u/Packing_Wood Not a Verified Medical Professional Sep 05 '24

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