### Why Do Some People Have a Lot of Hair on Their Ears? It's normal to have hair on your ears, but if you have a lot, you might wonder why. Almost your entire body is covered in some form of hair, except for the palms of your hands, your lips, and the soles of your feet. Hair on your ears is usually harmless, even if there's a lot of it. Before you were born, your body had soft hair all over, including your ears. This is called lanugo. It can sometimes take a few weeks for it to go away, especially for babies who are born early. Some people get more hair in and on their ears as they age, especially men. Doctors think it may be because of increased testosterone. This hormone makes hair coarser and thicker as it grays. The hair just inside your ear works with earwax to keep dirt and debris away from your eardrum. Farther inside your ear, tiny hairs help you hear and keep your balance. They live in canals full of fluid. When you move, the liquid moves with you. This bends the hairs and tells your body where it is in space. Doctors don’t know exactly why some people have so much ear hair. For many years, researchers thought it was a trait men passed down genetically through their Y chromosome. More recent studies say that isn’t true. It's rare to have very long hair on your outer ear. It's most common in men who live in India and Sri Lanka. It's rare, but babies born to women with diabetes can have hairy ears. Studies show that the better you control your disease while you’re pregnant, the less likely your baby is to have it. There's also a condition known as hypertrichosis, where hair grows all over your body. Some cases are genetic, but most aren't. Other causes include certain medications, disorders of your metabolic or endocrine system, poor nutrition, abnormal growths in your ovaries or adrenal glands, and infectious or inflammatory skin conditions. Extra hair inside your ear canal can put you at a higher risk for otitis externa, also known as swimmer’s ear. This is an infection in your outer ear. You get it when water and bacteria get trapped and the bacteria multiply. More hair in your ear gives the gunk more places to get stuck. Hairy ears won’t cause any serious health problems, but if you don’t like the way it looks or feels, you can remove it. You have several options: shave, pluck, wax, use hair removal cream, or opt for laser hair removal.