(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

Ears Often Play a Role in Fiction

Heraclitus said that the eyes are more exact witnesses than the ears. However, ears play a role in fiction: a role that can’t be replaced by eyes.

Envision a woman behind a hedge as she eavesdrops on a conversation that begins with, “Yeah, he said he’d do it on Saturday, but he’ll be dead before then.” The woman’s ears are the medium that relays the story to readers.

A person with a fetish might focus so much on someone’s ears that he doesn’t notice the dagger about to stab him in the heart.

Tattoos and piercings of both ears could suggest a rebellious teenager — or a retiree who doesn’t want to admit her age.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Consider ear descriptions when you want to show your characters’ emotions.

Agitation, alarm, anxiety, concern
tugging on an ear
repeatedly touching one’s ears

Attraction
tucking hair behind an ear

Determination, perseverance, stubbornness
pulling on an ear

Deceit, dishonesty, evasion, guilt, insincerity
reddening of the ears
touching an ear
rubbing one’s earlobes
picking an ear
twisting an ear
scratching below an earlobe

Disbelief, doubt
covering one’s ears with the hands
grabbing one’s ears
rubbing the back of an ear
repeated touching of one’s earrings

Distraction, distrust, indecision
tugging on an ear
repeatedly touching one’s ears

Dread, fear, terror
covering one’s ears with hands
repeatedly touching one’s ears
pulse pounding in the ears (only obvious to POV character)

Embarrassment
reddening of the ears
ears feeling hot (only obvious to POV character)

Emotional overwhelm
covering one’s ears with hands
ringing in the ears (only obvious to POV character)

Hatred, hostility, unfriendliness
pinching one’s ears
roaring in the ears (only obvious to POV character)

Impatience
tugging on an ear

Insecurity, nervousness, vulnerability, worry
pushing hair behind an ear
rubbing an ear
tugging on an ear

Reaction to bad news
covering one’s ears with hands
tugging on an ear
rubbing the back of an ear

Self-comfort
tugging on an ear

Stress
reddening of the ears

Surprise
covering one’s ears with hands

Some ear body language can indicate several emotions. Ensure that context supports the emotion you wish to portray.

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Adjectives

As always, be aware of opinion adjectives. Do you they advance your narrative? If not, reconsider.

A and B
ablaze, abnormal, adorned, alert, ample, analytical, anxious, appreciative, apprehensive, astonished, astute, asymmetric, attentive, baffled, bandaged, battered, beautiful, bewildered, big, bizarre, bleeding, blocked, bloody, boyish, broad, bruised, burning, buzzing

C
canted, childlike, chilly, clean, clogged, coarse, cocked, cold, comical, concealed, confused, covered, creased, critical, crooked, curious, cute

D
dainty, damp, dazed, deaf, deformed, delectable, delicate, demonic, devilish, dirty, disbelieving, discerning, discriminating, disoriented, distinctive, distorted, distrustful, double-pierced, doubtful, dried out, droopy, dubious, dull, dutiful

E and F
eager, earringed, elfin, elven, empathetic, enormous, erect, expectant, experienced, exposed, exquisite, failing, fat, febrile, feminine, festooned, feverish, filthy, fine, flabby, flaccid, fleshy, floppy, focused, folded, fragile, freezing, frostbitten, frozen, full, funny, furry, fuzzy

G to I
gargantuan, gigantic, gnarled, grimy, grotesque, grubby, gullible, hairless, hairy, half-cocked, healthy, heedful, heedless, hot, huge, icy, immense, impartial, inattentive, incredulous, indifferent, inexperienced, injured, innocent, inquiring, inquisitive, interested, irregular, itchy

J to M
jeweled, judgmental, keen, kinked, kissable, knotty, large, leathery, left, limp, lobeless, long, lop-eared, lopsided, lumpy, malformed, mammoth, mangled, masculine, massive, misshapen, monstrous, mucky, muddy, musical, mutilated

N and O
nosy, nubby, numb, oblivious, observant, obstructed, odd, oily, open (as in receptive), outer, overlarge, oversize

P
painful, patient, pearl-studded, peculiar, pendulous, perceptive, perfumed, perky, pert, petite, pierced, pinned-back, pixyish, pliable, plugged, plump, practiced, pretty, prodigious, projecting, prominent, protruding, protuberant, prying, puffy, punctured, puzzled

Q and R
queer, rakish, rapt, receptive, responsive, reverent, ribbed, right, rubbery

S
satanic, scabby, scarred, scraggy, sensitive, sexy, sharp, shiny, shocked, short, shriveled, shrunken, skeptical, slanting, slender, slippery, small, smoldering, snoopy, soapy, soft, sparkly, stiff, stinging, suspicious, sweaty, swollen, sympathetic

T
thick, thin, thin-lobed, ticklish, tilted, tiny, tone-deaf, torn, trained, translucent, transparent, trollish, trusting, twisted, twitchy

U
ugly, ultrasensitive, unadorned, uncomprehending, unconvinced, uncovered, uncultivated, underdeveloped, unerring, uneven, unfailing, ungainly, unmusical, unprotected, unreceptive, unresponsive, unsophisticated, unsympathetic, untrained, untutored, unusual

V to Y
vigilant, warm, wary, waxen, waxy, weathered, weird, well-trained, wet, wide, withered, wizened, wounded, wrinkled, youthful

Similes and Metaphors

Many authors enjoy likening characters to animals. A cat burglar with feline ears might be too obvious for serious fiction, but ears resembling twin whale tails might provide the magic touch for a period piece about a seafarer.

Here are a few idea starters.

B to V
bat-like, bovine, canine, cat-like, elephantine, equine, fawn-like, feline, horse-like, jug-like, like a matched set of flounder bookends, like an owl’s horned ears, like twin whale tails, rabbity, rat-like, simian, vulpine

More words and phrases you could use for similes or metaphors include:

A to W
alien appendages, cabbage-like, dried prunes, filigrees, flower petals, handles, knobs, sea shells, taxi doors, wind turbines, wings

Observe the items in your environment. You might be surprised at the number of descriptive opportunities you find.

Colors

Body parts change color with variations in mood and environment. If ears form part of your storyline, ensure that their color is consistent with the circumstances.

A few of the colors you might choose:

B to Y
blue, brown, cream-colored, crimson, discolored, florid, freckled, grey/gray, milky, pink, purple, red, rosy, ruddy, russet, speckled, yellowed

See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors.

Scents

Stimulate readers’ senses by including scent. Ears might smell like or reek of:

A to G
almonds, bacon, the beach, bug spray, butter, buttermilk, butterscotch, cheap perfume, cheese, clover, cookie dough, corn chips, dirty neoprene, ear wax, fermenting cabbage, fish and chips, a flower garden, fresh air, fungus, a grungy hairnet, gunpowder

H to Y
hair conditioner, hair salon chemicals, honey, Italian dressing, ketchup, mildew, pancake syrup, peanuts, pepperoni pizza, pond scum, rose water, shampoo, shaving cream, soap, sour milk, soya sauce, vomit, wet tennis shoes, yeast

Shapes

Forensics experts sometimes rely on earprints to identify a criminal. Ears, like fingerprints, vary from person to person.

They might be described as:

A to W
angular, blocky, blunt, blunt-tipped, boxy, cauliflower, concave, elongated, flat, leafy, oval, pear-shaped, pointed, rounded, shapeless, sharp, square, tapered, triangular, trumpet-shaped, whorled

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Ears hear, but they also perform other functions. They, or their owners, might:

A to D
ache, adapt to, adjust to, beat, blanch, boom, burn, buzz, catch [a sound], chill, clear, cock, color, cool (down), crackle, crush (against), detect, differentiate, discern, discover, disregard, distinguish, droop

E to H
earwig, eavesdrop, echo, empurple, equalize, expand, extend, feel as though, feel like, flap, flatten, flood, flush, flutter, glisten, glow, hammer, hear, heed, hiss, hurt

I to Q
identify, ignore, interpret, itch, jangle, jerk, jut out, lie back, listen, make out (as in perceive), move, note, notice, overhear, pay no attention (to), perceive, perk (up), pick up, pinken, poke out, pop, pound, press against, prick, prickle, pulsate, pulse, quirk, quiver

R and S
receive, recognize, redden, refocus, regard, register, resemble, resound, reverberate, ring, shine, shrink, sizzle, slant, smart, snoop, squash (against), stand erect, stick out, sting, strain (to hear)

T to Y
throb, thump, tilt, tingle, tire, tremble, turn blue, turn red, twitch, unblock, unclog, unravel [sounds], vibrate, wag, waggle, warm (up), wiggle, yellow

Props

Consider weaving ears into your storyline by adding props:

A to D
anvil, audio exam, audiogram, auditory nerve, auriscope, blackheads, Bluetooth headsets, canal, cartilage, chamber, cochlea, discharge, drops, drum

E
ear candles, ear cuffs, ear muffs, ear trumpets, earache, earbuds, eardrum, earlobes, earpieces, earplugs, earrings, earwax, ENT specialist, eustachian tube, eyeglass lanyards

F to I
flesh plugs, flesh tunnels, freckles, frostbite, hammer, hats, headbands, headphones, hearing aids, hearing test, incus, in-ear monitors, infection, inflammation, inner ear, irrigation

M to P
malleus, middle ear, mites, moles, otolaryngologist, otologist, otoscope, pain, party ears, piercings, pimples, pinna, points

S and T
safety pins, scars, sebaceous glands, semicircular canal, stirrup, studs, sunburn, syringes, tattoos, tubes

Clichés and Idioms

Ears can add depth to a story, but repetition alienates readers. If your WIP contains too many occurrences of ear or ears, search for phrases like the following and try to replace them.

all ears: alert, attentive

for your ears only: confidential, private

music to one’s ears: gratifying, pleasant, pleasurable

pleasing to the ear: euphonious, mellifluous, melodious, lyrical

the walls have ears: be careful what you say; someone is listening

to keep one’s ear to the ground: watch for clues

to lend an ear: listen

to play something by ear (1): play an instrument without sheet music

to play something by ear (2): improvise

to put a bug in someone’s ear (1): hint, suggest

to put a bug in someone’s ear (2): alert, caution, warn

to talk someone’s ears off: babble, prate, prattle, talk too much

up to one’s ears: inundated, overwhelmed, swamped

wet behind the ears: green, inexperienced, new