The Reason Why You Always Grab Your Earlobes After Holding a Hot Object

Last Updated on 2021-01-11 , 5:54 pm

If you’ve ever touched a hot rice cooker, a stove with the heat just turned off, or any hot item in general, you find that by the time you realise what has happened, the heat is stinging you.

With those accidental brushes against these objects, some of us simply attempt to shake it off in hopes of cooling it off that way.

Some others have this habit of touching their earlobes after touching something hot. It might look strange, almost akin to a punishment during our primary school days.

But this is actually a legitimate way of reducing the heat that has rushed upon your skin.

The floppy skin that lines our ears has minimal nerve endings, making them largely incapable of sensing the heat that had overcome the other parts that have felt it. Even better, the fatty tissue and cartilage in your earlobe are good conductors of heat.

When you quickly jerk your hand, or whatever part you have burnt, to your earlobes, not only will you not feel the stinging pain, you’ll also be able to transfer that heat away from your body.

While this method seems to work for small and quick interactions with heated objects, some believe it’s something you have to think it works in order for it to work (i.e. placebo effect). Whatever you believe, you could take a chance to save some healthy cells from the heat and avoid the pain for a while!

However, this doesn’t mean touching your earlobes is some magical cure for burns. If you have scalded your skin or you can see the redness and swelling becoming more distinct, you are better off visiting a doctor or getting cream and bandages for your injury.

And please, if you’re still unaware, here’s something new: don’t use toothpaste for burns. It does more harm than good.

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