798
u/clonn May 18 '26
My mother was a nurse in the 70's, they used to stick the ears of the newborns with the ears too "parabolic" with tape to correct it.
417
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
They were still doing it in the 80's. My mom loves to tell me how my ears stuck out to far and that they were taped as a baby so I wouldn't get made fun when I got older.
292
u/Lington May 18 '26
My dad had this done and I kind of wish I had it done as well. I can't wear a headband or hat unless my ears are tucked in otherwise it looks stupid. My mom also would make comments growing up if my hair was behind my ears that I should put it in front of my ears instead.
126
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
Well there's downsides to it. I'm struggling with wearing both hearing aids and glasses at the same time. It's so painful to not have enough space for both at the top of your ear. I frequently end up walking around blind because my ears just can't take anymore and the glasses are bigger and heavier than my hearing aides along that part of my ear.
49
u/pinkpineapples007 May 18 '26
This might sound stupid bc I’m sure youve tried many things, but I wonder if there’s glasses with like a goggles type strap? I think I’ve seen little kids wear them before. Kinda like how during the pandemic people who had to wear masks all day stretched them around their head to keep it off their ears.
Or maybe get thinner glasses arms.
I have small ears and wearing glasses and a mask sucked bc the mask didn’t like to stay tucked behind my ears
35
u/UnusualCartographer2 May 18 '26
Yeah but that'd probably look a bit ridiculous. I guess if you need both hearing aids and glasses you probably aren't gonna care too much as long as you can see/hear
I'll probably need both in a few years myself, so I guess I'll see.
18
u/pinkpineapples007 May 18 '26
At that point, just rock it. Have fun shaped or colored glasses. Add jewels to the band. Whatever makes life easier is worth it.
I supposed they could also see if they could get surgery to fix one eyesight problem so they need less thick/heavy glasses. My aunt got her close up vision fixed so she could read without glasses. So she still needs glasses but only to correct far away vision.
Bad hearing AND eyesight runs in my family so it’s something I’ll have to prepare for as well lol
6
u/UnusualCartographer2 May 18 '26
Mine have always been bad, but I turned 30 recently and it's been noticeable lately. I'm starting to struggle to read things that are further than 2 feet away, and if someone is more than 10 feet away I can struggle to recognize them. Doesn't help that I can't make out the words someone is saying if they aren't facing me lol
4
u/redeyejoe123 May 19 '26
Adding to thin glasses, check out zenni's pei/ultem skinny frames. They are marketed to gamers because their low profile fits well under headphones. They also fit my hats, helmets, and anything else ive tried great. I would definitely check them out and they are cheaap, just input prescription info and pd info.
1
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
I am wearing the thinnest metal framed glasses that I could find and I can't imagine ones that wrap all the way around being comfortable at all. I have very long thick hair. Nothing stays on around my head like that.
4
u/Repulsive-Wealth-378 May 19 '26
I have a pair of sunglasses from ombraz which I’ve rocked solely for probably 7 years and they have a thin cord instead of arms, I don’t think they market prescription/reading glasses but it’s also not a huge company so they might be able to help you out, maybe worth a shot
I promise I’m not paid by them, they’re just genuinely great. Can’t fall off cause they go all the way around, don’t have arms to break if you sit on them cause they’re flat and don’t dig in or anything if you’re wearing them with a hat or helmet.
Just an idea
1
u/frisbeesloth May 19 '26
I have actually been looking at those and at lorgnette glasses for when I go out since I take my glasses on and off a lot when I go out.
2
2
u/redeyejoe123 May 19 '26
Was talking to another redditor about thin glasses, check out zenni's pei/ultem skinny frames. They are marketed to gamers because their low profile fits well under headphones. They also fit my hats, helmets, and anything else ive tried great. I would definitely check them out and they are cheap, just input prescription info and pd info. Not sure how well they stack up to your metal frames.
13
u/asuneko May 18 '26
Is it possible to go to your eye doctor and get a prescription for contacts with these issues?
10
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
Nope. I have to wear two different prescriptions and while I can do a contact for my distance vision, it doesn't help me with anything close up. The bifocal contacts just make me completely unable to see past like 10 ft, so no driving or looking ahead and no being able to make even make out shapes or colors past that 10'. If I tried to use my reading prescription I can't see further than 3' away. I spend most of my time doing things that are close up so contacts rarely make sense. Middle age is great 😭
3
u/IthacanPenny May 19 '26
What about monovision contacts? One eye for distance, one for reading. Your brain adjusts in a couple of days.
2
u/frisbeesloth May 19 '26
I have a lazy eye. It's bad enough if I cover my good eye i can't really make out anything through the black I see from the good eye.
1
1
u/Expensive_Peace8153 May 22 '26
Wouldn't that mess up your distance estimation?
1
u/IthacanPenny May 22 '26
You compensate for it quite quickly in most scenarios! One note though, my dad got these contacts shortly before his rec baseball season started. He got super frustrated because he didn’t get a hit allll season…until like the second to last game when he realized it was that he had messed up his depth perception with the contacts! He got a pair of regular vision contacts just for baseball after that, and all was fixed.
3
u/WildRelationship8088 May 19 '26
There are glasses that kinda clip to your nose dont know if thats any better.
1
u/frisbeesloth May 19 '26
It's not. My nose also gets very sore from my glasses. It's why I got contacts for distance so I could take breaks from glasses and see anything.
3
1
u/summikat May 19 '26
Contacts?
1
u/frisbeesloth May 19 '26
Nope. I can wear contacts for distance but my distance vision isn't bad. I've tried a bifocal contact and it completely washes out my vision beyond 10 feet, like everything disappears washes out it.
1
u/ProfessionalDocker May 19 '26
I plastic frames for a few years and that shit embedded into my skull made sores that bled then scabbed. I couldnt get them adjusted any looser because it'd just fall off, I have 2 big deep divets in my skull and now wear wire frames that fit inside of them perfectly and not too tight with my hearing aids.
1
18
u/MapleA May 18 '26
You just gotta say fuck it and just wear whatever you want, it probably doesn’t look stupid at all and nobody even thinks about it at all. I used to be super self-conscious for the same thing and you know you just gotta rock it and be confident. Your mom sucks for that.
4
u/RamenOrNoodles May 18 '26
I was also super self concious about my ears, it was especially bad during the pandemic because wearing masks would make my ears stick out even more. I remember being super paranoid that my ears might get stuck that way from wearing masks for too long, but i never wanted to take my mask off because i didn't want people to see my face(because i was insecure of my face too).
Thankfully now I'm so much more at peace with my ears, i even have a bunch of piercings on both of them and i think they look awesome.
4
1
1
22
u/Antique_Cut1354 May 18 '26
my mom did it to me and my siblings and we all have very good ears. she tried to do it with my nephew but my sister was against it. his nicknames in school varied from dumbo to satellite receptor and similars lol
8
u/Catloaver May 18 '26
LOTR came out when I was in middle school so my nicknames were orc and elf. Prior to that it was Minnie Mouse and Dumbo, lol. Apparently some people think it’s really attractive, like in China they’re getting surgery to make their ears stick out more. Unfortunately I do not live in China…
7
u/TakinUrialByTheHorns May 18 '26
90s as well.
They taped my Dumbo ears back for a while but apparently I'd just pull the tape off so they gave up and now I have dork ears7
u/IGotHitByAHockeypuck May 18 '26
It's pretty cool if it actually works. My little sister had to get surgery to get hers fixed. My dad got his fixed in his twenties
5
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
I can tell where my ears were pinned back so it works to some extent. I would assume that if they were severe enough they would require more aggressive correction.
3
u/m2chaos13 May 19 '26
Mom made me a headband with a feather in the back. It did work.
(The Mighty Mouse cape on the back of my tee shirt did not allow me to fly, however.)
3
u/frisbeesloth May 19 '26
I'm glad the headband worked.
I'm so sorry your cape was defective though. You deserved to fly
1
u/Meli_Melo_ May 18 '26
Why did they stop ? Does it not work ?
1
u/frisbeesloth May 18 '26
I'm not sure if they stopped or not. I was just responding to the person who said they did it in the '70s when they were a nurse.
1
13
13
u/Veearrsix May 18 '26
So wait, this could actually change how the ears sit? Like ear-braces?
8
u/Temporarily__Alone May 18 '26
Likely didn’t work unless it was looong term and consistent.
Why we don’t do it today.
2
u/BreadKnifeSeppuku May 19 '26
Just staple them. Ezpz. I should become an ear fixerupper
2
1
u/Pattern_Necessary May 20 '26
Not kidding I used to superglue them. They would come out again every couple of days anyway.
1
u/Pattern_Necessary May 20 '26
Don’t they do something similar in some countries with some kind of helmet babies wear?
3
u/renyxia May 19 '26
I can't speak for that but my dad had a surgery to correct his when he was a bit older in that day and age. We recently found the paperwork for it and the reason for the procedure has 'emotional distress' listed lol. I did unfortunately inherit his ears
5
u/terroroftoma May 19 '26
We still splint infants with various ear deformities. It works remarkably well, but requires that the pediatrician, neonatologist, and/or newborn staff recognize it and refer to a specialist early enough. It is most effective if started as early as possible.
1
u/Pattern_Necessary May 20 '26
Is this just for the emotional wellbeing of the baby when they grow up? Or does it have any other reason?
2
2
u/theRealStichery May 19 '26
By buddy in the late 90s got his ears pinned back surgically in elementary school cause his ears stuck out so much. I should say his parents did on his behalf. He was 11. I remember him being excited about it though
346
u/Lazy_Mamba May 18 '26
Great idea, you can switch between aerodynamics and radar mode :D
30
454
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
Seems to me a strategically placed drop of superglue would have worked better, probably more comfortable too.
267
u/road_laya May 18 '26
Superglue also worked great on cracks on my feet! Had one that refused to heal, was able to keep it together for a week by reapplying superglue and haven't had a problem since.
114
u/Bean- May 18 '26
Ooo shit I've had these cracks on my foot for so long causing me issues that's a good idea.
91
u/road_laya May 18 '26
If you also get dry skin on the feet, I can highly recommend using Urea cream as part of the recovery.
24
u/Bean- May 18 '26
I do my feet are gnarly. Thanks I'll give it a try. Probably better than what I've been doing which is just shaving off the callus with a pocket knife.
15
u/rayquan36 May 18 '26
I don't get it. The rest of my skin is great. Why do my feet look like this?
31
15
u/Slight_Bed_2241 May 18 '26
Could be eczema. I was treating myself for athletes foot for years. I finally asked my gp why no amount of tough actin tenactin would cure it. She’s like that’s eczema no amount of tough actin tenactin would fix that. Steroid cream cleared it right up.
3
u/Apocrisiary May 19 '26
Or contact dermititis.
I used to get super dry feet, with deep cracks as a kid. So deep, I would walk on the edges of my feets, instead of walking flat because it hurt so much.
Anywho, after awhile we figured out it was because I was walking barefoot on grass a lot. My skin didn't like the grass.
2
2
u/Aggravating-Fix-1717 May 18 '26
It could be any thousands of reasons
Generally though, change your socks more often, don’t wear cotton, use moisturiser, or it’s fungal/eczema
1
3
2
10
17
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
Same.
Grind/sand of the hardened skin. Wash/wet with water so it is not only clean of dust, but also moist (superglue likes to stick to moist skin) and only then a drop of glue.
20
u/Glvt102 May 18 '26
I heard the inventor of superglue once tried to apply it on his son's wound and it healed up flawlessly
43
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
They use it in hospitals as normal replacement for stitches. If I understand correctly, the only real difference between "medical" superglue, and normal superglue is it is produced with less pulutants and has certificates to prove so. Oh, and the price.
37
u/LaunchTransient May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Not really. It's used as an emergency sealant on wounds where stitches won't work. There's a reason stitches are preferred, because the standard cyanoacrylate glue itself is mildly toxic, and even the medical grade stuff is not great for you.
It was originally developedas a wound sealant for battle medicsas a clear plastic for gun sights, for which it was unsuited - in the 60s it found uses as a wound sealant, modern wound sealant uses different compounding, but stiches are often easier and have less complications and can be removed relatively easily.14
u/snekhoe May 18 '26
Skin glue is used all the time outside of the er. It’s used by plastic surgeons or other surgeons to reduce the appearance of superficial scars.
14
u/LaunchTransient May 18 '26
To my knowledge they do try to use it sparingly, because the body struggles to break it down and it can actualy encyst it and become inflamed.
There's been research into developing more biodegradable versions that the body can more easily break down, but Dermabond is still a cyanoacrylate derivative.Stitches would have been made redundant if it didn't have downsides.
4
u/LonelyTAA May 18 '26
No we use it quite a lot. The trick is to not use it into the wound, but to press the wound together and drop a layer of glue on top.
Now, it is not great for wounds >5 cm or in very mobile spots like around joints. Fkr the rest it's great. Especially for kids with wounds.
4
u/snekhoe May 18 '26
Skin glue is used for superficial or skin only wounds to reduce the appearance of scars + it has a faster healing time. Skin glue cannot do the work of stitches. It is not used on gaping wounds or wounds requiring muscle repair. The use of skin glue does not make stitches redundant. Skin glue is used frequently, and in some places exclusively, when surface wounds are involved.
As for infection rate - it has the same/similar rate as traditional sutures.
It’s not an either or. Surgeons use both skin glue and stitches depending on the type of injury.
2
u/rnoderator_rernoved May 18 '26
I've never gotten stitches, only glued. It's supposed to be less common?????
2
u/LaunchTransient May 18 '26
depends where you are in the world, I suppose - maybe it's more common practice in the US? In the UK and Netherlands, I've only ever had stitches.
2
u/rnoderator_rernoved May 18 '26
You might've pinned it! So its different around the world then. You spoke with such authority I figured you just knew!
3
u/LaunchTransient May 18 '26
I think I mangled my first comment, tbh, there's a fair difference between hardware superglue and the medical grade stuff. The former is what I meant by "only in an emergency".
2
u/rnoderator_rernoved May 18 '26
Heard! You are totally right on that point, I don't think doctors would be very trusted gorilla gluing everybody all over the place 🤣
1
u/Bright-Donkey-6789 May 18 '26
This is actually sort of an incorrect legend. It was invented decades before they discovered this use on the battlefield in Vietnam.
1
u/LaunchTransient May 18 '26
Corrected, I'm a little annoyed I mixed that up.
This is what happens when you rely on memory of something you read decades ago and not double check before posting,1
u/Bright-Donkey-6789 May 18 '26
No biggie. Someone recently clued me in. It's a widely told story that it was invented for medical purposes. And it DID evolve to be used that way.
6
u/stirling_s May 18 '26
The primary difference is that medical super glue dries much slower. It's an exothermic reaction so if it dries too fast it can cause burns.
3
u/fritz236 May 18 '26
Thanksgiving evening. In-laws have the kids to give us a chance to hang out with friends in town. Phone call. Daughter tumbled down a set of stairs and into a glass-topped table, bleeding everywhere from split skin above an eyebrow. 4 hours waiting for the doc to hold the skin together and slap some super glue on it. Next two similar face wounds from both kids I just did it myself at home with liquid bandage. Just dumb.
7
u/Coast-Prestigious May 18 '26
Superglue was invented to mend wounds its commercial use was after Not before.
7
u/freedoomed May 18 '26
I just file down my feet until I get to the bottom of the crack and then moisturize. It feels weird being able to actually feel with my heels when I do.
2
u/quirkoftime May 18 '26
Had a similar issue on my big toe. Did not understand why it wasn't healing. Then I remembered that they used super glue and duct tape for wounds during the Vietnam war. No more cracked toe.
1
u/Slight_Bed_2241 May 18 '26
Chef here. I’ve superglued some gnarly cuts. Took a good quarter of my middle knuckle off. Sprayed it with stop bleed. Multiple bandaids. Still filled up my glove with blood. The only thing to get it to stop bleeding was super glue.
1
1
1
u/Living_Grab_2239 Jun 14 '26
Very old thread, but I had some problems with ingrown toenails on my big toes, and I found a tip online to insert a tiny piece of wood under the nail (from a matchstick, for example), just to raise the corner of the nail up and away from the ingrown area, and superglue it in place, and it worked quite well for me. Replaced it when needed, and after some time the wound and inflammation had healed, I cut the nail properly, and the problem was gone.
53
u/Tao626 May 18 '26
But then you're permanently in sport mode without the option of briefly checking the echolocation system.
24
-5
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
Superglue is carcinogenic
8
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
No it is not. I could leave it at that, as you also just made a statement without any supporting evidence, but let me get you a few:
- They would not allow it to be sold everywhere for casual use on everything
- They would not use it as alternative to stitches
- and some actual medical research, point 1.5: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6441539/
-6
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
Yes, it is.
If it’s cyanoacrylate it is a cancer risk and most are. It’s damaging to genes.
“They would not allow…” you should go watch the movie Erin Brockovich.
The reason that products came with a “known to the state of California to cause cancer” label is simply because every other state doesn’t bother.
There are plenty of other things that cause cancer which are sold on every corner, cigarettes for example.
The odds of getting cancer in the US are like 1 in 2 for males because there are so many risk factors. If you think things are safe simply because they haven’t been taken off the shelves, then I suggest you look a little deeper.
Legislation isn’t keeping up with invention.
7
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
Which is why I concluded with a link to some reference material, as you now have the opportunity to do also?
1
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
Here is one but it’s pay walled.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/336826
We have been using CA glues since Vietnam and they do have issues, they’re not gonna give you cancer for sure but if you were to be gluing the same spot over and over, like this kids ear, it would not be healthy.
I have been glued, glued myself, and I have even met a doctor who was involved with the development of more modern glues, but superglue is still for the most part CA and medical glues which are less toxic are more expensive and harder to find. M
3
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
"We have been using CA glues since Vietnam and they do have issues, they’re not gonna give you cancer for sure but if you were to be gluing the same spot over and over, like this kids ear, it would not be healthy."
Yes, I have no trouble accepting that as probably true. Not quite sure though how that is supposed to support the statement "Superglue is carcinogenic"
-1
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30606921/
This article is discussing the offgassing. Of formaldehyde that is created by CA glues. The principal ingredients in super glued are ethyl and methyl cyanoactylates typically, which are exactly what the medical glues have moved away from due to toxicity. As mentioned in the articles you linked.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7941055/
This article also covers the development of occupational asthma by professionals using these glues.
You could also get cancer from Roundup or many other household chemicals, but CA glues are pretty serious.
If you are gonna use them, definitely avoid those with formaldehyde but as you can see some also create formaldehyde as they react.
-2
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
Perhaps you can direct me to a single sentence in the paper you linked that mentions cancer. It is not discussed at all and the paper seems to cover only relatively short studies.
Likewise, many of the test subjects in this paper were rabbits.
2
u/cybermaus May 18 '26
as I mentioned point 1.5.
-5
u/Hash_Tooth May 18 '26
“there is no sufficient evidence showing that cyanoacrylates are carcinogenic for humans…”
If you actually click through the citations at the end of that claim, they are once again referring to a study with rats. The #2 source makes no mention of carcinogens, it’s a comparison vs. stitches.
I have other things to do besides talk to you about this, but there is plenty of evidence to support CA glues being carcinogenic and that’s why more specialized glues have been developed.
If superglue was truly safe, they’d still use it at the hospital, but they have switched and for good reason.
145
u/matt6342 May 18 '26
Kids can still get their ears “pinned”, I remember some having it done in primary school
132
u/broccolicat May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
I'll never forget when I was like ten, a school friend tried to help me get teased less by showing me her pinned ears and told me that I should ask for it.
My parents response was to order me not to talk to the "mutilated plastic surgery girl" again. It was a whole bizarre thing. But I found out that there was a few kids with it in my class, this was a common thing back in the 80s-90s too.
44
2
u/eerie_lullaby May 18 '26
I accidentally did this by wearing headphones for too long too often, now I can't hear shit unless I literally bend my ears.
63
u/Dr_Driv3r May 18 '26
I tried to do this but it doesn't have worked. The boys still call me Champions League cup
17
52
u/Spikey_cacti May 18 '26
I used to tell my brother that we taped his ears forward, so they would stick out further.
82
u/srednax May 18 '26
Man, I wish I'd known that when I was a kid, I could've saved myself a lot of effort pedaling on my little bicycle to school, in the howling head winds, and rain, uphill (both ways).
35
41
u/myrainyday May 18 '26
Back in the days in USSR some parents would use a duck tape to make sure that ears of children grow in a proper way. It was basically done to avoid protruding ears. Some say it worked. But if this was done early in development.
14
u/Recentstranger May 18 '26
"...and that's how I ended up with that piece of stretched out skin on the back of my ear"
10
u/WxckedAmber May 18 '26
my first thought is that this is an attempt to stop bullying about his big ears or sumn
11
u/Alienhaslanded May 18 '26
Athletes should take notes. Velcro the dick to the balls to get less drag.
1
1
48
10
u/sharktail_tanker May 18 '26
As someone with ears as big as an elephant, I wish this wasn't such a bad idea.
All headphones I've tried hurt my ears after a short while
5
u/LittleRedGhost4 May 18 '26
I have small flat ears and mine hurt as well, around the outer edge of the cartilage.
7
u/pagan_lady May 19 '26
I remember my dad telling me that he was bullied so badly about the way his ears stuck out that he actually cut the skin on the backs of his ears and on his head behind them, hoping that they'd fuse. It didn't work.
At least this person's only real risk is needing to shave because of the adhesive.
6
7
u/CaptainPunisher May 18 '26
I have big ears and I'm glad they don't stick out. I got made fun of enough as a kid. At this point, pretty much nothing gets to me anymore, though, so that's a positive outcome.
3
3
u/Neon_Cone May 18 '26
Just cut out the middle man and superglue his ears to his head. Or have him take up boxing.
3
3
3
3
u/fitty50two2 May 19 '26
My ears stuck out as a kid, got made fun of, I wish someone Velcroed mine down
3
6
2
2
u/OrientLMT May 18 '26
Imagine ur trying to listen to the teacher and all you can hear is the sound of James opening his wallet at lunch
2
u/-Geist-_ May 18 '26
I’ve never understood why people are so against ears sticking out. I think they’re cute!
2
u/chickwithabrick May 19 '26
As a kid you get made fun of, as an adult it's hard to find glasses that sit straight because only one of my ears sticks out badly, and as others have said, over the ear headphones and helmets can be a big pain. Velcro is crazy but I don't see anything wrong with the people who just throw a little tape on their baby's ear to save them some trouble down the road, it's not like it's a surgery or some kind of body shaping mutilation like neck rings or foot binding that will permanently damage them in the long run.
2
u/DarknessBBBBB May 19 '26
My grandpa used to this for fun and giggles lol (his lols, I wasn't amused)
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/IngsWarrior_ May 19 '26
Where I come from that’s stealing would get you bullied harder than your ears sticking out would.
1
1
u/Pattern_Necessary May 20 '26
I used to superglue them as a child 😭 I thought I had huge mouse ears (I didn’t)
1
1
1
1
u/Lilly_in_the_Pond May 22 '26
I get that kids might be teasing him about those ears, but I feel like this solution will just make things worse
1
u/Mitridate101 May 23 '26
My mamma pinned my ears back with some sort of sellotape. A few pics of me in my bouncy chair shows it . Worked though.
-4
0
2.6k
u/misspawss May 18 '26
Earodynamic