Earring


An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear. Earrings are worn by both sexes and have been used by different civilizations in different times.
Locations for piercings other than the earlobe include the rook, tragus, and across the helix. The simple term "ear piercing" usually refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are often referred to as "cartilage piercings". Cartilage piercings are more complex to perform than earlobe piercings and take longer to heal.
Earring components may be made of any number of materials, including metal, plastic, glass, precious stone, beads, wood, bone, and other materials. Designs range from small loops and studs to large plates and dangling items. The size is ultimately limited by the physical capacity of the earlobe to hold the earring without tearing. However, heavy earrings worn over extended periods of time may lead to stretching of the earlobe and the piercing.

History

Ear piercing is one of the oldest known forms of body modification, with artistic and written references from cultures around the world dating back to early history. Gold earrings, along with other jewelry made of gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian were found as early as 2600 BCE in the Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur from the Early Dynastic period. Gold, silver and bronze hoop earrings were prevalent in the Minoan Civilization and examples can be seen on frescoes on the Aegean island of Santorini, Greece. During the late Minoan and early Mycenaean periods of Bronze Age Greece hoop earrings with conical pendants were fashionable. Early evidence of earrings worn by men can be seen in archeological evidence from Persepolis in ancient Persia. The carved images of soldiers of the Persian Empire, displayed on some of the surviving walls of the palace, show them wearing an earring.
Howard Carter writes in his description of Tutankhamun's tomb that the Pharaoh's earlobes were perforated, but no earrings were inside the wrappings, although the tomb contained some. The burial mask's ears were perforated as well, but the holes were covered with golden discs. That implies that at the time, earrings were only worn in Egypt by children, much like in Egypt of Carter's times.
Other early evidence of earring-wearing is evident in the Biblical record. In Exodus 32:1–4, it is written that while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, the Israelites demanded that Aaron make a god for them. It is written that he commanded them to bring their sons' and daughters' earrings to him in order that he might comply with their demand. By the classical period, including in the Middle East, as a general rule they were considered exclusively female ornaments. In Greece and Rome also, earrings were worn mainly by women, and the wearing of them by a man was often spoken of as distinctively oriental.
The practice of wearing earrings was a tradition for Ainu men and women, but the Government of Meiji Japan forbade Ainu men to wear earrings in the late-19th century. Earrings were also commonplace among nomadic Turkic tribes, and lavish ear ornaments have remained popular in India from historical times to the present day.
In Western Europe, earrings became fashionable among English courtiers and gentlemen in the 1590s during the English Renaissance. A document published in 1577 by clergyman William Harrison, Description of England, states "Some lusty courtiers and gentlemen of courage do wear either rings of gold, stones or pearls in their ears." Among sailors, a pierced earlobe was a symbol that the wearer had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator.
of William Shakespeare; earrings were emblematic of poets at the time.
By the late 1950s or early 1960s, the practice re-emerged in the Western world. Teenage girls were known to hold ear piercing parties, where they performed the procedure on one another. By the mid-1960s, some physicians offered ear piercing as a service. Simultaneously, Manhattan jewelry stores were some of the earliest commercial, non-medical locations for getting an ear piercing.
In the late 1960s, ear piercing began to make inroads among men through the hippie and gay communities, although they had been popular among sailors for decades. Traditionally, a right-side piercing identified a man as gay as part of LGBT “culture and code” to secretly identify oneself to the community. The left-side is widely accepted as heterosexual or straight while dual piercings indicate homosexuality or other varied expressions of sexuality. There has begun to be some challenging of these norms in recent years, though the standard view remains.
By the early 1970s, ear piercing was common among women, thus creating a broader market for the procedure. Department stores throughout the country would hold ear piercing events, sponsored by earring manufacturers. At these events, a nurse or other trained person would perform the procedure, either pushing a sharpened and sterilized starter earring through the earlobe by hand, or using an ear-piercing instrument modified from the design used by physicians.
In the late 1970s, amateur piercings, sometimes with safety pins or multiple piercings, became popular in the punk rock community. By the 1980s, the trend for male popular music performers to have pierced ears helped establish a fashion trend for men. This was later adopted by many professional athletes. British men started piercing both ears in the 1980s; George Michael of Wham! was a prominent example. During wham! He frequently wore small gold hoop earrings. When he then went on the become a solo artist with his iconic debut album “Faith” he wore a cross earring on his left ear. As of now, it is widely acceptable for teenage and pre-teen boys to have both ears pierced as well simply as a fashion statement.
Multiple piercings in one or both ears first emerged in mainstream America in the 1970s. Initially, the trend was for women to wear a second set of earrings in the earlobes, or for men to double-pierce a single earlobe. Asymmetric styles with more and more piercings became popular, eventually leading to the cartilage piercing trend. Double ear piercing in newborn babies is a phenomenon in Central America, in particular in Costa Rica.
A variety of specialized cartilage piercings have since become popular. These include the tragus piercing, antitragus piercing, rook piercing, industrial piercing, helix piercing, orbital piercing, daith piercing, and conch piercing. In addition, earlobe stretching, while common in indigenous cultures for thousands of years, began to appear in Western society in the 1990s, and is now a fairly common sight. However, these forms of ear piercing are still infrequent compared to standard ear piercing.

Religious

According to Hindu dharmic tradition, most girls and some boys get their ears pierced as part of a Dharmic rite known as Karnavedha before they are about five years old. Infants may get their ears pierced as early as several days after their birth.
Similar customs are practiced in other Asian countries, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Laos, although traditionally most males wait to get their ears pierced until they have reached young adulthood.
Ear piercing is mentioned in the Bible in several contexts. The most familiar refers to a Hebrew slave who was to be freed in the seventh year of servitude but wishes to continue serving his master and refuses to go free: "…his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his slave for life".

Types of earrings

Modern standard pierced earrings

Statement earrings

Statement earrings can be defined as "earrings which invite attention from others by demonstrating bold, original, and unique designs with innovative construction and material combinations". They include one or more of the following design features:
The main characteristic of stud earrings is the appearance of floating on the ear or earlobe without a visible point of connection. Studs are invariably constructed on the end of a post, which penetrates straight through the ear or earlobe. The post is held in place by a removable friction back or clutch. A stud earring features a gemstone or other ornament mounted on a narrow post that passes through a piercing in the ear or earlobe, and is held in place by a fixture on the other side. Studs commonly come in the form of solitaire diamonds. Some stud earrings are constructed so that the post is threaded, allowing a screw back to hold the earring in place securely, which is useful in preventing the loss of expensive earrings containing precious stones, or made of precious metals.

Hoop earrings

Hoop earrings are circular or semi-circular in design and look very similar to a ring. Hoop earrings generally come in the form of a hoop of metal that can be opened to pass through the ear piercing. They are often constructed of metal tubing, with a thin wire attachment penetrating the ear. The hollow tubing is permanently attached to the wire at the front of the ear, and slips into the tube at the back. The entire device is held together by tension between the wire and the tube. Other hoop designs do not complete the circle, but penetrate through the ear in a post, using the same attachment techniques that apply to stud earrings. A variation is the continuous hoop earring. In this design, the earring is constructed of a continuous piece of solid metal, which penetrates through the ear and can be rotated almost 360°. One of the ends is permanently attached to a small piece of metallic tubing or a hollow metallic bead. The other end is inserted into the tubing or bead, and is held in place by tension. One special type of hoop earring is the sleeper earring, a circular wire normally made of gold, with a diameter of approximately one centimeter. Hinged sleepers, which were common in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, comprise two semi-circular gold wires connected via a tiny hinge at one end, and fastened via a small clasp at the other, to form a continuous hoop whose fastening mechanism is effectively invisible to the naked eye. Because their small size makes them unobtrusive and comfortable, and because they are normally otherwise unadorned, sleepers are so-called because they were intended to be worn at night to keep a pierced ear from closing, and were often the choice for the first set of earrings immediately following the ear piercing in the decades before ear-piercing guns using studs became commonplace, but are often a fashion choice in themselves because of their attractive simplicity and because they subtly call attention to the fact that the ear is pierced.
A drop earring attaches to the earlobe and features a gemstone or ornament that dangles down from a chain, hoop, or similar object. The length of these ornaments vary from the very short to the extravagantly long. Such earrings are occasionally known as droplet earrings, dangle earrings, or pendant earrings. They also include chandelier earrings, which branch out into elaborate, multi-level pendants.

Dangle earrings

Dangle earrings are designed to flow from the bottoms of the earlobes, and are available in various lengths from a centimeter or two, all the way to brushing the shoulders. They are generally attached to the ear by the use of thin wires, which go through the earlobe and connect to themselves in a small hook at the back. A variation is the French hook design, which merely hangs from the earlobe without closure, although small plastic retainers are sometimes used on ends of French hooks. Rarely, dangle earrings use the post attachment design.

Barbell earrings

Barbell earrings get their name from their resemblance to a barbell, generally coming in the form of a metal bar with an orb on either end. One of these orbs is affixed in place, while the other can be detached to allow the barbell to be inserted into a piercing. Several variations on this basic design exist, including barbells with curves or angles in the bar of the earring.

Huggy earrings

Commonly, stones are channel set in huggy earrings.

Ear thread

Or earthreader, ear string, threader, a chain that is thin enough to slip into the ear hole, and come back out, dangles. Sometimes, people add beads or other materials onto the chain, so the chain dangles with beads below the ear.

Body piercing jewelry used as earrings

is often used for ear piercings, and is selected for a variety of reasons including the availability of larger gauges, better piercing techniques, and a disdain for mainstream jewelry.
For an explanation of how earring sizes are denoted, see the article Body jewelry sizes.

Clip-on and other non-pierced earrings

Several varieties of non-pierced earrings exist.
Where most earrings worn in the western world are designed to be removed easily to be changed at will, earrings can also be permanent. They were once used as a mark of slavery or ownership. They appear today in the form of larger gauge rings which are difficult or impossible for a person to remove without assistance. Occasionally, hoop earrings are permanently installed by the use of solder, though this poses some risks due to toxicity of metals used in soldering and the risk of burns from the heat involved. Besides permanent installations, locking earrings are occasionally worn due to their personal symbolism or erotic value.

Ear piercing

Pierced ears are earlobes or the cartilage portion of the external ears which have had one or more holes created in them for the wearing of earrings. The holes may be permanent or temporary. The holes become permanent when a fistula is created by scar tissue forming around the initial earring.

Piercing techniques

A variety of techniques are used to pierce ears, ranging from "do it yourself" methods using household items to medically sterile methods using specialized equipment.
A long-standing home method involves using ice as a local anesthetic, a sewing needle as a puncture instrument, a burning match and rubbing alcohol for disinfection, and a semi-soft object, such as a potato, cork, bar of soap or rubber eraser, as a push point. Sewing thread may be drawn through the piercing and tied, as a device for keeping the piercing open during the healing process. Alternatively, a gold stud or wire earring may be directly inserted into the fresh piercing as the initial retaining device. Home methods are often unsafe and risky due to issues of improper sterilization or placement.
Another method for piercing ears, first made popular in the 1960s, was the use of sharpened spring-loaded earrings known as self-piercers, trainers, or sleepers, which gradually pushed through the earlobe. However, these could slip from their initial placement position, often resulting in more discomfort, and many times would not go all the way through the earlobe without additional pressure being applied. This method has fallen into disuse due to the popularity of faster and more successful piercing techniques.
Ear piercing instruments, sometimes called ear-piercing guns, were originally developed for physician use but with modifications became available in retail settings. Today more and more people in the Western world have their ears pierced with an ear piercing instrument in specialty jewellery or accessory stores, or at home using disposable ear piercing instruments. An earlobe piercing performed with an ear piercing instrument is often described as feeling similar to being pinched, or being snapped by a rubber band. Piercing with this method, especially for cartilage piercings, is not recommended by many piercing professionals and physicians, as it can cause blunt force trauma to the skin, and takes far longer to heal than needle piercing. In addition, the vast majority of ear piercing instruments are made of plastic, which means they can never be truly sterilized by use of an Autoclave, increasing chance of infection exponentially. In the case of cartilage piercing, doing it with an ear piercing instrument can shatter the ear cartilage and lead to serious complications.
An alternative which is growing in practice is the use of a hollow piercing needle, as is done in body piercing. The piercer disinfects the earlobe with alcohol and puts a mark on the lobe with a pen. It gives the opportunity to the client to check whether the position is correct or not. Then, the piercer uses a clamp with flat ends and holes at the end to hold the earlobe, with the dot in the middle of the holes. This device will support the skin during the piercing process. A cork can be placed behind the earlobe to stop the movement of the needle after the piercing process, and protect the tip of the needle for the client's comfort. Then, the piercer places the hollow needle perpendicular to the skin's surface and check the position of the needle, to pierce at the desired place and the right angle. The piercing process consists of pushing the needle through the earlobe, until it gets out in the other side. The client has to remain still during all the process. Then, the clamp can be put off. After that, the piercer puts the jewel in the hollow needle and pushes the needle through until the jewel enters into the lobe. Then, the needle is removed and disposed properly. The jewel is attached to the lobe and the piercer disinfects the lobe again.
In tribal cultures and among some neo-primitive body piercing enthusiasts, the piercing is made using other tools, such as animal or plant organics.
Initial healing time for an earlobe piercing performed with an ear piercing instrument is typically six to eight weeks. After that time, earrings can be changed, but if the hole is left unfilled for an extended period of time, there is some risk of the piercing closing. Piercing professionals recommend wearing earrings in the newly pierced ears for at least six months, and sometimes even a full year. Cartilage piercing will usually require more healing time than earlobe piercing, sometimes two to three times as long. After healing, earlobe piercings will shrink to smaller gauges in the prolonged absence of earrings, and in most cases will completely disappear.

Health risks

The health risks with conventional earlobe piercing are common but tend to be minor, particularly if proper technique and hygienic procedures are followed. One study found that up to 35 percent of persons with pierced ears had one or more complications, including minor infection, allergic reaction, keloids, and traumatic tearing. Pierced ears are a significant risk factor for contact allergies to the nickel in jewelry. Earlobe tearing, during the healing period or after healing is complete, can be minimized by not wearing earrings, especially wire-based dangle earrings, during activities in which they are likely to become snagged, such as while playing sports. Also, larger gauge jewellery will lessen the chance of the earring being torn out.
With cartilage piercing, the blunt force of an ear piercing instrument will traumatize the cartilage, and therefore make healing more difficult. Also, because there is substantially less blood flow in ear cartilage than in the earlobe, infection is a much more serious issue. There have been several documented cases of severe infections of the upper ear following piercing with an ear piercing instrument, which required courses of antibiotics to clear up. There are many ways that an infection can occur: the most common way is when the person that got pierced decides to take out the piercing too early. According to the A.M.A, the proper waiting period to change or take out a piercing with substantially less risk of infection would be three weeks.
For all ear piercings, the use of a sterilized hollow piercing needle tends to minimize the trauma to the tissue and minimize the chances of contracting a bacterial infection during the procedure. As with any invasive procedure, there is always a risk of infection from blood borne pathogens such as hepatitis and HIV. However, modern piercing techniques make this risk extremely small. There has never been a documented case of HIV transmission due to ear/body piercing or tattooing, although there have been instances of the Hepatitis B virus being transmitted through these practices.
; Negative effects of wearing earrings in light of research
The most frequent complications connected with wearing earrings are:
Researchers observed a correlation between the piercing of young girls' earlobes and subsequent development of allergies.
In Professor Ewa Czarnobilska's view the main reason of allergy is presence of nickel as a component of alloys used in the production of earrings – however the ingredients declared by producer is not significant, because nickel is a standard component of jewellery.
Symptoms of allergy are visible as eczema. This symptom is often justified to be food allergy, meanwhile the reason is contact with the earring with the lymphatic system.
Ceasing of wearing earrings by children doesn't result in vanishing allergy symptoms. Immune system remembers the presence of Ni ions that existed in someone's blood and lymph. Even though the children ceased wearing earrings, it can appear as an allergic reaction to:
Research studying a sample of 428 pupils, age seven and eight, and sixteen and seventeen noticed that:
Other symptoms of allergy to nickel are: