When your ears ring or suddenly feel hot, the common belief is that someone somewhere is talking about you: the right ear for praise, the left for gossip. That is belief, not prediction; ringing or burning ears are mostly ordinary reactions of the body. In Hindi it is kaan bajna.
What tradition says
| Situation | Common belief |
|---|---|
| Right ear ringing | Someone is praising you; good news |
| Left ear ringing | Someone is speaking ill of you behind your back |
| Both ears at once | Your name has come up in a conversation |
| Ears suddenly hot or red | Someone is remembering you, or talking about you |
| Itchy ear | In places, news on its way |
Some homes also say that if the left ear rings you should give it a small tug or twist a finger in it, "so the gossip's tongue stops"; that is household humour and nothing more. In some regions the left and right meanings are reversed.
Where the belief comes from
This belief is very old and found worldwide. In the first century the Roman writer Pliny noted that people believed burning ears meant someone was talking about them. English still says "my ears are burning" in exactly that sense. The logic is simple: the ear is the organ we hear talk with, so any sudden sensation in it feels as though some talk is "reaching" us. The right-left split is the same as in the other body omens.
The real causes
Hot or red ears: embarrassment, nervousness, anger, sun, hot tea or exercise raise blood flow through the thin skin of the ears, so they look red and feel warm. Amusingly, the very suspicion that someone is talking about you can make your ears flush.
Ringing, whistling or buzzing: doctors call this tinnitus. Almost everyone has it for a few seconds now and then. Common causes:
- after loud noise (a wedding DJ, firecrackers, headphones)
- ear wax build-up
- blocked ears with a cold
- stress and tiredness
When to see a doctor: if the sound persists or keeps coming back, is in one ear only, comes with reduced hearing, dizziness, ear pain or discharge, see an ENT doctor. Do not put matchsticks or pins in your ears.
A calm suggestion
If your right ear rings and you imagine someone praising you, enjoy the smile. But there is no need to suspect anyone when the left ear rings; do not weigh a relationship on a buzzing sensation. Protecting your ears from loud noise is the most useful lesson of this omen.
Read next
See hiccups, eye twitching and twitching elsewhere, or the full list of omens.