Pierced ears are popular on men, women, boys and girls of all ages. Throughout history, people have pierced their ears. The origin of ear piercing is just as interesting as the people who have pierced ears.

Ear piercing, like some other piercings, was practiced in prehistoric times. Archeologists have found artifacts suggesting prehistoric people pierced their ears with bones or sticks.

Hindus pierced their ears believing that they could prevent bronchial asthma, cough and TB by piercing that area of the body. In many cases, both the ears and the nostril of the nose of a child were pierced at birth.

All cultures have had some form of ear piercing. In some cases, it was for medical reasons; others pierced their ears for religious or social reasons. In modern cultures, it is meant more for accessorizing or decorating oneself.

Ear piercing was not always a cheap process. In some Native American cultures, each ear piercing cost one horse.

The modern piercing method of using a gun-type instrument to pierce an earring through the ear was invented by Inverness Corp. Their instruments pierce millions of ears around the world each year.