What Is the Ears Below Eyes Theory?

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Debunking a popular TikTok true crime rumor

Co-authored by Eric McClure Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: October 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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• "Ears Below Eyes" Theory Meaning
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• Is it true?
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• How common are ears below eyes?
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• Checking Your Ear Height

|Show more |Show less

If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok lately, you may have stumbled across some rather surprising claims about people with low-set ears (ears that rest below your eyes). According to the viral theory, if your ears are a little low, you might be a serial killer. This may sound pretty shocking, but don't worry—you can rest assured that there’s no actual link between ear height and violent behavior! We’ll break all of this down and more below.

Ears Below Eyes Theory Explained

According to popular videos on TikTok, you may be a psychopath if your eyes rest higher on your face than your ears do. Luckily, this theory has no merit. About 10% of the population has this feature, and there’s no evidence it causes violent behavior.

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Section 1 of 4:

What is the “ears below eyes” theory?

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1. 
   The “ears below eyes” theory says people with low-set eyes are dangerous. There are a few different iterations of this theory according to the researchers on TikTok, but they all sort of boil down to the same idea. Some people suggest that ears that sit below the eyes make you a serial killer. Others claim that it simply makes you crazy (not in a fun kind of way). In either case, people with low-set ears are supposedly not the safest people to hang around with.

   • This idea is popularly summarized on TikTok with the phrase, “Ears below eyes, you’re in for a surprise.”
   • Just to specify, the ears only sit below the eyes if the top of the ear is below the bottom of the eye. If the eyes and ears sit on the same horizontal plane, they’re “normal.”
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Section 2 of 4:

Is the “ears below eyes” theory true?

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1. 
   No, there’s no relationship between ear height and dangerousness. It sounds kind of silly when you think about it that way, right? But yeah, the location of your ears relative to your eyes has nothing to do with any desire someone might have to start a serial killing career.

   • People love to look for weird connections like this with serial killers and famous criminals. It’s just so unbelievable that a person could do something like that, so people naturally look for unnatural explanations. It’s sort of like the (now debunked) theory about being able to spot serial killers growing up if you see bed wetting, animal harming, and fire setting.
   • There are other popular myths like this. Some people (incorrectly) suggest that serial killers also have:
     • High palates
     • Forward tongues
     • Big third toes
     • Very fine hair
     • Big fingertips

Section 3 of 4:

How common are ears below eyes?

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1. 
   About 10% of the population has ears lower than their eyes. There aren’t a ton of studies on how common ears below the eyes are—probably because it’s such a mundane feature—but most studies suggest around 10% of people are born with this facial feature. Slightly low ears are not an especially uncommon trait, so you’re not alone if your ears sit a little lower than your eyes.
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Section 4 of 4:

How can you tell if your ears are below your eyes?

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1. 
   Hold a straight edge up to your eyes and see if it bisects your ears. Take a pencil or something small and straight like that and go to a mirror. Hold one end of the straight edge up to the corner of your eye, pointing flat away from your head. If the top of your ear sits below that line, you have low-set ears.

   • Remember, low-set ears are not a cause for concern, so don’t worry if you have them. There's nothing wrong with you!

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