Cosmetic ear surgery is called otoplasty. Otoplasty encompasses multiple surgical techniques used to enhance the ear when it is too large, or stick out too far from the head.

Cosmetic ear surgeons prefer to perform this surgery on children ranging in age from 4 to 15. At a young age ear tissue is more responsive to otoplasty and major ear growth has already occurred, but adults may have the surgery as well with excellent results.

Candidates for otoplasty are persons with large ears, ear lobes, ears that protrude from the head due to bending cartilage, and the size of the cup (the part of the ear that leads to the canal) of the ear.

Some surgical procedures for cosmetic ear surgery involve exposing the cartilage of the ear and, after carefully measuring for distance accuracy, employing permanent sutures to hold the ear in place. Ears that bend incorrectly and therefore protrude from the head are corrected using this procedure. Cartilage can also be scraped to determine the bend in the ear, and so using this method enables the surgeon to direct the ear toward the head. Other forms of surgery, called "pinning" involve the use of permanent sutures to attach the ear cartilage to the scalp.

Otoplasty surgery may take approximately 2 hours or more, and has little to no side effects except for the small risk of infection. Cosmetic ear surgery is usually not covered by insurance as it is an elective procedure, and the cost is approximately $2,500 to $4,000.