What makes earlobes stink up the room when those big, black ear things are removed?

Bad hygiene.

PS: Those “big black things” are probably gauges.

@CWOTUS you mean you have to clean the holes out?

Oh, hell yes. Bacteria will migrate to and accumulate in any unwashed crevice in the body. It’s why fingernails and toenails are a pretty good indicator of a person’s overall hygiene, too.

Is today just ”alternative fashion chauvinism day” for you?

@Patton evidently it must be! Thanks for your research. Good job!

Same bacteria that cause armpit BO. The bugs do not know where they are living.
But, many of the people I have met who have those enormous holes in their ears, are not always fastidious about their personal hygiene. Not all, but many. So what is new?

Was that show Parental Control?

I know the smell, and I’m told it’s actually really common with people that stretch their earlobes with gauges/spacers, even if they’re clean. I’ve wondered what that smell was myself.

I believe it’s most common in newly stretched ears that are not completely healed – dead skin cells may contribute. Also, the material used can cause a smell, such as with acryllics.

I’m sure some others are hygiene/bacteria issues or even an infection.

I am sure this is not the same as armpit BO from someone who hasn’t bathed . This , according to the behaviors of the people on the tv show, is much stronger and causes people to back up to the ends of the room . When they did this, the boy just laughed. You’d think if he had an infection that dastardly he wouldn’t be laughing and on television. The show was called, “The World’s Strictest Parents.”