50 Behind the Ear Tattoos You’ll Absolutely Love

Behind the ear tattoos are charming little additions to any collection of body art. They have a combination of being discreet while exuding effortless cool, especially when worn by women.

The subtlety of this placement combined with just a hint of rebelliousness gives this type of tattoo an enormous appeal for those thinking about getting their first piece.

However, many people also hesitate to let the tattoo gun near this particular spot because of the pain they anticipate.

It’s worth remembering that tattoos are only skin deep, and any design you put behind your ear will take no more than a few minutes to complete.

So if you really want a behind the ear tattoo, here are a few designs you will absolutely love!

Behind the ear tattoos examples 

1. Dainty Flower

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Trend Spotter

Well, we all know that flowers are the perfect tattoos right? We can all agree on that yes? So getting a flower behind your ears tattooed is like the safest choice you could make, if you’re the type of person who likes to get inked.

2. Musical Notes

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Stay Glam

This is actually my favorite of them all, I love music, and I also play an instrument ( a Sax if you want to know ) so getting this done might be a perfect choice for people who love music and live it on the day to day.

How bad do behind the ear tattoos hurt

Well, tattoos usually hurt more in areas of the body where there isn’t a lot of flesh or fat between the first layer of skin and nerves. for example, if you do a tattoo on your leg, it will hurt much less than if you do it in your finger. Why? Because in your leg there are more muscles, more fat, so the sensation will feel less painful to your nerves.

When getting a tattoo behind the ear, this place is naturally has very thin layer of skin, and almost directly below it there is the bone, which means you will probably feel the pain more in that area.

The good news though is that most people get a really small tattoo behind the ears because it’s not a place you usually get a huge tattoo, this means the work will take just a few minutes, and you won’t have to suffer for long like with bigger tattoos.

More cool ideas for behind ear tattoos

  • A northern star
  • A dove
  • The word DREAMS
  • The word love
  • A small pine tree
  • Small birds flying
  • A star

3. Butterfly tattoo behind the ear 

Source: Trend Spotter

4. Birthday in Roman Numerals is a very unique idea for ink behind the ear 

Source – Pinterest

5. Northern Star

Source – For Creative Juice

6. Scissors

Source: Trend Spotter

7. Dove

Source: Trend Spotter

8. Paw Prints

Source – Ink Me Tattoo

9, Semicolon

Source – For Creative Juice

10. Dreams

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Chronic Ink Tattoo

11. Rose

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Allure

12. Moon and Star Alignment

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Trend Spotter

13. Ship

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Ink Me Tattoo

14. Dandelion

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Force Creative

15. Small Elephant

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Allure

16. Joker Smile

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Wild Tattoo Art

17. Love

Source – Shine Coco

18. Star

Source – Tattoo SEO

19. Small Heart

Source – Shine Coco

20. Crown

Source – For Creative Juice

21. Candy Skull

Source – For Creative Juice

22. All-Seeing Eye 

Source – For Creative Juice

23. Planet and Stars

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – Shine Coco

24. Anchor

Source – Trend Spotter

25. Fox

Source: Ink Me Tattoo

26. Eight Note

Source: Shine Coco

27. Pine Tree

Source: Ink Me Tattoo

28. Dream Catcher

Source: For Creative Juice

29. Flower in Bloom

Source: Allure

30. Ballerina’s Feet

Source: Wild Tattoo Art

31. Wings

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Trend Spotter

32. Heart Monitor

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Ink Me Tattoos

33. Black Cat

Source: For Creative Juice

34. Tribal Pattern

Source: Trend Spotter

35. Sailor Moon Cat

Source: Wild Tattoo Art

36. Cute Ladybug

Source: Pinterest

37. Diamond

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: For Creative Juice

38. Forest with Moon and Symbol

Source: Trend Spotter

39. Paper Airplane

Source: Ink Me Tattoos

40. Birds

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source – For Creative Juice

41. Sea Turtle

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Pinterest

42. Pink Bow

Source – For Creative Juice

43. Sun

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Wild Tattoo Art

44. Dice

Source: Wild Tattoo Art

45. Peter Pan and Neverland

Source: Wild Tattoo Art

46. Coverup Pineapple

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Trend Spotter

47. Tiny Tractor

Behind the Ear Tattoos

Source: Pinterest

48. Cartoon Bat

Source – Wild Tattoo Art

49. Sweet Eiffel Tower in Paris

Source – Wild Tattoo Art

50. Lovebirds

Source: Pinterest

With 50 ideas for behind-the-ear tattoos to choose from, you’ll definitely be able to find a suitable design for your preferences!

For more tattoos and art, stay tuned for our other feature articles and check out this article on symmetrical tattoos we recommend.

Some frequently asked questions about behind the ear tattoos 

Q – Is it tacky to get a tattoo behind your ear? 

A – While some people may think that a tattoo behind your ear looks bad or in bad taste, the beautiful thing about tattoos is that it’s a very personal choice, and every person loves different things. So for some this might be the perfect place to get a tattoo, and for others, it won’t. You have to do what you feel is right when it comes to your body.


Q – How painful is it to get a tattoo there? 

A – We would say that if we need to rank the pain level of tattoos in specific areas of the body, a behind the ear tattoo would probably be ranked as a 8 out of 10 in the pain level, which is pretty high but the good news is that most likely it will be over quickly.


Q – How do you take care of the tattoo after it’s done

A – You take care of your tattoo behind the ear same as you would any other tattoo, the recommended steps are to keep it out of direct sunlight, put the tattoo cream on 3 times per day while washing it gently for about 4 weeks until it completely heals. For more details about how to take care of a tattoo, see here.

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