Wrestling headgear

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Please improve this article if you can. (February 2007)

The two scholastic (collegiate) wrestlers seen here in a high school match are wearing protective headgear.

Wrestling headgear is protection that a person wears over the ears and chin during wrestling matches. The main purpose of headgear is to protect the ears of the wrestler, not really the head as the name implies. The headgear often covers the ears of the wearer, has two straps that go behind the head, two that go over the front and top part of the head, and one strap that goes under the chin (in some cases the strap will go on the chin). Thus, wrestling headgear equipment are also simply called ear guards or ear protectors. Headgear is often made of durable plastic, velcro, and button snaps. Headgear is required to be worn in high school and college wrestling.^[1]^[2] In international competition (freestyle and Greco-Roman), headgear is allowed but not required.^[3]

Wrestling headgear is made to protect the wearer from long term injury. The constant bashing and beating on a wrestler's ears that comes from not wearing headgear can cause blood vessels in the ears to burst. These types of injuries do not cause any external bleeding; however incredibly painful sacs of blood will start to develop in the ears often resulting in permanent disfiguration of the ears. This particular damage that is prevented by using headgear is cauliflower ear. If a wrestler does develop a cauliflower ear, the wrestler must see a doctor who will then drain the blood out of the ear via a needle.

In some cases, if a wrestler has face problems, like a history of broken noses or wrestles with stitches on the face, he or she may also have the option of wearing a face mask attached to the headgear.